Regardless of your definition of success, there
are, oddly enough, a great number of common
characteristics that are shared by successful
businesspeople. You can place a check beside
each characteristic that you feel that you possess.
This way, you can see how you stack up. Even if
you don't have all of these characteristics, don't
fret. Most can be learned with practice and by
developing a winning attitude, especially if you
set goals and apply yourself, through strategic
planning, to reach those goals in incremental and
measurable stages.
The Home Business Musts
Like any activity you pursue, there are certain
musts that are required to be successful in a
chosen activity. To legally operate a vehicle on
public roadways, one must have a driver's license;
to excel in sports, one must train and practice; to
retire comfortably, one must become an informed
investor and actively invest for retirement. If your
goal is success in business, then the formula is no
different. There are certain musts that have to be
fully developed, implemented and managed for
your business to succeed. There are many
business musts, but this article contains I believe
to be some of the more important musts that are
required to start, operate and grow a profitable
home business.
1. Do what you enjoy.
What you get out of your business in the form of
personal satisfaction, financial gain, stability and
enjoyment will be the sum of what you put into
your business. So if you don't enjoy what you're
doing, in all likelihood it's safe to assume that will
be reflected in the success of your business--or
subsequent lack of success. In fact, if you don't
enjoy what you're doing, chances are you won't
succeed.
2. Take what you do seriously.
You cannot expect to be effective and successful
in business unless you truly believe in your
business and in the goods and services that you
sell. Far too many home business owners fail to
take their own businesses seriously enough,
getting easily sidetracked and not staying
motivated and keeping their noses to the
grindstone. They also fall prey to naysayers who
don't take them seriously because they don't work
from an office building, office park, storefront, or
factory. Little do these skeptics, who rain on the
home business owner's parade, know is that the
number of people working from home, and
making very good annual incomes, has grown by
leaps and bounds in recent years.
3. Plan everything.
Planning every aspect of your home business is
not only a must, but also builds habits that every
home business owner should develop, implement,
and maintain. The act of business planning is so
important because it requires you to analyze each
business situation, research and compile data,
and make conclusions based mainly on the facts
as revealed through the research. Business
planning also serves a second function, which is
having your goals and how you will achieve them,
on paper. You can use the plan that you create
both as map to take you from point A to Z and as
a yardstick to measure the success of each
individual plan or segment within the plan.
4. Manage money wisely.
The lifeblood of any business enterprise is cash
flow. You need it to buy inventory, pay for
services, promote and market your business,
repair and replace tools and equipment, and pay
yourself so that you can continue to work.
Therefore, all home business owners must become
wise money managers to ensure that the cash
keeps flowing and the bills get paid. There are
two aspects to wise money management.
1. The money you receive from clients in
exchange for your goods and services you
provide (income)
2. The money you spend on inventory, supplies,
wages and other items required to keep your
business operating. (expenses)
5. Ask for the sale.
A home business entrepreneur must always
remember that marketing, advertising, or
promotional activities are completely worthless,
regardless of how clever, expensive, or perfectly
targeted they are, unless one simple thing is
accomplished--ask for the sale. This is not to say
that being a great salesperson, advertising
copywriting whiz or a public relations specialist
isn't a tremendous asset to your business.
However, all of these skills will be for naught if
you do not actively ask people to buy what you
are selling.
6. Remember it's all about the customer.
Your home business is not about the products or
services that you sell. Your home business is not
about the prices that you charge for your goods
and services. Your home business is not about
your competition and how to beat them. Your
business is all about your customers, or clients,
period. After all, your customers are the people
that will ultimately decide if your business goes
boom or bust. Everything you do in business must
be customer focused, including your policies,
warranties, payment options, operating hours,
presentations, advertising and promotional
campaigns and website. In addition, you must
know who your customers are inside out and
upside down.
7. Become a shameless self-promoter
(without becoming obnoxious).
One of the greatest myths about personal or
business success is that eventually your business,
personal abilities, products or services will get
discovered and be embraced by the masses that
will beat a path to your door to buy what you are
selling. But how can this happen if no one knows
who you are, what you sell and why they should
be buying?
Self-promotion is one of the most beneficial, yet
most underutilized, marketing tools that the
majority of home business owners have at their
immediate disposal.
8. Project a positive business image.
You have but a passing moment to make a
positive and memorable impression on people
with whom you intend to do business. Home
business owners must go out of their way and
make a conscious effort to always project the
most professional business image possible. The
majority of home business owners do not have
the advantage of elaborate offices or elegant
storefronts and showrooms to wow prospects and
impress customers. Instead, they must rely on
imagination, creativity and attention to the
smallest detail when creating and maintaining a
professional image for their home business.
9. Get to know your customers.
One of the biggest features and often the most
significant competitive edge the home based
entrepreneur has over the larger competitors is
the he can offer personalized attention. Call it
high-tech backlash if you will, but customers are
sick and tired of hearing that their information is
somewhere in the computer and must be
retrieved, or told to push a dozen digits to finally
get to the right department only to end up with
voice mail--from which they never receive a
return phone call.
The home business owner can actually answer
phone calls, get to know customers, provide
personal attention and win over repeat business
by doing so. It's a researched fact that most
business (80 percent) will come from repeat
customers rather than new customers. Therefore,
along with trying to draw newcomers, the more
you can do to woo your regular customers, the
better off you will be in the long run and
personalized attention is very much appreciated
and remembered in the modern high tech world.
