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An Essentials Checklist for the new ‘Homepreneur’.

StrategyDriven Entrepreneurship Article |Homepreneur|An Essentials Checklist for the new ‘Homepreneur’This year has seen a massive rise in the numbers of those working from home, either for the same boss they had at the office, or working for themselves where they are now the boss. It is beginning to look like ‘homepreneur’ (an entrepreneur who works from home) is becoming the fastest-growing type of small business.

While the 20-second commute every morning to the spare bedroom or kitchen table might seem like the answer to all of your prayers, this new way of working has its own checklist of pros, cons and a couple of essentials you might not have thought of.

Why your home-based business is a great idea

Being a homepreneur has a long list of advantages.

I’ve mentioned the 20-second commute to work already but this aspect of having your business 10 yards from your bed cannot be underplayed. With a recent study showing the average American spends nearly an hour a day getting to and from work, that’s a whole chunk of your week saved just like that.

Next on the list (and this one is probably on the spreadsheet too) are the low overheads involved with a home-based business over renting an office space. With margins tight for any new business those overheads can mean the difference between success and failure.

Depending on where you live, you may also be able to deduct the space you use, as well as a portion of your utility bills from any tax payable on your profits. Of course, there are tax experts who can tell you what is necessary for your situation, so you should contact one.

But working from home is not all great

Like everything though, there is a downside to being a new homepreneur

You might not have the commute, but everyday tasks that fall to you because you’re at home can be a major drain on your time. Kids at home during school holidays are the obvious one, but simple things like loading the dishwasher or cutting the lawn tend to get done more often if you’re staring at them all day.

When the house is not overrun with kids or other family members, it can be a very quiet and solitary existence. If that’s why you escaped the office in the first place it’s no big deal, but if you’re used to having other people around it can take a lot of getting used to.

And there are a couple of things you need to take care of.

Insurance – As well as having to talk to a tax expert, your insurance needs have changed now you do your business from home. Things like driving your car for business or if a client has an accident whilst visiting your home are things you need advice on, so contacting experts like www.meslee.com should clear up any worries you might have.

Networking – as you’re now on your own at home, the networking side of your new business needs attention. As well as having a presence on social media, it is essential that you start or update your LinkedIn profile and start building a network of allies and possible sources of new business.

This is by no means everything you need to know – but it’s a good starting place so that you don’t spend too much time in your new business just standing there scratching your head.

Business Ideas for Entrepreneurs

StrategyDriven Entrepreneurship Article | Business Ideas for EntrepreneursStarting up a business requires a lot of dedication and consistency and should be kind in mind that there many chances that your business would fail. Even people with have an idea what business they want to open they come across many hurdles of how to implement or execute it. There are many factors which are the prerequisite to start something on your own, one needs to be practical when coming up with an idea and should able to withstand the situation if the business would go down.

Furthermore, some ideas are authentic and fantastic, but the execution of it would be a long and challenging task. Some of the areas which people can adopt to do part-time jobs are online businesses. This method helps to earn more money along with doing their existing jobs. It is very beneficial for the people who cannot leave home due to their responsibilities, and different circumstance can easily make money and their time productive. The business which can be executed from anywhere is online trade. As in today’s time, the world of global shipping is very diverse and quick. This article will assist the new people who have a business idea, or they are planning to do something of their own. Besides, this article will categorize a different kind of business into four broad categories to help people to get an idea about what type of business they want to pursue or what is appropriate or adjustable for them to carry it along with their other tasks in routine.

List of Business Ideas

  • Home-based business ideas
  • Small business ideas
  • Self-employment ideas
  • Fresh ideas for business.

Home-based Business Ideas

Writing Blogs

Blogs are one of the first business entity which comes with the invention of the online data. Blogs are the sources through people learn or take advice. It has been seen around 4.4million blogs posted on the internet every day, which is increasing as the entire publishing area is shifting towards the online world model. Though there is no doubt that the competition is excellent, still there are places for the new people in this industry. The first thing one needs to figure out before getting into this business is to decide which genre they want to write on. For instance, lifestyle, business, beauty, finance and many others. It is important to note that people who are planning to come in the online business need to know the usage of search engine and complete knowledge of other social media platform. Secondly, buy a domain name and develop a website which must be mobile-friendly and responsive. The last task is very crucial for any business to succeed. The content of your website is considered very important, mostly when approaching the business of your product or service. One should give the maximum time for creating the content. While writing the content of your website include only those things which is relatable to your products and selling strategies. Additionally, the keywords play a role to come in the top priority of the search engine. Which implies that your website would get more visiting and ultimately in result a profitable and sustainable business.

