Promoting A Home Business

Image by Ed Yourdon via Flickr

So you've decided to make the giant leap and start a home business, slowly at first - for God's sake don't quit your job - and then work on the goal of making it a full time income replacer. Through various hmp members I've seen that choosing a business to start and doing the day-to-day is often the easy part. You may have the sweetest product in the world but if no-one knows about it you're going to fail, period. With cash in short supply there are still some great methods of promoting a home business but they do need work and lots of it. Take a look at the options below and look out for my new course launching for free in the members area soon - a full idiots guide to building a website you have complete control over and how to drive targeted (very important) traffic to it.

The first thing that you will want to do when you are promoting your home business is to write up a plan, this is sometimes referred to as a marketing plan. In this plan you will want to outline everything you intend to do as far as promotion is concerned. By doing this before you even get started, you will ensure yourself of having a guide to help you through the different stages of marketing. Many people overlook this step because they think that they can simply promote as they go along. This is true, but by having a promotional plan in place you will be much more successful.

One of the best ways of promoting your home business is through the use of a website. By having a website, you will be able to promote your business to people from all over the world. There was a time when this option was not available, but those days have come and gone. If you want your home business to be successful, you will need to have a top notch website that you can rely on.

In addition to promoting your home business with a website, there are other ways that you can do this online as well. Placing ads in ezines has been proven as a successful promotion method. The main advantage of doing this is that you can reach a target audience that is interested in what you have to offer. This is much better than simply placing an ad in a publication that does not even correspond with your company. Of course the hot topic at the moment is social marketing with the likes of facebook or twitter, but so many people (99%+) just don't get it. Again, look out for the free course in the members area soon.

Of course, promoting your home business can also be done in more traditional ways as well. Many people feel that direct mail is still a great way to promote their business. This can be done by obtaining a mailing list, and then sending out some materials that will intrigue people to contact you. Even though this method is a bit outdated, and can still be very successful if done correctly.

Promoting your home business is the only way that you are going to be able to grow. By starting out with a plan you will be able to ensure yourself of guidance along the way. Remember, there are hundreds of promotional tactics available. Find a couple that work for you and stick with them. You will be seeing results in no time at all!

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Finding wholesalers for your home business

An important element to creating a long-lasting profitable business is finding good wholesalers willing to work with you.

But, after a while, things slow down and you hit a wall. You find yourself chasing after prospects and wondering why it is taking so long to convert prospects into clients.

However, the process of finding a good wholesaler is not easy. There are a lot of scams out there, such as middlemen charging fees for the "privilege" to buy from them and inflating wholesale prices.

Even if you find a legitimate wholesaler, they may not want to deal with a small business much less a home-based business. This is actually the biggest challenge of small business when looking for a wholesaler, especially if the wholesaler is already servicing big businesses. Why bother with the small fries when you've got the big boys knocking on your door?

So how do you find good wholesalers?

1. Attend tradeshows: Tradeshows are a great way of finding suppliers, manufacturers and drop shippers for your business, especially if you require more specialized products. There are a number of tradeshows out there specializing in various segments - from kitchen and bath, to apparel to construction supplies.

Note though that some tradeshows are not open to the public, and you need to show proof of business identification. You may be asked to present your recent invoices, business cards, credit reference sheet showing companies you purchase from, and tax registration (Certificate or Business Registration Certificate indicating you are retail business). If you are just about to start your home business, you may show letter of intent from an attorney or bank on official letterhead stating the intent to start a new retail business.

To find tradeshows in your industry, you may want to check:

TSNN http://www.tsnn.com

BizTradeShows http://www.biztradeshows.com

EventsEye http://www.eventseye.com

2. Industrial Directories. If you are looking for wholesalers in industry sectors, check out industrial directories. Thomas Register http://www.thomasnet.com is the most respected of industrial directories out there, and their web site offers about 67,000 product categories that you can search from.

Other industrial directories

Grainger Industrial Supply http://www.grainger.com

GlobalSpec http://www.globalspec.com

KellySearch http://www.kellysearch.com

3. eBay. An easy way to find wholesalers is through the online auction site eBay http://www.ebay.com . Wholesalers are everywhere on eBay, even dominating most if not all of the categories with their vast number of listings. Each category - from home and garden to clothing and accessories to cell phones - has a sub-category called wholesale lots where most of the wholesalers list their items.

