How to Stay Focused on Your Home Business Goals

By Hendra Subrata Liu

When you are the owner of a home business, you will find
hundreds of distractions that vie for your time, energy and
focus.

Common distractions include: children, family, friends,
neighbors, pets, phone calls, mail, household chores, video
games, television, neighborhood children, visitors, and so many
more.

As an owner of a home based business, you must always remember
your purpose in bringing your profession home. What was your
reason for wanting to own a home business? Was your goal to work
from home so that you can share in the lives of your children?
Was your goal to be out from under the rule of a tyrannical
boss? Was your goal to have the freedom to work when it is
convenient for you? Was your goal to make tons of money working
for yourself?

Here`s a few good tips that will help you stay focused on your
home business:

TIP #1:
Whatever your reason for going out on your own, you must keep
your reason in the forefront of your mind. If you forget your
reason for starting your own home business, you will not be
working for yourself for long. It is far too easy to let
circumstance drive your activities --- and when circumstance is
in the driver`s seat, you are more likely to crash and burn.

TIP #2:
Remember --- your own business is a lot like a real job. Some
people go to work to play, some go to socialize, and others ---
most often those who are paid in a commission or tip environment
--- go to work to work and to make money. When you work for
yourself, your salary is directly proportional to your
productivity. Therefore, wouldn`t it make sense to stay focused
on getting as much done in as short of a period as possible?

Go to work to work and to make money. Leave playtime and
recreation for when your workday has ended.

TIP #3:
When you are dealing with family in the course of your workday,
it is important to schedule your activities as much as possible.
With small children, you must take time when you must, but you
should also work hard to make sure you dedicate a specific
number of hours to your workday.

With older children, it is much easier to tell them that you
will be working between the hours of x and y. Your children and
your friends must understand that certain hours of your day are
devoted to the activities of your business.

TIP #4:
Don`t permit your friends and extended family to run over you.
Many people get the blind idea that if one works from home then
they are not actually working.

Well-meaning people may try to fill your doorway to bring advice
about getting a real job. Others may simply believe that if you
are at home, then you are fair game for chitchat and
socialization.

You must stand firm. You must make certain your friends and
family understands that when you are working, then you ARE
working! If they wish to socialize with you, then they need to
do it during the hours that are not dedicated to your home
business.

You are the only one who can stand up for you. Your friends and
family will seldom be able to appreciate your dedication to your
home business, unless you make the effort to make sure that they
have the same respect for your business that you do.

TIP #5:
You should allot a certain portion of your day to email and to
regular mail. For example, allot one hour in the morning and one
hour in the afternoon to handling your written communications.

Unless you dedicate certain times to the handling of these
communications, you will soon find yourself on the downward
slope of decreased productivity.

TIP #6:
When you find yourself spending too much time doing
non-productive activities, then you should seriously consider
finding a third-party service provider who will assist you in
those non-profitable business activities.

As an example, you might be in the mail-order business. You
might believe that your time is best spent writing ad copy and
setting up your advertising, but you find yourself spending far
too much time taking care of your books to take care of your
advertising in the manner that you should. In this event, it
might make more sense to hire a bookkeeper to handle your
financial records for you.

CONCLUSION:
In the end, the success of your home business is entirely and
completely reliant upon you and the decisions that you make.

You had your reasons for deciding to start your own home based
business. You must always keep your reasons in the forefront of
your mind. You must always be able to rely upon your own self
and your dedication to the success of your business.

Your friends and family might be annoyed that they cannot come
visit upon their own whim, but when success comes to you and
your business, they will better appreciate you for putting your
foot down when necessary.

Success is within your reach, if only you can stay focused on
your goals. You must decide to reach for your goals, and then,
you must have the discipline necessary to reach them.