10. Level the playing field with technology.
You should avoid getting overly caught up in the
high-tech world, but you should also know how
to take advantage of using it. One of the most
amazing aspects of the internet is that a one or
two person business operating from a basement
can have a superior website to a $50 million
company, and nobody knows the difference.
Make sure you're keeping up with the high-tech
world as it suits your needs.. The best technology
is that which helps you, not that which impresses
your neighbors.
11. Build a top-notch business team.
No one person can build a successful business
alone. It's a task that requires a team that is as
committed as you to the business and its success.
Your business team may include family members,
friends, suppliers, business alliances, employees,
sub-contractors, industry and business
associations, local government and the
community. Of course the most important team
members will be your customers or clients. Any or
all may have a say in how your business will
function and a stake in your business future.
12. Become known as an expert.
When you have a problem that needs to be
solved, do you seek just anyone's advice or do you
seek an expert in the field to help solve your
particular problem? Obviously, you want the most
accurate information and assistance that you can
get. You naturally seek an expert to help solve
your problem. You call a plumber when the hot
water tank leaks, a real estate agent when it's
time to sell your home or a dentist when you have
a toothache. Therefore, it only stands to reason
that the more you become known for your
expertise in your business, the more people will
seek you out to tap into your expertise, creating
more selling and referral opportunities. In effect,
becoming known as an expert is another style of
prospecting for new business, just in reverse.
Instead of finding new and qualified people to
sell to, these people seek you out for your
expertise.
13. Create a competitive advantage.
A home business must have a clearly defined
unique selling proposition. This is nothing more
than a fancy way of asking the vital question,
"Why will people choose to do business with you
or purchase your product or service instead of
doing business with a competitor and buying his
product or service?" In other words, what one
aspect or combination of aspects is going to
separate your business from your competition?
Will it be better service, a longer warranty, better
selection, longer business hours, more flexible
payment options, lowest price, personalized
service, better customer service, better return and
exchange policies or a combination of several of
these?
14. Invest in yourself.
Top entrepreneurs buy and read business and
marketing books, magazines, reports, journals,
newsletters, websites and industry publications,
knowing that these resources will improve their
understanding of business and marketing
functions and skills. They join business
associations and clubs, and they network with
other skilled business people to learn their secrets
of success and help define their own goals and
objectives. Top entrepreneurs attend business
and marketing seminars, workshops and training
courses, even if they have already mastered the
subject matter of the event. They do this because
they know that education is an ongoing process.
There are usually ways to do things better, in less
time, with less effort. In short, top entrepreneurs
never stop investing in the most powerful,
effective and best business and marketing tool at
their immediate disposal--themselves.
15. Be accessible.
We're living in a time when we all expect our fast
food lunch at the drive-thru window to be ready
in mere minutes, our dry cleaning to be ready for
pick-up on the same day, our money to be
available at the cash machine and our pizza
delivered in 30 minutes or it's free. You see the
pattern developing--you must make it as easy as
you can for people to do business with you,
regardless of the home business you operate.
You must remain cognizant of the fact that few
people will work hard, go out of their way, or be
inconvenienced just for the privilege of giving you
their hard-earned money. The shoe is always on
the other foot. Making it easy for people to do
business with you means that you must be
accessible and knowledgeable about your
products and services. You must be able to
provide customers with what they want, when
they want it.
16. Build a rock-solid reputation.
A good reputation is unquestionably one of the
home business owner's most tangible and
marketable assets. You can't simply buy a good
reputation; it's something that you earn by
honoring your promises. If you promise to have
the merchandise in the customer's hands by
Wednesday, you have no excuse not to have it
there. If you offer to repair something, you need
to make good on your offer. Consistency in what
you offer is the other key factor. If you cannot
come through with the same level of service (and
products) for clients on a regular basis, they have
no reason to trust you . . . and without trust, you
won't have a good reputation.
17. Sell benefits.
Pushing product features is for inexperienced or
wannabe entrepreneurs. Selling the benefits
associated with owning and using the products
and services you carry is what sales professionals
worldwide focus on to create buying excitement
and to sell, sell more, and sell more frequently to
their customers. Your advertising, sales
presentations, printed marketing materials,
product packaging, website, newsletters, trade
show exhibit and signage are vital. Every time
and every medium used to communicate with
your target audience must always be selling the
benefits associated with owning your product or
using your service.
18. Get involved.
Always go out of your way to get involved in the
community that supports your business. You can
do this in many ways, such as pitching in to help
local charities or the food bank, becoming
involved in organizing community events, and
getting involved in local politics. You can join
associations and clubs that concentrate on
programs and policies designed to improve the
local community. It's a fact that people like to do
business with people they know, like and respect,
and with people who do things to help them as
members of the community.
19. Grab attention.
Small-business owners cannot waste time, money
and energy on promotional activities aimed at
building awareness solely through long-term,
repeated exposure. If you do, chances are you
will go broke long before this goal is
accomplished. Instead, every promotional activity
you engage in, must put money back in your
pocket so that you can continue to grab more
attention and grow your business.
20. Master the art of negotiations.
The ability to negotiate effectively is
unquestionably a skill that every home business
owner must make every effort to master. It's
perhaps second in importance only to asking for
the sale in terms of home business musts. In
business, negotiation skills are used daily. Always
remember that mastering the art of negotiation
means that your skills are so finely tuned that you
can always orchestrate a win-win situation. These
win-win arrangements mean that everyone
involved feels they have won, which is really the
basis for building long-term and profitable
business relationships.