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RedRobin
Forums Member
Joined: 26 Jul 2005
Posts: 43
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#1 · Posted: 23 Aug 2005 14:32
Hello There,
One thing I have learned from working at home is that starting a new business takes patience and time. You have to find good ways to advertise what you do without spending too much money. One piece of advice is not to quit your regular job until you have a clientelle base set up. Another is to have some money in savings to live on until your business takes off. You can also live on credit for a while (not my personal favorite, though I've used it personally in emergencies.) The Small Business Administration has some great advice at www.sba.gov. They have L0TS of advice, so bookmark this site for reference.
You have to be patient while you get a good name for your business by giving each patron of your business the very best customer service available. A big key to custormer service is remembering that old adage that the customer is always right. Also, don't forget to treat people the way they would like to be treated. As a custormer, you have had both good and bad experiences. Learn from those experiences, and treat your customer in positive ways. In good time, news of your excellent service will spread, and people will share information about you with their friends. You may need to look into a variety of ways to advertise, such as direct marketing, post cards, posters, notifying local businesses of your service via postcard or letter. I have found various ways of Internet advertising to be very successfull, and am thankful to Internet employment agencies that have advertisement for work at home folks. Just watch out for those scammers!!!
If anyone out there has any other ideas or advice for starting your work at home business, please share with us here at the forum.
Thanks
RedRobin
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twnuck
Forums Member
Joined: 13 Nov 2005
Posts: 119
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#2 · Posted: 15 Nov 2005 00:43
RedRobin,
That is great advice and the SBA does have a lot of good tips for all. I think the most important thing for me to remind myself is NEVER QUIT. Once I have a proven plan in place don't stop and get derailed. It's so easy to lose faith when you have a bump in the road. And sometimes I find myself going off course because I read something and want to jump on it before it's too late 
The bottom line is create a plan, work the plan and reap the benefits. If you believe in what you do you cannot fail!
Todd
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RedRobin
Forums Member
Joined: 26 Jul 2005
Posts: 43
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#3 · Posted: 19 Nov 2005 21:03
Hi Todd
I totally agree. I find that I spread my self too thin and can't keep proper track of what I'm working at. I have to stop every once and a while and regroup. Sometimes I have to check my priorities. I am with you. I believe that you should pick one or two things you'd really like to try and enjoy working at at home, then go for it for a while (like 6 months to a year). It always takes a while to grow a client base, but reasonable prices and excellent service will add to your business quicker than you think. What every you decide to do, do it with all of your might, give it your best try, and usually it will be successful eventually.
Robin
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A8ch
Joined: 24 Jun 2005
Posts: 856
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#4 · Posted: 20 Nov 2005 13:27 · Edited by: A8ch
Excellent point Robin. Patience is definitely a critical quality to have if one is serious about making a living online. The learning curve cannot be avoided and it takes however long it takes.
Too often people are looking for the quick solution. They may even have some early success, which is mostly due to luck. But when the real challenge pops up (and it's inevitable), they easily get frustrated and soon give up in disgust because they are simply lost. They have no clue how to overcome the challenge. Why? They never did their homework.
And Todd, reminding yourself to never quit is a good habit which will work wonders for you eventually. Persistence naturally follows patience.
If a plan doesn't work out how you had intended, don't get upset, get smart. Study the situation to discover what went wrong, then try something different, as many times as you have to, until you get the results you want. The answers are always there, you've just got to find them.
It also helps to be organized and disciplined. I find it useful to create a system that keeps me focused on the important tasks I need to do to reach my goals. The more I use the system, the easier it is to get things done.
And when I start seeing better and better results without more and more effort, it does wonders for my enthusiasm.
Hermas
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