There are so may options for those who want to start their own home business. It can be down right frustrating to see all the programs and new ones are coming out virtually every day.
Here are the six traps to avoid when you are looking to start your own home based business.
1. Is it really a home business?
Many companies advertise their business opportunity as a home business or a home based business. Make sure it really is a business which you do at you home. So many business opportunities require you to do presentations or parties, go to another location to visit potential customers, or actually have you delivering products to customers. These are not home businesses. A home business should be able to be run from your home 100% of the time if that is how you wish to run your business. Too many new entrepreneurs get started with a company only to realize what they did was bought a second shift job because now they are doing presentations or parties at night or on the weekend and then on top of that they need to deliver products to their customers which takes more nights and weekends.
2. Make sure you have enough capital to run your business for 6 months before you see a profit.
All over the internet you will see and hear stories of people starting a business and making thousands of dollars their first week. What these people neglect to tell you is they had a huge network or database of people they could put their business in front of immediately, or that this is not their first experience in business, or they pay someone to do areas of their business they are not good at or do not like, or they have a partner, etc. Do not expect to see huge results in any business in the first six months unless you bring a lot of experience and desire to the table. You must know your initial investment costs and your ongoing operating costs to run the business.
3. Understand the compensation plan before you purchase any home business.
The compensation plan is critical to your earnings. If a company will not share the all the details and nuances of the compensation plan then walk away from the company. You must know where the money comes from, how the money flows, what leverage is built into the plan, what qualifications must you meet to maximize the compensation plan, is qualification a one time requirement or monthly,how and how often you get paid, and is there any cap on your income. You should also make sure your sponsor is rewarded on your efforts, that way it instills teamwork instead of you becoming their competition. If team work is rewarded through the compensation plan then ongoing mentorship and training will be in place to help you be successful. If you are unable to clearly see and understand all this information about the compensation plan then walk away.
4. Is the market your business serves a shrinking or growing market?
You must do some independent analysis to ensure the market space you are entering is a growing market, not a saturated and shrinking market. It is also wise to ensure your business is global, that way you are not tied to a local or national economy.
5. In business today you must use a computer.
There are many people who will tell you computer knowledge is not needed. This is not true. If you are computer illiterate take the steps to learn at lease the basic skills so you can use tools to market your business ad keep in contact with prospects and customers. If anyone tells you a computer is not needed or you do not need computer skills walk away. You do not need to be a computer whiz, but you must be able to use tools and be comfortable with the computer if you want to make a significant or comfortable income.
6. Get into analysis paralysis and do not take action.
With so many business opportunities available it is easy to go into a deep analysis phase and never take action. This can kill any chance you have of being an entrepreneur. Before you set out to be a home business owner write down what you expect from a business, what characteristics you want your business to have, and why you want your own business (this is a big one). Once you understand all this it will narrow your search and speed your analysis. Remember you must take action to change your current circumstances.