homebiznotes.com

September 10th, 2007

Home Biz Notes Participates in Back-to-School Theme Day

“Back-to-School” is the selected topic for the b5media Business Channel Theme Day hosted by Miranda Marquit at Yielding Wealth.   Home Biz Notes participated with a post, 5 Ways Back-to-School Affects Your Home Business. 

Now that youngsters are back in school, parents who operate home businesses, as well as those who shop, will find some changes in their lives and businesses.  I share five ways you might be affected.

Share This

By Mary Emma Allen -- 0 comments

August 31st, 2007

Building vs Buying Home Business Traffic

Home business owners, whether online or offline, need customers/clients.  How does one get them?  In general the methods vary depending on which type of business you’re operating.  However, with more businesses having some type of online presence, online methods are of great interest.

Online business owners often get caught up with buying lists of guaranteed visitors to their site.  Cynthia Minnaar, in an article in American Chronicle, How to Drive Targeted Website Traffic to Your Internet Home Business, differentiates between building versus buying home business traffic.  Even though buying traffic may seem to be the quicker way, it doesn’t work, Ms Minnaar maintains.

“Building [traffic] takes time, perseverence, persistence and dedication.  You can’t cut corners and expect to build your internet home business in a week or month and generate massive targeted traffic and create online income in a short space of time.”

Then she goes on the describe some free ways to build your business traffic.

Share This

By Mary Emma Allen -- 0 comments

July 13th, 2007

Using PayPal for Your Home Business

  Many home businesses, especially those doing business online, utilize the PayPal banking services for receiving payment and purchasing.  This is a quick way to undertake these transactions.  You also can transfer payment deposited into PayPal to another bank.  Or you can withdraw money from PayPal by having them send you a check, for a fee.

PayPal does charge slight fees for their transactions, but you generally have to pay fees for other types of banking, too, especially when they involved other countries. 

PayPal continues to expand its services so that more and more companies are using it, making international banking and business less difficult.

 Northwest Airlines announced it will begin using PayPay as a way passengers can pay for their tickets, opening up the area of airline flight to this method that’s recognized internationally.  Mark at Workboxes has more on this topic and PayPal’s new look.

Mark at Digital Money World informs us that PayPal just announced its partnership with GPShopper, enabling it to offer Mobile Checkout.

“Mobile Checkout is a simple payment mechanism for consumers on-the-go and merchants with online storefronts. ”  Through Mobile Checkout, consumers in the U.S., U.K. and Canada can purchase items securely through PayPal by using their mobile phones. 

Although I’ve not used PayPal to pay for purchases, I’ve found it great way to receive payment promtly, especially from companies and individuals in other countries.

Share This

By Mary Emma Allen -- 0 comments

June 6th, 2007

Tips for Home Business Success

Many people want to work at home and even set up a business at home.  However, they may soon find they’re easily distracted and aren’t so effective as when working for someone else. 

As has been said, “The good news is…you’re your own boss.  The bad news is…you’re your own boss.”

Now isn’t that contradictory?

Not necessarily.  As your own boss, you can set your own schedule, generally work at something you enjoy,  and work at or from home.   However, as your own boss…you must have the incentive to be effective and productive…or your business will fizzle away.

At Contract Worker, Rico refers to 9 Things That Make Working at Home More Effective and links to Web Worker Daily’s post, 9 Best Practices for Home-Based Web Workers.

Here you’ll find suggestions that apply to online home businesses.  Also, you can use many of them even if you have a more traditional business working from your home.  By applying these suggestions, you may find you fall into the category of “the good news is…you’re your own boss.”

Share This

By Mary Emma Allen -- 0 comments

June 3rd, 2007

Networking for Your Home Business - Online

More and more networking for home businesses and other business occurs online nowadays.  This seems to be the growing trend even if your business isn’t an online one.  Business owners begin to find the Internet and e-mail a great way to communicate with customers and to promote their products and services. 

As Mark Allen said in the interview about his online home business, “The great thing about an online business is that the world is your market.”  Likewise, the great aspect about online networking and promotion is that the world is your audience.  You can meet and work with people around the globe.

What are some ways to network online?

*Join an online group that specializes in like interests or businesses.  Here you often can find advice, support, and encouragement.

*Visit other web sites and blogs and leave comments, thus introducing yourself and becoming a familiar name.

*Write articles for web sites and become a guest on blogs that have a similar interest.  (You’ll often learn about these opportunities through discussions on online groups.)

*If it seems practical, become associated with an online marketing site like Mark has with CafePress.

*Introduce yourself to others who write columns or have blogs.  I receive e-mails from people who either want suggestions or have a book or product they want me to review.  When you do this, be sincere and friendly, not pushy and commercial. 

Are there ways of networking online that have worked very successfully for you?

Share This

By Mary Emma Allen -- 0 comments

April 17th, 2007

Moving Your Home Business

Some home businesses you can take with you when you move; others are impossible to relocate.  In today’s Internet world, you can easily move an online business when you have to go to another town or state.