Video Logger

Once people get to a certain amount of subscriber on their channels, earn an enormous amount of money through different companies and organization to promote their cause or product. To start it by deciding what kind of videos you would like to display to the audience. After figuring out the video content, it is necessary to see whether the idea is relatable which the market or the viewer wants. It is essential to be truthful and responsible for the content you are putting up online, as this is available to the mass and can hurt people if it is not appropriate. Though this business requires a lot of patients and consistency. As not all people get famous overnight as we have seen in our last decade in the online arena.

Freelance

The importance of freelancer can be understood from every third person in the UK working on a contractual basis. This work does not compel people to restrict them from doing their other business. People can carry out the task according to their timings in a given deadline and return, get the money for their expertise. The essential requirement to do any freelance work is one should be professional in what he is aiming to work in. The professions which offer high fees are web designing, content writing, development of software etc. There many online freelance companies available online to get into. Where one needs to develop a decent profile and upload the information related to the work you offering and experience. It is imperative to acquire position reviews to get more job in the form of gigs.

Dropshipping

This kind of ecommerce is very appropriate for people with less investment and capital as in this online selling, one does not buy the product upfront but instead upload the supplier on their website and buy it from the supplier if someone order it forms your website. It reflects that you do not require a warehouse or money is not bound with stock you have bought. So, people who want to step up the business with less money can utilize this method to earn money online. Also, it is vital to keep in mind to put up only those product which is in demand and has the least depreciation cost. Dropshiping is all about the right timing and proper selection. It is critical to consider only those supplier who is reliable and quick because it would give a negative impact on your business if the buyers cancel their order before the arrival of the product. Besides this, the advertisement for your service or product is an essential factor to make your product seen to the mass audience. In these days, Facebook, Instagram, twitter comes in rescue for the problems related to the promotion and awareness of your business to the potential buyers.

Conclusion

To conclude, starting up a business is only for those people who have the patience and consistency. Because there are big chances of failure or business going down. Though, once one has completed or fulfill the prerequisite of starting up a new business and remain committed to his work, unprecedented success could be achieved. Plenty of options are available to pick your idea for your business that you can do passionately. At least, there is no comparison of satisfaction one gets from something you have created of your and get the chance of becoming a boss of your own.

Garage-Industry: Manufacturing Your Own Products From Start To Finish

StrategyDriven Managing Your Business Article | Entrepreneurship | Garage-Industry: Manufacturing Your Own Products From Start To Finish

A lot of modern business have turned their focus away from factories overseas, opting to make their products closer to home. Of course, this is a great selling point for a business. And, it’s one that a lot of businesses use to get customers interested in their goods. Tactics like this can often offset the extra costs of manufacturing at home. Especially if you can do it from your garage. This makes most of the operation free, as you’re already having to pay most of the bills. And, it gives you a way to keep your work at home. This is a great benefit to a lot of business owners.

The very first step to taking a product to market is the design. A product needs to be immortalised on paper before it can be made. This is a hard process, and it might require a little bit of help. To make it easier, you can try and enlist the help of a product design. But, with some hard work and sound advice, you shouldn’t have many issues doing it on your own. Of course, there’s a lot to this stage. So, it’s important to take your time.

Concepts
Photo courtesy of Jordanhill School D&T Dept via flickr

Most people can’t draw very well at all. But, this doesn’t mean that you can’t sketch your ideas on paper. Trying to draw something will help you to visualise it much more clearly. It will also help you to notice issues with your design before you start making it. These drawing don’t need to be detailed. They just need to give you a visual representation of your future product. Of course, if you intend on showing these to companies, they should be done professionally. But, that’s easy to have handled if you use a drawing service.

Once you have a rough idea of what needs to be made, you can start making a digital model of it. Once again, this is a skilled field. So, it can be hard to do it by yourself. Thankfully, companies like Autodesk have some easy-to-use 3D modeling software, that can export machine-readable files. You can use this software for free. But, you won’t get amazing results. The best way to design a product is using professional software. This means that you may have to do some learning or have someone do the job for you. In some cases, though, free software could be fine.

