How much do you spend on a home based business

In 2006 I bought a small business. With all the legal, and moving expenses, it ended up costing $120,000. I sold the equipment off and farmed out all the most of the work, in the USA by the way. When the economy was good we would do $100,000 in sales with about 20 to 25% margins. All my friends thought I had done real well making a gross profit (before taxes) of $20,000/year with a $120,000 investment. The economy is bad now, and our sales are $60-80,000.Not so good anymore.
So when I hear someone on here say they would not spend a few hundred dollars for a home business, I wonder how they can succeed with such a low level of commitment. I understand if you don't have the money, you don't have the money. And you should NEVER borrow all the money to buy a business. If you don't have at least 50% of the capital, you should not start, one of the reasons most businesses fail is they are under funded, and cannot make through a rough patch, like we are currently in. If I had borrowed the money to buy my little business, and had a big nut to meet every month, I would be in trouble right now when sales are very slow.
So I think if you have the money, and you have done your research and know for SURE that the online, MLM, home based, or any other business is not a scam, there is nothing wrong paying for a home based business, it doesn't matter if its $10.00 or $1,000, your biggest loss will always be all the time you invest .And don't forget your opportunity costs, what if you spend all you can afford on a home based business, and a month later a better one comes along.
Do your homework, and make sure you get what you are paying for,
Also make sure the business suits you, your lifestyle, and your needs.
You must be 100% committed to your business, and to me that means invested, financially and emotionally, if not your business will not make it.

 

There are a lot of people who come here and online in general and want to make money. They want to improve their life and earn more money. They are pretty passionate about it but when it comes to investing money, they either run away or say that you can not make money online.

In order to make money online, you do need to invest money.

You need some great training.
You need a website.
You need hosting for you website.
You need money to advertise.

To make money online, it DOES TAKE MONEY TO MAKE MONEY.

It is as simple as that.

Tal

 

I agree 100% talfighel, I have never been afraid to put my money where my mouth is, and sometimes it doesn't work out. But even Warren Buffet losses money some times.

 

Keep in mind that people look into working from home when they are already in a bad shape, otherwise if they have the business vision they would go for a small business as you did.

These days I am too sick to work (that's why I am here ), so I am just going through my DVD library, including Frank Kern's DVDs, one of them was about Core Influence.

To summarize what I took out of it, you need to be able to draw a picture for your prospect, and live their problem(s) if you want to get through to their "core" personality and be able to sell them your stuff.

My picture of a home business prospect is someone who lost a job and has commitment to a take care of a family (or even themselves). They are also scared to fail or spend their savings (or get in dept) and end up with nothing to show up for their investments. They also had never been in business before.

What you are talking about is an entrepreneur who is ready to venture in any direction because they know (or they think they know) what they are doing. Those are usually ready with a business plan, on which they can get financial aid from their government or a bank, and they know their exits when things go wrong.

 

I take your point yahi, but what I wanted to get across that even though I spent what was for me a LOT of money, the returns are not all that great 20 to 25%. So if you can buy a on line business for $1,000 and the next six months make $2,000 (if that's possible) you would pay for your business and make %100 returns. Which in the bricks and mortar world of business is impossible. I'm afraid that the internet and the world of online businesses has a lot of people out there who are looking for people who are desperate. And many get fleeced, if only out of a little it's still usually more than they can afford. I am not saying that if you want to do online surveys for $50/month or do the $2 gifting deal that you shouldn't, if you are very broke (and I've been there) $50/month may help a lot.
I just don't think we should lump any home business with what seems like a high buy in price as a scam.
I am not in bad shape, ( not in great shape either) but I want an online business, or an MLM because I think it makes good business sense, and I am tired of going out and making sales calls in a climate where few are buying. I have been sales for 25 years, and never seen it this hard to sell. So I am looking for options, and am willing to spend a little if I have to.

 

How much you spend depends on the opportunity, and the products that are sold. I would't put up a bunch of money up front to join some obscure business without a well recognized product - that, in my opinon, is why most people fail because whatever company they join has a lame product that has zero brand recognition (which is the case for many MLMs). For example, even though I'm not a MLMer, I will probably join Beachbody because they have products like P-90X, which people recognize - that has a lot more appeal to most people than some obscure vitamin or other "health" product that no one has head about.

 

Sad but true. It'd never been harder. Luckily the overhead costs of online business are tiny, advertising is more cost effective than offline branding type of advertising, and even if you don't make it just sell your website and do something else. The website alone could be worth thousands in some cases, so there is no real loss if you structure it right.