Quote of the Day:
"The only way of finding the limits of the possible is by
going beyond them into the impossible." -- Arthur C. Clarke

About the author:
To find the best home based business ideas and opportunities so you can work at home visit:
http://www.digitalphotography-camera.com/store
http://www.digitalphotography-camera.com
http://www.pandanwangi.pobs.me
http://www.homebizrevelations.blogspot.com
http://www.healthismorepreciousthanwealth.blogspot.com

How to Win the Advertising and Promotion Game

By Hendra Subrata Liu

I am certain that, as a business owner, you have often
entertained the question as to how much to spend and where to
spend your advertising dollars. For most small business owners,
these questions can add to the headaches suffered in the course
of normal everyday operations of their business.

THERE ARE NO SIMPLE ANSWERS

The how much to spend and where to spend it questions have no
easy answers.

Depending on your type of business, many people suggest that the
*how much* should be equal to anywhere from 4% to 10% of your
gross receipts.

The quandary is that a business cannot survive without a fresh
flow of incoming customers. But, a business can seldom generate
a fresh stream of customers without spending money to get the
word out about their business.

THE CHALLENGE OF DEVELOPING EFFECTIVE ADVERTISING

Have you ever paid for advertising and sat back to await the
fresh flow of customers, only to find yourself sitting and
sitting and then sitting some more?

Don't feel bad about that. It has happened to many of us before.

See, knowing where to spend the advertising money is not enough
to get the job done.

Where to spend the money only begins to highlight the other
issues connected with advertising:

· Marketing Plan
· Advertising Strategy
· Headlines, Ad Copy and Visual Presentation
· Tracking the Success of Your Advertising Campaigns

THE MARKETING PLAN

The Marketing Plan is used primarily to identify your own
products and services, costs, strengths, weaknesses and the
strengths and weaknesses of your competitors.

ADVERTISING STRATEGY

It is important to understand what you expect to gain from your
advertising.

Do you simply wish to get your name known so that when your
customer will need you, they will think of you first? Or, do you
wish to get your customers in your front door on Saturday?

Do you want your customers to come in and take a look around to
discover the next object that they cannot live without? Or, do
you want them to come in and buy a specific widget?

Do you hope that enough people will come in to buy enough
products or services to pay for your single ad? Or, do you
expect to gain a lifelong customer who will help pay for your
advertising over the course of several years?

When you know what you want, then you will better understand
just how to do it.

HEADLINES, AD COPY AND VISUAL PRESENTATION

You might be surprised how many business owners put out
advertising without regard for the quality of the sales pitch or
presentation. The quality of your distribution outlet or the
amount of money you spent to get there will do little for you if
the advertising vehicle is a junker.

Test all of your advertising materials in smaller markets before
blowing your advertising bank roll on it. You must absolutely
know the value of your advertising before putting large sums of
money behind it.

TRACKING THE SUCCESS OF YOUR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS

Tell your customers to save another 10% when they tell you they
heard or saw your ad in such-and-such location. Suggest that
they can register to win a free widget if they fill out a form
and have them to tell you how they heard of your business.
Advertise a specific widget in your ad and track the sales of
that widget.

It does not matter how you track your advertising --- just make
sure you do it!

IN SUMMARY

The ideal way to spend your advertising budget is to buy a rifle
with a high-powered scope and to only shoot your targets in the
light of day.

If you are not tracking your advertising, then you are shooting
a pellet gun without an attached scope, with blinders on, and
shooting in the dead darkness of night.

Even with a bigger gun, the blinders in the dark constitute the
single largest mistake made by advertisers. If you are unable to
track your advertising to learn what is working well, what is
working somewhat, and what is a money pit, then you are
condemned to repeat your mistakes over and again.

By relying only on gut instinct, you may be choosing to spend
more money in the money pit and to lose all of your money in the
process.

When you get down to the nuts and bolts of making money from
your advertising, you should plan, prepare, track and study your
results. You must have factual information on which to base your
advertising decisions. When you are making the right advertising
decisions, then making money from your business might just come
easy.

Quote of the Day:
"Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough;
we must do." -- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

About the author:
To find the best home based business ideas and opportunities so you can work at home visit:
http://www.digitalphotography-camera.com/store
http://www.digitalphotography-camera.com
http://www.pandanwangi.pobs.me
http://www.homebizrevelations.blogspot.com
http://www.healthismorepreciousthanwealth.blogspot.com