4. Trade Magazines. Get hold of copies of trade publications on wholesaling, as they typically feature wholesalers, manufacturers and drop shippers. These magazines are mostly free, and feature a lot of ads from wholesalers that you can contact.
Examples of trade magazines include:

Web Wholesaler Magazine http://www.wholesalecentral.com/wwfree.cfm = operated by WholesaleCentral.com

Wholesale Source Magazine http://www.wsmag.com

The Wholesaler http://www.thewholesaler.com

5. Online Directories. The web is full of online directories that list wholesalers, manufacturers, drop shippers and suppliers - with some more reliable, updated and screened than others. Make sure that you use specific keywords in your search (e.g. hair band wholesaler) instead of the very general terms (fashion accessories wholesaler) to help you narrow your search. Be careful though as some will sell you list claiming to be verified and updated listings of wholesalers.

About the Author:

Nach Maravilla is the CEO and Founder of PowerHomeBiz.com, an online magazine for home business entrepreneurs.

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How connectivity and broadband will shape the population

This is an eye-opening piece about how connectivity and broadband will shape the future of not just work practices but the population flow -

Mobile giant Orange's research shows that better access to both mobile and fixed line broadband could shape the workforce of the future.

Orange has created an interactive map of the country to pinpoint the connectivity hotspots of the future and work out how that will affect the next generation workforce.

Based on the mobile giant's Connected Britain research, the interactive map went live today and highlights which areas of the UK could benefit from population growth thanks to their internet-based wealth. Conversely, it flags the areas that could see people leave in droves due to lack of mobile and fixed line broadband connectivity.

Indeed, the South West could see its population swell by a whopping 150 per cent by 2015, while Scotland and London's head counts are set to grow by 50 per cent and 40 per cent respectively, according to the research.

“Our research found that a digitally connected workforce could change the face of Britain as we know it," said Robert Ainger, Orange's director of corporate marketing, in a statement.

"Not only could the population itself shift, but the way we work could also fundamentally change. The interactive map means that visitors to the site can quickly check out their current location or somewhere else that takes their fancy, to see how things are likely to pan out there in future.”

The map also showcases how each region fares when it comes to flexible working, which is generally interlinked with having the right technology in place.

Orange's research suggested that businesses could save more than £30 billion by being a bit more savvy about the benefits of flexible working practices.

Orange maps UK's future connectivity hotspots - Original Post by Maggie Holland

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Resume Tips – Something to think about…

How many times have you picked up a magazine while waiting for an appointment and flipped through the hundreds of pages of articles? How long did it take you to decide whether or not to turn the page? Studies show that most people make this decision in less than 5 seconds.

This is the exact same scenario with your resume—it can be discarded within a matter of seconds. An example I always use to highlight this reality came during my experience as a recruitment agent in London. I was to fill a new job opening as an equities trader for one of the most prestigious investment firms in the UK. I was asked to select the top 10 resumes to forward onto the hiring manager. I advertised the job on a Monday and by Thursday I had over 300 resumes sitting in my inbox. I did not have the time to sit and read through every line of each resume sitting there, let alone the hundreds more that would follow. I had to “scan” the resumes and eliminate the weak or moderate ones right away. This is a very typical scenario, especially in this current economic climate. Your resume needs to be convincing from the start.

When applying for jobs, you can bet that 50% of all the other applicants have similar skills and knowledge. So how do you make your resume stand out from the others? How do you ensure that you’re at least given the chance to present yourself in person?

Your resume is a marketing document, a convincing reason to want to meet with you for an interview. Without an appealing and marketable resume that contains information employers require, you will not get the job you want. Of course, never forget the complementary role a cover letter plays. A cover letter goes hand in hand with the resume.  Good resume and bad cover letter end up in the same place—the trash bin.

Remember, your resume is the greatest asset you have—don’t forget this!

Find below a list of my top 10 resume tips:

• Professional

Keep it professional. Your resume is a business document, so it must be professional. Your resume is no place for gimmicks, pictures, or funny email addresses. Although you may think you look great in your picture or that your email address is funny (yes, I have seen love_homersimpson@hotmail.com), this is not required on your resume. You may think it looks great, but your employer may disagree. Stick to the facts and keep it professional!

• Targeted

The more targeted your resume is, the better you have at landing an interview. Employers want to know exactly what you can do for their company. It is important that you tailor each resume to each job (it will only take a few sentences to do this). Get rid of any information that is not required for a particular job. This will alleviate the tendency to overcrowd your resume with too much irrelevant information.

• Well-written

A well-written, concise resume will make a greater impression with your employer than a long winded “padded” resume. Use positive action words such as: enhanced, influenced, restructured, and attained. This will add that extra boost to your resume. On the same hand, avoid everyday buzz words. Remember, your resume needs to focus on your key skills and achievements. Words such as “hard worker,” “reliable” and “ambitious ” can have a more detrimental effect on your resume as these words are seen as adding no value to resume.

