Home Business Tips, Strategies and Growth Ideas
Whether you're new to freelancing or have been doing it for years, your number one concern is staying profitable. These seven tips can help you run a profitable freelancing business.
Working from home seems like a dream come true to many, but it's not without problems. Here are five tips to help you win at working from home.
As the number of self-employed increases, so, too, does the competition for work. Here's a look at today's challenges for people who work for themselves along with some solutions for overcoming the problems.
Work at home and business opportunity scams rob unsuspecting victims of millions of dollars a year. Con artists use deception, misrepresentation, and fraud to get you to part with your hard earned money. Use these guidelines to steer clear of fraudulent bizops and work from home scams.
Self-employment is a source of income for more than 24 million workers in the US. Some are full-time self-employed, others are gig workers, work for themselves part-time or freelance occasionally. Here are traits they share.
Starting down a new career path can be both exciting and terrifying, especially if your chosen "career path" is being an entrepreneur and running a home-based business. Below are five questions to ask yourself to help you determine what type of business might be right for you.
Working from home seems like the perfect win-win situation - until you realize just how many different things compete for your attention throughout the day. Here's how you can cut down distractions and be more productive when you work from home.
There’s a perfect storm brewing for people who work in a home office. Don’t bother to check the skies outside your window; if it hits, it’ll most likely strike inside. We're talking about on the job injuries - in your own home.
Need office space because you've outgrown your home office or because you can't run your business from home? Consider these home office alternatives.
A disorganized office makes you less productive and can contribute to stress. Even if you don't consider yourself a "neat freak," getting organized can really pay off. These 10 tips can help you organize your home office.
Working for yourself gives you a freedom you can't get when you're working for someone else. It also means that if you don't work (or spend too much time on non-work tasks), you don't get paid. Here are six ways you can be more productive so your income doesn't suffer.
The kids are out of school and you hear the pool calling your name... but your home business still needs as much of your attention as ever. Here are six tips work-at-home moms and dads can use to keep their businesses running smoothly over the summer months.
Keeping your work life separate from your home life when you run a home business is difficult to do. However, for the sake of your own sanity, and for the good of your family, it's necessary. These tips take you through each area of your business and show you how to set boundaries that will help.
For a home business, properly managing cash flow is vitally important to keeping your business up and running. Here are ways you can keep your cash flow positive.
It's not always convenient or safe to meet clients in your home office when you work from home. Here are a few ideas for professional locations for your next client meeting.
Freelancing is a great way to be self-employed when you've got a skill that other businesses need. Here are 8 tips to follow that can make your freelance venture a success.
If you work from home, or are thinking about it, you've probably come across one or more of these myths. Get the real story about working from home here.
Have you outgrown your home office? Here are five signs that you might need to move your business out of your house and into its own space.
Working from home is the dream of many would-be entrepreneurs, but it doesn't come without its downfalls. This advice can help you deal with the cons to make your home business a success.
Buying a home-based franchise could be your ticket to having your own home business. But how do you know which ones are legitimate, and how do you choose the one that's right for you? Use these tips to analyze home-based franchise opportunities so you make the best choice.
You had high hopes when you started your home business, but customers have been few and far between. How can you keep your home business dreams alive? What are successful home businesses doing that you aren't doing? Here are several suggestions to help.
Working from home definitely has its perks, but one of the drawbacks is that people sometimes think you aren't really working that hard and therefore don't take you seriously. Here are a few tips for counteracting the negative assumptions your customers might have about home based businesses.
The IRS is making it easier for home businesses to take the home office deduction. An optional new method for computing the deduction will save taxpayers time and effort.
When you run a home business, you need to advertise as much as other businesses, but chances are you don't have the same size advertising budget. Here are eight home business marketing ideas that can help you get the word out without going broke.
High heating costs are a drag on everyone's budget during late fall and winter. When you work from home, you need the heat at a comfortable range all day long - and that get expensive! Use these tips to keep the high cost of heating oil from cutting into your profits this winter.
Running a home business when you have small children presents a unique set of challenges. But what if you and your spouse each had a home business? And you had not one but four small children at home? Here are five tips from a home business owner in that exact situation.
