Are You Looking for Customers on the Right Hunting Ground?

When all the fanfare fizzles out and your friends and family have all tried and bought whatever it is you’re selling, there can be a frightening stillness. Your sales can be so stagnant that you can almost hear the crickets chirping as if in mockery of your very serious plight.

Even if you have witnessed the hype surrounding your home business fade away into the wilderness you can still revive interest and improve your sales. You may need to turn on your powers of perception and bring out your inner hunter to find where your customers have gone.

Take a look at the following considerations.

Are You Hunting in the Right Places?

Just like a deer hunter probably won’t have any luck finding his prey in treacherous mountains, a home business owner needs to understand the habitat of his customer. It is important to have an ideal customer profile. This will tell you what your customers like, what they dislike and where they go for fun. These things will help you to figure out where to place your ads so they have a better chance of being seen.

Are You Using the Right Strategy?

In the same way that you won’t expect to catch a deer with a mouse trap, home business owners should not expect to lure their customers using the wrong strategy. You need to find out what appeals to them and then use that as your marketing method of choice. If your customers are likely to surf the web, have a strong web presence, if they are the type to listen to talk radio, scoop up some spots during a talk program.

Are You Consistent and Patient?

Finally, sit back and wait. This can be the hardest part. There may be times when you question your approach and you feel like the money spent on marketing is not worth it, but holding the course (as long as you were right about your assumptions above) will produce great results.

Do you have any advice on how to find customers? I’d love to have people share their experiences by leaving a tip or two on how to find new customers in the comment section below!

Recommended Reading

How to Identify Core Customers

How to Choose the Right Type of Media for Advertising

How to Twitter for Business

Eleven Ways to Find Customers

Use Twitter to Find Customers

It may sound harsh but a passive personality is better off working a traditional job and collecting a steady paycheck. There is nothing wrong with working your way up the ladder either. It takes a lot of hard work to consistently put out great work and to be recognized and rewarded for your efforts.

Although both personality types have their own merits, you should ask yourself this question before you jump into starting a home business… Am I a kitten… comfortable with a predictable future,  good at what I do and happy to collect praise and admiration…

or am I a lion? Unafraid to venture out and a true leader in every sense of the word.

Starting a home business takes an entirely different sort of mettle. To actually push your idea through the stages of development and then invest time, effort and energy into making it a reality is an act of courage. But to let go of your job and your reliable safety net of an income to depend entirely on yourself to earn a living is an act of pure faith.

Passivity has no place in the mind of a home business owner.

I happen to think that being driven is the number one requirement of being a successful entrepreneur, but I’m sure there are other opinions. If you think there’s a trait that’s just as or even more important I’d love to hear from you!

Recommended Reading

Tips to Overcome the Fear of Starting Your Own Business

Challenges in Starting a Home Business

How to Develop a Successful Home Business

Where to Find Ideas About Starting Your Home Business

Watch the Big Stuff and Sweat the Small Stuff from AllBusiness.com This was a really interesting read. Rieva Lesonsky explores the well-known ‘sweat the small stuff’ and ‘focus on the big picture’ mantras and comes up with an intriguing conclusion.

Resist the Time Suck from Get Rich Slowly. This is great for all those who struggle with productivity… and let’s face it, that’s everyone some of the time.

I Might Need 3 Million to Retire. What’s Your Number? from Consumerism Commentary. This is an important consideration for all home business owners, because we’ve got to look out for ourselves!

Let Pass. An Excellent Online Identity Management Tool from Online Reputation Edge. This is a great new tool for home business owners to explore!

Look out for posts later this week on Homepreneur mistakes and how to find customers. Feel free to drop a comment or question or just say hi!

Have a great week readers

Home business owners often fall prey to the notion that you have to spend money to make money. While this can be true to a certain extent, there is a limit to how much spending is prudent or practical for the size and type of business in question.

Big Businesses Have Bigger Budgets

It is a mere fact that big businesses will have bigger budgets, so a home business owner that is on a spending path that can rival the neighborhood retail chain is surely in for some trouble. Keeping up with the Joneses in this instance will run a home business into the ground long before it manages to take off in earnest.

How to Resist the Urge to Splurge

Home business owners should take a step back if they are in the habit of indulging in runaway spending. The following tips can help to fight the temptation to spend.

1. Realize that Expenses Must be Justified

In business, expenses must be used towards a particular end. If there is no real justification for the spending then it is just frivolous and will not contribute to increased sales or profits. Spending must be tied to an end result or business goal and then and only then should the purchase be made. Revisiting your home business goals frequently can make it easier to identify worthy spending.

2. Challenge Yourself to Find a Bootstrap Alternative

Home business owners should take up the challenge to find a cheaper alternative to established methods and techniques. For instance, there are many cost effective or even free ways to gain exposure and marketing leverage.

3. Learn to Recognize Value For Money

Finally, spending large amounts of money is not the only way to get a quality product or result. This type of price prejudice can be very costly because it blinds the home business owner to lower cost opportunities to achieve the same result.

How do you think home businesses can save without sacrificing the quality of their product or service?

Recommended Reading

Tips to Increase the Cash Flow of Your Business

The Benefits of Budgeting

Facial Masks are a Great Spa Business Service

There are many courses offered that provide training in the different methods and treatments in the art of relaxation and beauty and it is important to get qualified before you open for business so you can ensure you are delivering a quality service.

