A down economy can do strange things to people. Jobs are lost, budgets are cut and discretionary income vanishes. And that, makes people nervous. At the same time, people begin to look for other ways to to make a little extra cash. Many are working from home to generate extra income and it can be richly rewarding.
It seems easy enough. After all, you have a computer, high speed bandwidth and cell phone so what else do you need? Your mobile office is ready to go! Right?
Wrong! You may be sitting on the side of the road with no place to go in your business.
Working from home can be very risky for many reasons. If you are new to it, then you should implement structure, strategy and a level of self-discipline to help you navigate towards success. It should be quite clear of the services and products you are offering or you may find yourself adrift in your business.
CREATE STRUCTURE
Operating your business from home requires definite structure in your schedule to separate time for your personal and work life. This may be especially difficult for single parents. You literally may have to carve time out to dedicate towards your new business. In his blog, CareerSuccessforNewbies.com, Long Yun Siang outlines 9 important reasons why time management is critical to your success.
EXECUTE SOUND STRATEGY
Albert Einstein once said the definition of insanity is "doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." Operating a home based business requires a careful sound strategy. Whether you are operating on the web or not, a reasonable degree of rationale should be applied. Building any business takes time and if you are doing it alone on a shoe-string budget with no resources, expect it to take much longer than you thought. Identify mentors who can help you both locally and online. Look for local resources to help you get your business off the ground. Can you really effectively be graphic artist, marketing strategist, technical guru, accountant and salesman at the same time? Focus on your areas of strength and try to outsource the areas you may need some help. In the long run, you'll be glad you did. It will save you time and money.
Look around in the classifieds, Craigslist and freelance directories for people who can help you. Careful bartering is fine as long as the end result is a win win for both parties. There are also outsourcing websites on the web but you should exercise caution when using them. Always check references.
IMPLEMENT SELF-DISCIPLINE
You have to treat your business like a business so act like one. Set your schedule and get dressed like you are going to work. You will be more productive. Technology enables many to work from home but don't let email and Facebook rule your schedule; there are no greater time wasters! Set up specific time for working on your business vs in your business. This can be tough but distinguishing between the two will force you to find the time to market your business. You have to treat your business seriously because the competition is fierce and technology has enabled more people than ever to consider working from home for many reasons.
In fact, in 2009, rel=nofollow [
http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/content/oct2009/sb20091023_263258.htm]Business Week referenced research by Steve King of Emergent Research after he published a report on the new "homepreneurs." His research suggested there are about 6.6 million "serious" home-based businesses that provide at least half of their owners' household income.
In summary, working from home takes effort and can be risky especially if you are unprepared. Executing structure, strategy and self-discipline in your new business can lead to greater success. As more people are now looking to work from home as a real means to earning extra income, expect increased competition. If you work smart, you can expect realistic results.
Mike Garr is founder of Nuwebber, an advocate of small business dedicated to helping small businesses succeed despite overwhelming odds to fail in the first five years of business. Mike's specialty is creative video marketing and media production. Through a network of business resources, professional expertise and web technology Nuwebber is able to facilitate an action plan to getting your small business on track. If you would like more information, visit Mike on Facebook
http://nuwebber.biz where you can get find cool resources he post. Or, if you are considering internet products to sell online, you can visit his brand new website
http://www.myrepeatbusiness.com where he will review, test and report on online business opportunities.
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http://EzineArticles.com/?Why-Working-From-Home-is-Very-Risky&id=4302828] Why Working From Home is Very Risky
