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Sunday, January 6, 2013

Smart Home Business Tips That Really Work

By Robert Strong

While a home-based business may sound like a luxury you simply can't afford, there are actually many considerations to take into account, other than the short commute from your bedroom to your home office. Just like any other job, a home business enterprise has its benefits, as well as its drawbacks. The following article provides you with all the information you need to decide if a home-based business is for you.

Nearly anyone who plans to operate a business from their home will find it almost impossible to do so with a dial-up connection. A broadband connection is far more fast and efficient and allows you to interact with vendors, partners, and clients more effectively. Furthermore, you can save money by getting telephone and broadband service from a single provider as part of a bundle.

To increase the visibility of your work from home business, you really need to have a website. To get the most bang for your buck, choose a domain name that is easy for your targeted audience to find and remember. That means avoiding a domain that is unnecessarily long or hard to spell.

Practice your communication techniques to ensure that your home based business is as effective as possible. A great deal of your work from home business will rely on communication whether on the phone, internet, or in person. If you aren't aware of proper communication practices, you could fail to reach those that you target in your business.

If you keep your office as organized as a library, consider offering your services to other companies as a contractor. Many people have major problems keeping their items sorted and in a place where they can find them. They would love to hire you to do organize them so that they can focus on their business.

It's important to find all the links that point back to your online business website and ensure that they keywords used in the link are included in the list of key phrases you've chosen for your site. Email the author of the article or blog post and ask them to change the keywords if they aren't what you'd like to them to be, and offer a link back to their article in return for their help.

Home owner's insurance is NOT enough to cover your online business, so contact an independent insurance agent to find out what else you need. Examples of insurance types that apply to a work from home business are disability, health, liability, licensing, life, property, and workers' compensation. Talk to your accountant as well about how much money you can afford to spend on insurance.

You need to set up a separate checking account for your home based business. It is important to keep your personal finances and the business finances separate. This is so that you can show the IRS that you are not embezzling money or trying to evade paying taxes on your business. It will make for less hassle when tax time comes around.

Upgrade that crappy website from 1999. Many small businesses have websites that look like they were made with the infamous Geocities site builder. Poorly-designed websites can make your business look unprofessional and turn away customers. One option is to use a template, or if you don't like the idea of using what everyone else is using, you can hire a web designer to create something unique for your business.

Become your own business expert. Write articles relevant to your business, and put a link in the byline or author box to your website. Include your email address if possible. Look for opportunities to speak about your expertise through online or in-person seminars. Offer to speak for organizations whose members can benefit from your products, and offer the group a share of your sales proceeds.

Make sure to check with the zoning commission in your area. You need to make sure there are no zoning laws that prevent having and running a business from your home. If you are faced, with a zoning law that prevents home businesses, check into renting a small office space.

Before you start your home business, make sure you have the funds to do so. People are under the assumption that running your business at home is cheap. This is far from the truth. You have to pay for your product, your website, your employees (if you have any, and many other things.

There are many benefits of working from home. As your own boss, you get to call the shots and are responsible for what you do. A online business is more of a personal asset than just another source of money. Hopefully applying these tips will help you avoid common mistakes and build a successful home based business.
 
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