How to start an at home business

Here Peter Hanley looks at how to start an at home business and importantly have some chance of making a success of it and pulling in some money.

At home, businesses start with an idea.

Anyone can put a shingle out the front saying “MY NEW BUSINESS HERE”
You may need to get a government licence and a few bits, pay some tax along the way
and you are off and going.

The problem is what business are you going to run and I find most people struggle with this and how to get it going.

The three basic areas are:

Labour-based pay by the hour work in your area, making and building things.

Multi-Level marketing with products by others. Tupperware, Bessemer, Nu-Skin, Herbalife etc

Internet-based selling to the world.
Affiliate marketing
Blogging
Writing
Social media
Email and SMS
Online shop
YouTube
SEO
Local directories
Coaching, training and courses
Software products.

How to start an at home business — Where do we start

The above are just a few examples of where you can go with this.
I have friends that do Gardening and Cleaning. others that do Herbalife and Tupperware plus a lot of online stuff in marketing and social media.

Your choice depends on the skills that you possess and whilst you can work to your strengths you can also go exploring.

I started on the internet to learn ways to promote my daily business. However, I got sick of paying people that told me stories, took my money, and delivered little. I wanted to be able to tell them what I wanted.

Telling you how to do hourly work is a waste of time because you know what to do and you can do your searches in the community to find customers and value your time.

Is MLM a good way to make a living?

Multi-Level Marketing

Many will tell you that they have made a fortune doing this, although I believe most work their butts off to break even.
Don't get me wrong I have a cupboard full of Tupperware and Take Herbalife pills so I believe many of the products are really good.
Pyramid selling is illegal and most of these businesses have been pursued for sometime about the selling process. Good lawyers and a bundle of money have supported the cause as a good industry.

Before you commit your money and time ask around and see what is happening. Attend a meeting and ask real questions, Do you make money? The answer will most likely be yes, but dig deeper to find the real return per hour and what you need to put out.
It is good for some personality types but for most of us, I believe the return is not commensurate with the effort.

Your internet journey for new starters

You can see from the list above that there are just so many things you can do and like anything you will need some training.
Perhaps you send kids to university for 3-5 years to learn how to work and expect to pick up everything on the internet in a day. We all wish it was like that plus no need to spend any money as we search for the fabled Money Tree. Look under Easter Bunny and The Tooth Fairy for your answers.

However, there is good news if you follow my lead and that is to really narrow down what you want to do. Anyone can achieve a result in a short time

Every business needs customers. Your job is to find them

You may want just one customer or many thousand however without a customer you have nothing but an Idea.

For all my days of selling Insurance at the start of my career, you were taught to target friends and family. That was a great idea as I ran out of friends because they avoided me like the plague. An early lesson is to not lean on those close to you.

In your local community, there are probably several hundred businesses all needing some sort of support. These are the ones you can go up to and pitch a proposal. You won't get them all but 1% is still two customers and you would be away.

Using the internet is similar, it is just a matter of getting in front of people, albeit invisible ones, to do a pitch.

You will learn SEO and Keywords to attract customers in their hundreds.

Now to a choice on the Internet that will build a business.

The best businesses are those that provide repeat income every month. This way you are building a long-term financial plan and regular payments.

We want a business, not just a job, but a business that will give long-term security and provide a position in society of respect and ability with what you do.

I have written quite a bit on this and you will see some of them at the top of the page.

My choices are, the sound of drums:
1) Affiliate marketing
2) Email and newsletters
3) Blogging
4) Social media

Affiliate marketing is the best starting opportunity

Before we start I would like you to do some basic training in Marketing 101 in WA

Wealthy Affiliate will teach you for free where to start and how to build your future.

Selling other people's stuff and getting paid is easy money especially when it is paid every month.
I can show you any number of programs including Amazon but without the basics, you have no chance.

You call up or email a nice program and say “hi there can I be an affiliate?” and they respond “of course” tells us how you are going to sell and what results do you expect?
Jaw drop from you, Dunno, but I am keen.
” Ok when you get a bit of experience call us back” Don't you hate rejection?

Click on the above and have a look, no payment is required. Go to the comments and see what the members say and perhaps do one of the training courses as a tryout.
You can stay a free member, with a free website for life or upgrade to the 50 website package at anytime.

Yes, I am pitching this to you but for a very good reason. Without some basics, you will waste a whole bundle of time and money jumping from pillar to post. Hey, I have done it all along the way so I am trying to save you money and time.

Emails, newsletters, and local directories

This is one for local and not-so-local businesses. Every business needs to do this to attract and keep business but they are too busy.

Here you have a big pool of products that can be sold to any business.

Facebook
Instagram
YouTube
Twitter
And all the others that require constant updates and management as well as advertising

Local directories are a quiet contender

In your area, there are probably 100 local directories available for any business. No, they don't generate a heap of business but when people Google a business the directories are all on the first page.
Your job is to do it for the business, this could be free entry until you get their trust and support for that monthly allowance in well-paid regular billing products.

Things you will need from the business;

2-3 Business listing titles
Submission email address
Business contact email address
Your Business Phone Number
Social media links
2-3 unique business descriptions (Typically 200 words max)
Square logo image (300px is best viewed on most websites)
5 business-related images
Business ABN

Now search Google for all the keywords in your area and write a list of directories.
Then it is a matter of posting them.

However, do not pay for any listings until you prove the traffic flow. Stats are available and you can share them with the business. Most will come from the top two or three.

An example for your local hardware store
google shovels in your town or area. I just picked up six on the first page.

This is really very easy and you build a know-like and trust association

Does blogging earn you any money?

The answer is probably no unless you have a particular skill or solution that everyone wants. However, when you build a bit of traffic you can see the money curve.
First from affiliate links and then from advertisers that pay to be on your site. Some of the highest-paid people are bloggers mostly on gaming, music, etc.
If you are a good writer and have a cause do some basic training and turn it into money