How To Make Money From Your Home Business in 2011

2010 Is Behind Us Now that 2010 has come and gone, millions of home-based entrepreneurs are breathing a great big sigh of relief. 2008 through 2010 has been difficult for businesses of all sizes due to customers necessarily tightening their wallets. But 2011 (can I get a hallelujah? ) offers a bright ray of sunshine in the form of hope for the small home business owner. In order to take full advantage of this ray of sunshine, be sure to smartly go about formulating or reformulating your business plan and strategies as follows. What’s Your Voice? Determine your company’s mission, vision and brand. In order to stand out in a sea of competitors and be known as the expert or the solution or the provider of the best in your industry you will want to take some time to determine and document who you are, what you sell, and why. Then take it a step further and establish your brand: how does your company communicate with its prospects and customers, what is its vocabulary, are communications fun and witty or formal and precise? The tone and voice that you establish as a result of your vision and mission will create the overall perception of your product and service and its worth. If You Build It They Will Come…Really? Sell a product or service which has demand associated with it. According to the movie, The Field of Dreams, “if you build it they will come.” This does not necessarily apply to home based businesses. Too many small businesses have started only to fail because they couldn’t find or stimulate enough demand for their products and services. In order to be successful and earn healthy revenue, the product or service has to have a healthy demand associated with it. Develop a marketing plan which utilizes many marketing tools and pathways. Whenever a new product or service is created, demand has to be stimulated because prospective customers don’t have any idea, yet, that it exists. Think about the “Snuggie,” the wearable blanket that caught fire and created massive revenue for its business owner. Since it was a new product, the creator had to create multiple marketing efforts for it to first become known and then to continue to build the brand as the product grew massively popular. Initiating “Pub Crawls” got it initial attention which then led to television commercials and a cult-like Facebook page and sales of over 4 million items as of 2009. Are You Charging What You’re Worth? Understand the value of your products and services and don’t be afraid to charge a healthy price. If you are selling a product, you’ll want to make sure that you understand the direct and indirect costs associated with that product and establish a price that includes a profit margin. If you are selling a service, make sure that you understand your competitor’s packages and pricing, and think about your brand and packaging before setting your price. Do not make the mistake of deciding to charge a fee that is less than your competitors. If you do, you may find that your prospective clients value your services as less than your competitors. Create Raving Fans The very best way to ensure that your revenue stream continues to grow, is to go the extra mile in your customer service to create a positive experience, and then encourage that customer to tell the world about their experience on your website or Facebook page or in printed Advertorials, etc. The more positive testimonials you have, the more likely you are to draw new clients and customers. Make More Money in 2011 Taking the time in advance to create strong business strategies will pay handsomely over time. If your goal is to make plenty of money in 2011, be sure that you understand and can communicate who you are, what you sell and why, diligently create demand for your services, smartly choose several marketing avenues, set a price that covers your costs and pays you well and create raving fans. If you set about taking care of these items in 2011, your 2012 business objective might well be estate planning and asset protection!