Working at home with young children under foot presents a unique set of challenges. Here are three things you can do keep your kids happy and your business running smoothly.
Working at home can be lonely. It can also cause you to lose perspective. Don't let home office isolation get you down. Here are easy ways to combat the problem.
To make your home business successful, you need a game plan. Start your home business on the right foot with a plan that addresses these three issues.
Summertime presents a challenge each year for work at home moms around the country. Continuing to run one’s business while keeping the kids entertained is a task too daunting for almost any super mom. Here are some great tips and advice from real home-based working moms to make your summer less stressful and more enjoyable.
If you want to build and grow your business, you need to give it regular inspections, kind of like your doctor gives your body a regular check up or your mechanic runs a diagnostic on your car's engine from time to time. Here are the things you should look for when doing your business check up.
This safety checklist, though written with real estate agents in mind, is applicable to anyone working from home or in an office alone. Get the Do's and Don'ts for keeping yourself safe.
Cash flow is the lifeblood to your home business. Without it, there is no business. Period. What could be more important? Turning that flow into a growing pool by following seven simple rules.
One of the most powerful words that can help you save time, increase productivity, feel better about yourself and reach your goals faster and easier is only two letters long! The problem is, it's almost the most difficult to use. Discover how to put this little powerhouse to work for you without guilt or fear.
A lengthy illness, accident or unexpected death could mean the collapse of your business. Although you can never be one hundred percent certain you've covered every contingency, here are three simple steps you can take today to give yourself the best protection possible.
New business owners struggle with the same common challenges regardless of the business they're in. Practice these three simple strategies and shave hours and dollars from your start-up curve.
If you're one of the growing numbers of individuals who work part-time or full-time from home, have you given any thought as to whether or not your home work space is safe for your kids or pets? Here are a few tips for pet- and childproofing your home office.
Working from home is a great way to supply the additional income often needed for one spouse to stay home and raise their children. Sadly, many people are scared away from doing so because of the many scams that are so prevalent today. Here are several tips to help you avoid work-at-home scams.
When you work from an office in your home it is easy to get distracted from work, especially work that you do not particularly enjoy. Watering the plants, running errands or even doing laundry can be a welcome change. Here are eight things you can do to make distractions less of a problem.
The kids are back in school and it feels like you should have a lot of extra time on your hands. Why aren't you able to accomplish all that needs to be done? When you work at home, managing your time is key to running a successful business. Here are five tips to get the most out of the time when kids are in school.
Disasters or family tragedies can strike families in many forms - Mother Nature, sickness and even computer problems can cause major difficulties for your business. Do you have a plan of action on how you will handle your home-based business if disaster were to strike?
In a follow up to our earlier article on reducing heating oil costs, Business Know-How offers these low and no-cost ways to lower your heating bill, regardless of your heat source. Read on if you'd like to save 20 or even 40% on your heating bills this winter.
If you are one of the ever-increasing number of individuals who are fortunate enough to be able to work at home, you have a golden opportunity that your corporate office counterparts probably do not – to prepare tailor-made healthful meals and snacks throughout the day that can increase your alertness, memory, concentration and performance.
The winter blues can be a real problem for business owners who work from home. Here are six mood-boosting strategies you can put to work when cold weather and short days begin to get the best of you.
All companies love growth. Growth is a primary goal of a business, just as growth is essential to kids and young plants. Not all growth is desired, however, and it certainly comes with its own disruptions.
Most home businesses and microsized businesses have limited equipment resources and a limited number of people available for work. And that can throw a wrench into your business if something goes wrong. Here's how one person coped when a few things went wrong at one time.
Think there are no office politics when you work at home? It might look that way at first, but you'll soon discover that your spouse, your kids and even your dog have opinions about how your business should be run.
You have a successful business you operate from home. Now you'd like to sell it. How do you determine how much it's worth?
Running a business from home is the dream of many, and it definitely has its advantages. But as great as it is to be able to take off the afternoon to spend time with your kids, the tradeoff is often working late into the night to make up for it.
