You may be thinking about starting a home business in order to supplement your income or replace lost wages during the recession, but the idea of spending a lot of time or money may be daunting to you. The good news is that starting a home business doesn't have to be time consuming or expensive. Following are some simple steps to take to start a home business in two weeks or less.
The first step in starting a home business is to decide upon an area of business to pursue. A home business can be anything from traditional businesses like tutoring, babysitting or housecleaning to new businesses based on the existence of the Internet, like Web 2.0 marketing or search engine optimization. The latter businesses have a lot of competition because there is so much demand for these services, but if you can excel at them you can really make money quickly.
Having a good website will give you a real advantage, and you need every advantage you can get during the current recession, when people pick and choose very carefully about where to spend their money. A professional looking website will give your customers confidence in your ability to deliver.
Even if you don't know how to do this yourself, though, starting a home business in two weeks or less is really within the realm of possibility. There are web hosting sites that will allow you to create your own website with templates for a small fee, or if you want to go all out for a custom site, shop around and you can find one that will do it for fewer than five hundred dollars. Such companies have to offer quick turnaround to be competitive.
While you're waiting for your website to go up, the next step in starting a home business is to advertise it. You can do this through traditional print media like business cards, flyers, or an ad in the local paper, or online through pay-per-click ads, blog comments, posting in forums and social networking sites.
You can also promote your website and business online through commenting on blogs, using e-mail sigs, and posting on forums. This needs to be done very carefully, as overuse of such tactics can look like spam. However, if your comments are spaced out well and add value, it's a good way to find customers who are interested in the topic of your choice.
Be sure not to do this too early before the website is up, though, as people get turned off by clicking on a link and finding "site under construction." One way to get around this problem is to post a countdown clock that says, "X days 'til launch!"
Finally, when starting a home business you need be prepared to service your customers. When selling products, be certain that you can get the product in hand and handle the shipping before you start advertising a website. If you're providing a service, be confident that you can handle high demand, or if you can't handle it personally, that you have people who can help you with it. When starting a home business it's necessary to plan for success!
The first step in starting a home business is to decide upon an area of business to pursue. A home business can be anything from traditional businesses like tutoring, babysitting or housecleaning to new businesses based on the existence of the Internet, like Web 2.0 marketing or search engine optimization. The latter businesses have a lot of competition because there is so much demand for these services, but if you can excel at them you can really make money quickly.
Having a good website will give you a real advantage, and you need every advantage you can get during the current recession, when people pick and choose very carefully about where to spend their money. A professional looking website will give your customers confidence in your ability to deliver.
Even if you don't know how to do this yourself, though, starting a home business in two weeks or less is really within the realm of possibility. There are web hosting sites that will allow you to create your own website with templates for a small fee, or if you want to go all out for a custom site, shop around and you can find one that will do it for fewer than five hundred dollars. Such companies have to offer quick turnaround to be competitive.
While you're waiting for your website to go up, the next step in starting a home business is to advertise it. You can do this through traditional print media like business cards, flyers, or an ad in the local paper, or online through pay-per-click ads, blog comments, posting in forums and social networking sites.
You can also promote your website and business online through commenting on blogs, using e-mail sigs, and posting on forums. This needs to be done very carefully, as overuse of such tactics can look like spam. However, if your comments are spaced out well and add value, it's a good way to find customers who are interested in the topic of your choice.
Be sure not to do this too early before the website is up, though, as people get turned off by clicking on a link and finding "site under construction." One way to get around this problem is to post a countdown clock that says, "X days 'til launch!"
Finally, when starting a home business you need be prepared to service your customers. When selling products, be certain that you can get the product in hand and handle the shipping before you start advertising a website. If you're providing a service, be confident that you can handle high demand, or if you can't handle it personally, that you have people who can help you with it. When starting a home business it's necessary to plan for success!
About the Author:
Danielle Martensen is a published author, advisor and co-founder of DebtCollectionSteps, a website born out of her interest in business debt collection agency services. Possibly you have a passion, hobby, or interest in something that can be turned it into a MONEY-MAKING website and home-based business. as well.
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