When I operated a dressmaking and alteration business I found that easy to move when Jim’s work took us from New York State to New Hampshire.  I did lose the customer base I had established at the former home and had to build up a clientele.  However, this wasn’t too difficult to do since I’d developed my business once before and knew where and how to promote. 

Online or virtual businesses are easier to maintain as you relocate.  A quilting store, that sells only to online customers, is moving to another state.  However, they expect to have, at the most, only about a week when they might not be able to fill orders…the time when their stock is packed and being moved and when they’re on the road. 

However, they will be on the computer each evening, so can take orders and respond to customers.  Once their stock is unpacked at the new home, orders will be shipped.

If you have a home business selling large items and/or need to have customer traffic to your store, it would be more difficult and expensive to relocate.  However, in today’s Internet world, the nature of home businesses are changing.

Share This

By Mary Emma Allen -- 5 comments

April 11th, 2007

More People Enjoy Working at Internet Home Businesses

Because she couldn’t be tied down by clients’ schedules, when trying to balance family and business that took her outside the home, Julie Bonner, organizational expert and blogger at b5media’s Declutter It!, took her business online.  Since then she’s “been helping others, via the Internet, get organized.”

This is happening with many businesses.  They’re going onto the Internet, either in conjunction with a physical business or evolving into one where they provide products and/or services solely with customers/clients they communicate with only online, possibly occasionally by phone.

If you haven’t developed an online presence with your business, you may want to look into it.

Share This

By Mary Emma Allen -- 0 comments

February 18th, 2007

5 Challenges of an Internet Home Business

In a previous post, I discussed 5 of the advantages of an Internet home business. Some of these advantages may turn into challenges or disadvantages if you’re not careful.  There also may be other ones you need to consider…those common to most home businesses or particularly to yours.

*Don’t have face to face contact with people.  So sometimes it’s more difficult to address problems when you can’t have personal contact.  Some people find it much easier to deal with people when they’re face to face, while others like the anonimity of the phone or e-mail.

*Less investment may equate less production.  When you don’t have so much to invest (and often online businesses require less investment), and thus less to lose, you don’t take your business so seriously.  So you may slack off more than you would if you have large payments to make to a bank or had taken all of your savings for space, stock, and equipment.

*You may take it casually if there aren’t people coming into your shop.  Sometimes casually means less seriously.  You don’t have a boss expecting you to finish your job by a specific time.  Yes, you have customers who expect their work on schedule, but they aren’t stopping by in person if they’re purchasing online. 

*You may find it difficult to keep to a schedule when there is no boss.  There may be distractions around the home.  Or you may find it difficult to keep working if your task become monotonous.  Working at home is not always exciting…there’s routine and monotony that can discourage you and send you looking around for something more enjoyable.     

*You have to handle all aspects of the job.  In your desire to be free of a job, to work on your own, you no longer can pursue only one aspect (unless more of your family are involved).  In addition to creating a product or performing a service, you must promote, keep books, do invoicing, pay bills, and collect debts.

Share This

By Mary Emma Allen -- 0 comments

February 6th, 2007

5 Advantages of an Internet Based Home Business

Many home business owners are taking advantage of the Internet for their operation.  Some combine Internet sales and promotion with a shop in their home.  Others conduct their business solely via the Internet.

What are some of the advantages of this ever growing innovation in business?

*Less Investment - Generally the investment for an Internet based home business is less than that of the traditional business, even when a shop may be in your home. 

*Many Opportunities - Business on the Internet or conducted by using the Internet is growing every day.  Creative business people are finding new products and services that can be promoted and sold this way.

*Can work from home or wherever you have Internet access - You aren’t restricted to one location for many Internet based enterprises.  If you do have to travel, want to take a trip, go on a vacation, you’re still in contact and can conduct business as long as you have access to the Internet and can get e-mail.

*Can work all over the world without leaving home - You can find online assignments from people around the world.  With banking systems, such as Paypal, you also can receive payment fairly easily from businesses and individuals in other countries and your own.  You also can work on projects with people from other parts of the globe.

*Can work in a casual atmosphere - Work can be more on your terms, as far as when you’ll do it, as long as you get it accomplished.  You can be more flexible where you work in your home, too.  For some businesses, such as online sales, you may need storage and shipping areas. 

Share This

By Mary Emma Allen -- 2 comments

January 8th, 2007

Working at a Home Business When It Snows

As I look outdoors to see snow coming down and know I don’t have to drive in it, I marvel that so many home businesses today aren’t bothered by the day-to-day weather…unless some type of storm disrupts the electric lines or our servers. Or the UPS or postman can’t get through.

 More home businesses are evolving that don’t depend on customers or clients coming to the door.  Their work is online or with customers who receive products by mail, UPS, FedEx or other delivery.  Contact can be by e-mail, the phone or cell phone.

Another b5media Business Channel blogger writes exclusively about online businesses.  You might want to check out Just Make Money Online by Shai Coggins for helpful information and resources.

You also might find the results a poll interesting that Shai had on her log, What’s your BEST source of online income?

Share This

By Mary Emma Allen -- 2 comments