Engine
Photo courtesy of Wikipedia

Some people also find that they benefit from making physical models of products. This is something that everyone can do. You have loads of options when it comes to the materials that you use for this. Cardboard is usually chosen by people on a budget, as it’s something most people already have. But, foam is much better. Hard, closed-cell foam is a great material for making models. It’s easy to cut and shape, without having to use tools. It enables you to create a realistic model of your product.

Once you know what the product will look like, you need to do some research. The way that you make a product will have a big impact on the item itself. And, so will the material. Using the wrong methods and parts, it’s easy to create poor products that people won’t want. This makes it incredibly important that you try to make sure know about all of the options.

The materials that you use will be the difference between a product looking and feeling great, and something that is somewhat disappointing. In recent years, plastic has lost a lot of it’s popularity. In the past, it was used because it was easy to work and abundant. But, nowadays, it is associated with cheapness. So, for most products, metal is a good material. Glass is also very good, as it makes a product feel premium. Ultimately, you should be using materials that suit the purpose of your product. For example, you wouldn’t want to make a luxury watch out of a polymer. But, you also wouldn’t want to make a rugged phone out of gold. These are some obvious examples, but you will find that the same applies to your own products.

Different materials will require different machines to be worked. This means that you need to find out which machines are best for the materials you choose. There have been loads of advancements in the ways that materials are worked with. This has had a huge impact on the amount of choice that designers have. In a lot of cases, you want to look for a balance between speed and accuracy. You need your machines to work fast so that you can keep up business. But, you don’t want them to be producing low-quality results because of speed. The machines that you use will have to be bought. So, you need to consider processes that could work for other products, too. Otherwise, you could find that you need more tools as your business grows.

The most important part of the research phase is prototyping. As you choose materials and methods, you need to be testing them. For each material that poses a good option, you should make a prototype. And, if you can, you should make prototypes using as many different processes as possible. This will give you a chance to test each choice before you make the ultimate decision. Sometimes, where one material is good for one product, it could look or feel bad as another one. Making sure that you’re able to test this will ensure that you end up with the best possible quality product.

The prototyping phase should give you a good idea of what you’re going to be using. So, now it’s time to get the ball rolling. But, you still have plenty to think about. First, you’re going to need to get your hands on the machines to do the job. This will involve doing a lot of research, to find the tools that have the best price. At this point, it might be worth asking what your prototyping companies are using. This will give you a chance to make the products exactly the same as the prototype. You also need to think about other tools, as well. Most products need some sort of finishing. This will vary from product to product. For things that are made out of metal, you may need a painting or powder-coating booth. Or, for plastic, you may need a buffing wheel. All of these tools can be found online, and you can get items from Reliant Finishing Systems to get you started.

At this point, you will also need to find suppliers for your materials. Don’t buy these from places that sell to retail customers. Instead, you need to look into wholesale and trade. These sorts of companies only sell to businesses. So, their prices reflect the amount of materials that you will be buying. This will make things much cheaper. Always do a ton of research here. It’s easy to save a little bit on each order, which will mount up to a lot in the future. Just like with your tools, you can ask your prototyping company if they can tell you where they get things from. They may even be able to help you get some money off!

Once you’ve got your machines and materials, you’re almost ready to get started. You just need to make sure that you’re not going to be breaking any laws. Working from home like this may present different rules than other businesses have to follow. If you have a mortgage, you may have to tell the lender what you’re doing. Or, if you lease the property, you may need to tell the owner. And, of course, insurance will be altered by this activity. If you have insurance that protects the building, the risk will be increased for a business. So, if you make these changes without changing your policy, you may not be covered.

Having a business run from your garage is a great way to save some money. Most people have the space to build a small factory, and they don’t even know it. But, it gives you access to your home when you’re working. It allows you to spend less time working, and more time with family. Ultimately, for most people, working like this is the best option. But, of course, you have to make sure that it’s right for you. If you put in all of this time and money, you’ll feel bad if it goes wrong. So, you need to be realistic and make sure that you’re confident in your ability to work from home. It presents certain challenges. But, once they’re overcome, living at work can be a great benefit and a pleasure.

Hopefully, this will inspire you to start designing and making your own products. This isn’t going to be cheap. But, any money that you spend at this point can be considered an investment into your business. And, most businesses can’t start without investment. In future, when you’re making money, this work and time won’t feel like anything at all.