 

getagrip
Is Beachbody a MLM? My wife likes that kind of stuff. We were in Nikken a few years ago, and she really liked the vitamins, but the magnets were crazy expensive, and I wasn't sure they worked. She had about a dozen distributors, who used mostly just the vitamins. she may like to get back into something if it is something she likes. I had a hard time selling the program. I really have to believe in something to sell it.

 

Buddy: I really have to believe in something to sell it.

This is the difference between success and failure. And I mean being happy with what you are doing, not ashamed of it and hiding behind a pin name.

 

Well, if you must go that route because you have little to no funds, I can suggest joining "Clickbank" as an affiliate (free), choosing a product to sell, get your "personal link" so you will make a profit from any sales you make. Then go to WordPress and sign up for a blog page (free), and write a story that would lead to your product's solution... do this without naming the product (don't spam), then in the signature box, offer your name and the Clickbank link that will solve this problem.

After that you can join some of the social networks and talk about this ebook or program in Clickbank that you are the affiliate for.

This may get you started earning money the free way, but this also depends on 1) the product you choose, 2) how good a story you write and 3) any traffic that results from your efforts.

Good Luck,

 

Buddy

At the end of the day you have to believe in what you are promoting, Me and my girlfriend went through 3 other MLM type businesses that did not work and we didn't believe in. We lost some money but we still kept looking as she stays at home to watch our 3 kids. So she wanted to find something to do from home to help out with the bills. She found something great that works for her and that we both like. So there are legit opportunities out there but its just finding the right fit for you and your wife.

 

My monthly outgoings on my business are very small compared to my income.

If you follow the right training, work hard and are committed you will succeed without spending a fortune.

 

Hard core bum marketer here. I am not rich, but I make money. I have spent under a $100.00 in about 18 months. My business is growing so I consider that making it, maybe just not as fast as some.

Yahia mentioned Core Influence by Frank Kern. That is sort of the key to bum marketing I think.

 

Its perfectly possible to start building a business online with little or no money, in fact it may even be much wiser to do that at the start.

The MAJOR investment at the start has to be in education in my opinion.

Learn the ropes, make some mistakes, clunk around trying to sell affiliate products by just spamming links like 10 million others.

Then, you will either give up, together with 95% of others, or the lightbulb will come on and you will learn to build a BUSINESS. At this point you may wish to invest actual hard earned Dinero!!!

 

I agree with you oppoo99. The first thing to do when wanting to create an online business is to educate yourself. Then, after learning the process learning what to do, you apply what you have learnt and observe the consequences. In a short time you will manage to create an thriving online business.

And although money is not required to start and online business it sure helps. But the costs are far smaller than starting a real business and you can earn far more.

 

I have been in several home based business plus brick and motar type business. I can relate to all that has been said. I have been in MLM's even before they became popular and before the internet. None of them made me any real money and once you stopped doing it, the money disappeared as well. It does take money up front in any legit company. I am not saying that scams don;t ask for money too. What I look for is the prouduct, the money involved and the hidden cost if there are any and the comp plan. I have found what works for me but it took alot of tire kicking and experience to figure it out. As a matter of fact I had pretty much given up looking for anything and then I came across the one I am in now and as they say the rest is history. The comp plan is simple, no autoship, no meetings to go to, The cost is low and all the training and support is free. So I looked at all of it.

You have to look at your personality as well. I knew what I didn't want to do anymore and what I was willing to do and I found it. Plus the fact that it has residual monthly income which is an important factor. I am getting lazy in my old age I dont' want to keep doing the same thing I eventually want to enjoy my efforts!

Also know that business is not built overnight it take time and effort KNOW THAT UP FRONT. There is no way to get around that. I get so tired of hearing about we will do it all for you. Then why do they need you Probably just want your money and hope you don't read the fine print.

Maybe some of the things that I have mentioned here will help you look for a good business on or offline.

 

I have been trying mlms for quite a while and most of them make unrealistic promises. As getagrip pointed out most have products that nobody recognise or want to buy. There are however good investments out there, one that will give you value for your money but as I have been stressing, and as Buddy stated, you have to do your homework and make sure you know what you are buying into.