• Self-promoting

Your resume is a marketing document. Promote and sell yourself! Do not be scared to sell your skills, accomplishments, and abilities. If you don’t tell the employer, no one else will. Focus on what you can offer the business rather than what the business can offer you. Emphasize your skills, especially the ones the job is asking for. An employer wants to know that you have the relevant skills for that particular job. If a coffee shop is hiring a barista, and you’ve already worked as one, make your skills stand out and take centre stage. Just like with the example of skimming over the magazines, you need your employer to take one glance at your resume and want to read on.

• Tailor your resume

Very important – one size fits all approach does not work here. Every job is different, and depending on what the job is, you need to make sure you tweak your resume (and cover letter) for that particular job. Ask yourself, “What job am I going for, and does my resume have the skills and strengths required to present to my future employer?” Tailoring your resume to the specific job you’re going for will show the hiring manager that you are serious about working for their organization.

• Quality, not quantity

Quality not quantity! Your resume is not a life story. Stick to the facts— using irrelevant data, waffling, and padding your resume are detrimental. Let your skills and experience do the talking for you.

• Simplify

Forget about fancy fonts or clever uses of italics. Keep it simple. Your resume is not meant to be a work of art to be displayed on the wall. Not only can it be hard to read, but there are multiple scanning software programs that might be unable to read it, meaning it will end up being deleted before even being opened.

• Spelling /Grammar/Punctuation

Every word program these days has spell check—USE IT! Poor spelling and grammar will immediately land your resume in the “deleted items” box. It is a hard enough to get an interview—do not let yourself down with basic spelling mistakes. Re-read every word yourself, and get someone else to read it as well.

• Consistent

Be sure that your resume is written in a commonsense way—in order, logical, and easy to read. Be consistent throughout your resume with your margins, fonts, and line spacing. Don’t be scared to accentuate your skills or achievements with a different style of font or by using a bold font (but remember keep it simple. There is a fine line of going overboard when using different font styles). Consistency shows professionalism.

• Do not mention money

Unless you are directly asked about money, do not mention it. Keep your cards close to your chest. Do not rule yourself out before you even begin because of money.

Gavin Davis is the owner of RedStarResume and one of the hiremyparents experts.

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Original Methods Of Gaining Flexibility

I've found a great story from Rosalind Mays on how to Negotiate Your Way into a Telecommuting Job and a couple of original methods of coaxing your boss into gaining flexibility at work.

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Flexible Policies Work - If You Do It Right

Image via Wikipedia

Although American and British families can take some comfort in the recent reforms to flexible policies at work there seems to be a familiar rumble coming from business on both sides of the Atlantic.

Over the last week business groups have written to Yvette Cooper, the UK's work and pensions secretary, warning against further legislation to force companies to accept flexible working requests.

The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) and British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) are concerned that a white paper, expected to be published this week, will outline more flexible working rules that would further burden companies, especially small ones.

Burden? What burden?

In January, the accounting giant KPMG, looking for a way to save payroll costs without losing valued employees, introduced an initiative called Flexible Futures. This new programme offered the 11,000 professionals in KPMG’s British operations the following options: They could go to a four-day workweek and take a 20 percent pay cut; they could opt for a mini-sabbatical at 30 percent base pay; they could opt for both of the above; or they could stick with their current arrangement.

The programme was hugely successful. Over 80 percent of KPMG’s professional employees (men and women) volunteered to take one of the flexible options. This allowed KPMG to achieve its goal of retaining jobs while cutting costs.

Because Flexible Futures positioned shorter workweeks and mini-sabbaticals as a strategic response to the downturn rather than a “benefit” for working mothers, it has gone some distance to legitimising flex time. Taking this option has become an honored choice — a way to save jobs. As a result, overloaded men as well as overloaded women have felt free to vary their schedules.

It's all about the method of application. I've written before about fathers' fear of asking for flexible hours because of the perceived worry it will be detrimental to their careers. But in these cash-poor days business needs to find a way to cut costs without cutting jobs and flexible policies work - they just need to pitch it right.

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Your Telecommuting Policy

Image via Wikipedia

There are many benefits to incorporating a telecommuting policy into most businesses, over 25% of companies have some level of telecommuting even if it's just a 'bad weather' policy.

However, making sure that the correct policies and procedures are in place will save on a lot of hassle down the road - think about the following aspects to ensure your trouble free telecommuting edge:

1 - Infastructure
We've all wasted a few hours work by forgetting to backup and save our work, frustrating but not a crisis. However, if a significant amount of company work is done outside of the immediate office network then making sure you have a backup is essential.