How do you juggle kids and dogs and summertime outings when your business is run out of your home? Here's one man's solution.
Why on earth would a home business need insurance? You already have coverage on your house, right? And if a visiting client slipped on your newly waxed kitchen floor while getting a coffee refill, homeowners insurance has that covered as well, right? Better double check your policy before your next client visits. Chances are your coverage doesn't extend to your business.
Working from home is the dream of so many people, yet so few know exactly what it is they want to do. Working from home is possible, as those of us who already do so can attest, but it takes a lot of work and planning. Until you can answer this one question, you can't even begin to plan.
Working for yourself in a home business often means working odd hours to meet deadlines. But that's not necessarily a bad thing, when you consider the alternative.
What kind of music do you listen to while building your business at home? One of the great pleasures of an at-home business is your freedom to choose the nature of your business environment, including its sound. Read more >>
When you first launch a home-based business, you get to wear all the hats: accountant, marketing director, ad agency, administrative assistant and office custodian. But as your business succeeds and you grow, you will start to divvy up tasks, hiring employees or outsourcing jobs to service companies. Read more >>
What would you do if a catastrophe struck your community? Emergency planning can help your business survive in the event of a natural -- or manmade -- disaster. Here are some guidelines for steps you can take before disaster strikes.
Don’t believe all the guidelines and hype about running a business from home. Here’s a short list of what’s true and what’s false among the work-at-home myths.
The most commonly named reason for launching a home business is to be close to children while still earning a living. So just how do you run that business with "Sponge Bob Square Pants" blaring in the background? Here's a humorous look at the "fun" you can have running a business at home when the kids are out of school.
For those that work at home, the line between work and family has blurred, almost to the point where it's hard to tell when you're working and when you're raising kids. Some people say that's bad for the kids, but a growing number of work-at-home parents would strongly disagree.
Regardless of how long you have been running your small business, you are bound to experience a slow down at some time or another. Use these tactics before the drought if you want to survive.
eBay has provided a wonderfully convenient testing ground for specialized retail businesses. And the cost of this research is practically nil!
The dream of working at home has become a reality for many. But when you have a home office, how do you separate the home from the office?
Mounds of paperwork, piles of unused material, missed meetings or appointments, endless clutter... Sound familiar? If so, it could mean that you need to get organized. But how do you start? You'll find it's as easy as A-B-C.
Delays are inevitable, and though we wish otherwise, we are bound to experience times when even our best plans have to be put aside. Traffic, dental appointments, long lines at the bank, plane delays -- they are out of your control, but they don't have to defeat you. With a few basic strategies, you can finds ways to make an annoying situation better.
The best work is work that is fun! You enjoy your hobby, so why not take those great ideas, a little determination, and turn your hobby into a career? Read the pros and cons and decide if the bottom line is for you!
Have you ever landed a client who seemed like a gift from above? Someone who promised you creative freedom, unlimited future work, and who genuinely seemed interested in the success of your business, but then it turned into a nightmare? Here's one business owner's story.
Sure, you can follow any trend when choosing a business, but will your initial excitement fade once you spend 60-80 hours a week building that business? Success comes when you do what you love!
This year catalog giant Lillian Vernon Corporation celebrates its 50th year in business. Recently we talked with Ms. Vernon about her success and what it took to grow her catalog from its beginnings at her kitchen table to the multi-million dollar business it is today. Read this interview, and don't miss the bonus at the end where she shares her own tips for entrepreneurial success!
Does the thought of having to give a presentation keep you up all night or make you break out into a cold sweat? Save the day with this idea from Never Let 'Em See You Sweat.
They raved about you when you first landed the consulting job, but then things changed. What went wrong? And how can you prevent a similar situation from happening again?
The Time Virus -- it's not a real computer virus, it's all those things that eat away at your time, including bogus virus warnings and hoaxes. Find out how you can profit from the "time virus" by providing targeted information to your customers!
Small classified ads are a significant source of customers for many small and homebased and businesses. Find out when and how to use them effectively in your business.
Millions of people are working at home -- and breaking the law! Find out why.
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