 

Please bear with me as I give an overview to get to my question. As some of you would know, I have been in the direct selling world for three decades. This year I have joined a very good company with quality products: the selling method is direct via distributors and the payment method is mlm. It is a product based opportunity which suits me as I am used to working as a manager with sales representatives. I have started my first level and are building reasonably well so I should have an basic income next year. In other words this is my "safe" world.
BUT and here is my question: I have this sneaky feeling that there might be another opportunity out there - in this new world of internet. As said before I am willing to learn and have started a facebook Page which is slowly growing. Now I read above about things like clickbank and wordpress (wordpress I understand is a blogging site). I feel a bit stupid to ask the questions but I really need someone to explain it in 101 terms. What is clickbank? How do you "join" it? Is it safe? How do you link clickbank to a blog? Must you have and use a credit card (which I am scared to do). How do you get paid by these sites?
I trust there is a brave soul who can answer my really ignorant questions.
I am in New Zealand if that is of any relevance. Thanks and really hoping to learn more.

 

I would never have been able to afford starting an offline business like the one Buddy mentioned. And to be honest, now that I've learned how to build an online business, I wouldn't want to go offline - I'm a homebody at heart.

My initial investment to my online business was $299 for the first year. It returned $1500, so I was quite happy with that - for starters. Once I realized that it worked, I knew it would just get better and better.

As my online business expanded, I've increased my expenses to about $2500 per year - but I make more than that back in one month - so it's better than ever.

My biggest expense was my time expense. I followed the SBI program to the letter (nearly) because I wanted to be sure I did it right and achieved the desired results. They take the tortoise philosophy to heart and I believed that they were offering a real solution to online business building, so I adapted that philosophy wholeheartedly. It's paid off tremendously.

I'm VERY tight when it comes to money, so investing $299 in an education/business was a leap of faith to begin with. But I figured I'd at least end up with an education even if I didn't do well with the business side of things. I'm happy I got both!

I AM in a couple of MLM's myself, but I don't really promote them as a way to start. My personal experience is that it's a lot harder to build an online business in network marketing than it is in affiliate marketing or service selling, etc.

I happen to like the products, so that's why I've chosen to be in these two companies, but my online income is primarily from affiliate marketing.

Finding what is right for you is important. I much prefer online sales and marketing to offline marketing and promotion. Some people really enjoy offline selling. To each his own.

Blessings,
Angie

 

ElizabethFM: Now I read above about things like clickbank and wordpress (wordpress I understand is a blogging site). I feel a bit stupid to ask the questions but I really need someone to explain it in 101 terms. What is clickbank? How do you "join" it? Is it safe? How do you link clickbank to a blog? Must you have and use a credit card (which I am scared to do). How do you get paid by these sites?
I trust there is a brave soul who can answer my really ignorant questions.
Hi Elizabeth,

No bravery needed! All this stuff is confusing at first, isn't it?! Believe it or not, the fog eventually lifts and things begin to make more sense as you go along.

Clickbank is a website where people who have digital products for sale (ebooks, software, membership sites, etc.) can list them for sale offering a commission to others who are willing to promote the products for them.

For instance, if I had written an ebook that I wanted to sell, I could pay Clickbank to allow me to list it in their marketplace. I would offer a commission (maybe 50-75%) to those who refer my book and make sales.

THEN, other people like you could sign up to Clickbank for free and go through the marketplace to find products you would like to promote.

If you found my book and wanted to promote it, you'd simply get a special tracking link (so I'd know it was you who referred the customer) and promote the book on your website, blog, twitter, facebook, etc. If sales were made, you would earn the appropriate commission.

Clickbank itself tracks the sales and handles the money. They pay me my portion and they pay you your portion. They send payments only after you reach a particular threshhold of earnings. If I remember correctly, they won't send your first check until you've made at least $100.

You don't have to have a credit card to join or promote Clickbank. It's free. You just go to clickbank.com and sign up. If you earn money, they can issue you a check, or make a deposit into your bank account.

There is a lot more that can be said about how to use Clickbank, but if you go to the site itself, they will have some tutorial information there. You can also probably Google "how to make money with clickbank" or something like that and get a lot more info. I wouldn't pay for anything on that subject because there is enough free information on the subject.

I only promote a couple of Clickbank products related to my website niche topics. Most of my affiliate commissions come from promoting hard goods (not digital products). Either way, there is a lot of money to be made once you build a suitable traffic base either via a website or through list building.

This isn't exhaustive info. by any means, but I hope it at least helps you get a better idea of what it's all about.

Blessings,
Angie