There are 2 broad options that can ensure the proverbial doesn't hit the fan - Cloud computing or a direct link to the company infastructure via broadband.

Linking directly to the company's database has been the most popular over recent years allowing telecommuters to change or add data and then the main network is backed up automatically. Although effective it can sometimes be slow, especially if the employee lives in a slow broadband area, and therefore frustrating. There is also a increased risk of a viral infection hitting your extended network.

A cloud service has three distinct characteristics that differentiate it from traditional hosting. It is sold on demand, typically by the minute or the hour; it is elastic -- a user can have as much or as little of a service as they want at any given time; and the service is fully managed by the provider (the consumer needs nothing but a personal computer and Internet access). Significant innovations in virtualization and distributed computing, as well as improved access to high-speed Internet and a weak economy, have accelerated interest in cloud computing.

2 - Security
If the most sensitive data that your company uses is the price you pay for widgets then you probably won't get any pro hackers tapping in to your network but that data could still be very powerful in the wrong hands. A simple encryption and password protected system should be more than enough to protect most data but if you feel you need something stronger talk to a professional or take another look at cloud computing with high security as standard.

3 - Time or Results
One of the disadvantages of telecommuting, or advantage depending on your point of view, is that direct supervision of your workforce is not easily done. Depending on the tasks undertaken you should either pay telecommuters by time spent on a project or by results reached, given a stated level of quality. You may have a steep learning curve to realise the greatest bang for your buck but a well observed results experiment would be well advised at the start.

Other Telecommuting Policy Resources:

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5 Home Business Tools That Save Me Hours!

When you spend the majority of your time sat in front of a computer building your home business then anything that can save you time isn't just useful - it shows on your bottom line. If you can save time on doing the day to day tasks you'll have more time concentrating on the revenue creating tasks - such as marketing and customer support.

My 5 favourite home business tools are listed below but there is one thing you really need - something I came across by accident after setting up a new computer in my office - a second screen. Trust me, with two open screens my productivity shot through the roof, less 'tab snapping' and great for having a 'resource' screen and a 'working' screen. Try it.

OK, so here they are, if you have any suggestions or if you've found a better option let me know in the comments.

1. Lastpass - I love this one. All those passwords you've got written down can now be kept in one place. Unlike microsoft explorers password storer this one holds your passwords on a secure server that you access with just one master password. After logging in it fills all those user/pass forms in for you automatically. It even stores profiles that you can use to fill in your address and credit card numbers. This one alone must save me an hour a week - highly recommended.

2. Ping - If you're still adding the updates to your blog on all the social network sites by hand then you need this badly. Ping.fm takes your blogs feed (or any feed) and then passes it on to over 30 different social sites making sure you get the best exposure. It takes a while to set up the accounts but once done you will literally save days in the month.

3. only2clicks - I'm sure this probably says a lot about my personality type but I really hate bookmarks. A dropdown where you have to search for the site you need or the group that it's in - hurts my eyes and my brain. The solution for me was only2clicks - a bookmarking site that stores your saved pages as screenshots under relevant tabs. It just produces a much nicer experience for me and I find I can navigate a great deal faster.

4. AWeber - Now I love my members, I really do, but if I had to write an email to every one and welcome them to the site I would get nothing else done. And then there's the explanation emails, the new feature email, the new jobs email - the list goes on. Thankfully, there's Aweber. This is the most robust autoresponder service on the web. As soon as a new lead signs up on your website for free info or a call back or to receive a newsletter AWeber starts delivering the info they need. It drip feeds information to your potential customers hopefully convincing them of your service or professionalism until they decide to bite and give you money. It stops your leads from going cold and turns them into eager buyers without you having to constantly keep them up-to-date manually.

5. RSS - We've all heard of RSS and you may have clicked that link a few times to see what happens. But it seems that few people in the non-webby business world have actually grasped the power of it. It is the perfect method to consume focused information. If you have a company in the widget industry you can go to every top website or blog in that industry and grab their RSS. Those RSS's are then put into your favourite reader and you have the most comprehensive and cutting edge newspaper in the world. Every day when you boot up the computer you will have all the latest news from your business world at your finger tips.

For the nuts and bolts of RSS take a look at the video below and don't forget to sign up to mine.

http://www.youtube.com/v/0klgLsSxGsU&hl=en_GB&fs=1&","allowfullscreen":"true"" src="http://blog.hiremyparents.com/wp-includes/js/tinymce/plugins/media/img/trans.gif" height="344" alt="" width="425" />

Those are my 5 favourites, if you have any further suggestions then please comment so we can share them.

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