Home Spa Doesn’t Need a Huge Room

A luxurious spa doesn’t have to take up a lot of space either. All you really need is a dedicated room, preferably with a separate entrance and this space can be transformed into a little slice of heaven for your clients and a money making machine for yourself.

Be Selective of the Spa Services Offered

The key to maximizing your space is to be selective about the services you offer. For instance, you may not be able to fit a tanning bed, a massage bed and a manicure and pedicure station in your room with ample room to make the environment feel relaxed. Therefore it can help to focus on the services you think will really take off for your level of skill as well as for your target market.

Offer Massage at Home Spa Business

Set a Budget for Your Home Business Launch

Of course, you need to spend some time and money to transform your room into a spa retreat. Your clients should feel like they have stepped into a quiet and calming area where their troubles can instantly melt away.

A spa business must be planned from every angle, to determine the services, price points and marketing methods employed to get the word out. Everything must also be carefully examined to come up with a realistic budget.

For more information on setting up a spa business see How to Start a Spa Business.

What do you think of this business idea?

The Socially Responsible Entrepreneur from Blogtrepreneur was insightful and it made being green an effortless choice.

Business Owner’s Card Conundrum from Entrepreneur… discusses the toss up between using personal cards for business purposes or business cards that aren’t covered by the new laws.

Finding the Real Key Economic Indicators for Small Business again from Entrepreneur… important information to process.

Small Business to Start at Home from Create Liberty… manages to avoid giving actual ideas but still a worthwhile read.

Have a productive week readers!

No one can say that the characters of the Sopranos are a moral authority, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t a great resource for some very insightful principles.

When in Doubt… Ask for Advice

Tony Soprano, despite rising to the position of boss, was not averse to getting the opinions of others before making an important decision. Of course, his approach was always to disguise his indecision, but he still valued the opinion of others and appreciated that he may not always have the answer. This is priceless in a successful leader and business owner.

Respect is All Important

Tony Soprano demanded respect. Home business owners must seek to have the respect of its clients and employees (if any are hired) for the operation to reach its full potential. See The Dangers of Not Taking Your Home Business Seriously.

Think Before You Act

Despite being quick to anger Tony Soprano was a strategic thinker. He carefully thought about the consequences and counteractions of his decisions before he made a move. Home business owners would do well to mimic this trait and get in the habit of thinking things through before rushing to a decision.

Don’t Expect Things to Come Easy

Running a business is hard work. Tony often alluded to the fact that people didn’t understand the pressures of being boss not to mention his strained relationship with his mother and even father. In short, you may not have it easy, but home business owners should not be afraid of obstacles or hard work for that matter.

Family is What It’s All About

Finally, the overriding message throughout The Sopranos is that family is what it’s all about. Nothing is more important that your loved ones and this can be adapted directly into the life of the home business owner. Work can get out of hand, but always remember to rein it back into control so that you have time for your friends and family.

Recommended Reading

How to Choose a Successor for a Home Business

How Small Businesses Build Credibility

Challenges of Running a Home Business

Uncle Sam is Serious About Home Business Taxes

The tax season isn’t necessarily a joyous time of year, but home business owners who are familiar with some handy tax filling tips can usually survive tail in tact.

Of course, there are some general issues that every home business owner should be aware of. First of all, it is important to make sure your home business qualifies for some of the deductions you may already be counting on. To do this you must ensure that your ‘office’ is a dedicated space and has been used continuously for this purpose.

Tax Calculations Don't Have to Be Complex

Secondly, it is necessary to have proper records. Hopefully, last year’s spring cleaning didn’t get to the receipts and expense accounts that will be needed as proof of your claims. Many home business owners get caught unawares because they have either misplaced or discarded important documents. Don’t be one of them!

Finally, if you haven’t been introduced as yet, it’s time to get to know your common tax deductibles. This will help you to average your tax situation way ahead of time.

Related Article

A Guide to Home Business Taxes

Tax Tips for Small and Home Businesses

Starting a Daycare is Hard Work

Many children under six are taken care of by people other than their parents. This statement will continue to hold true as long are there is a prevalence of two-income families, where both parents must work outside the home.

Aspiring daycare owners should bear in mind though, that a daycare service is much more than simply monitoring the children so they don’t get into harm’s way. There is immense responsibility involved because not only are you in charge of several children at one time, but modern day mothers also expected their daycare service to consider their child’s early developmental needs.

If you are seriously thinking about starting a daycare service in your home there are a few things you need to consider. The article How to Start a Babysitting Business covers them all nicely.

Owning a Daycare Can Be Very Rewarding

There are also some general issues that should be factored into the entire equation. If you are going to become a homepreneur you should run through your Checklist for Starting a Home Business.

To that end, I’ve compiled a short list of fantastic reading material to supplement your daily or weekly reading digest.

SEO Tips that the Experts Don’t Always Tell You from The Small Business Blog

Best Small Business Franchise Ideas to Start from Home Based Small Business Ideas

Avoid Planning Paralysis with the One Page Business Plan from Blogtrepreneur

How Do You Budget? from PT Money

The Best Duration for a Podcast from Thinking Home Business

I hope you enjoy them as much as I did! If you have any suggestions of posts you’ve read then by all means share a link in a comment.

Look out for some more next Sunday!