Choosing the Right Home Business

Why do you want your own business?

Beyond the expected – “to make more money, why else, silly?” I’m asking you to think about what lifestyle you want. There are plenty of ways to make money. Some take 50+ hours a week, some take 5-10 hours. Some require you to go to others homes and some allow you to work from your laptop wherever you are. To help you really think through why you are pursuing a business I offer the 5 Why Method.
The 5 Why method originated with the Toyota manufacturing company. When faced with a decision, the management was taught to ask “why” 5 times. For you it might work like this:
“Why do I want to have my own business” – to make money from home
“Why do I want to make money from home” – I hate my job and I want to be home with my kids
“Why do I hate my job” – it doesn’t pay enough, the hours are long, the boss is a @$%^, and I have to miss the kid’s soccer games.
“Why do you have to miss the games?” – because I can’t get the time off
“Why can’t you get the time off?” – I have to be in the office every hour it is open.

From this process, you could gather that while the obvious answer to “Why do I want my own business?” is: to make more money, the deeper answer is “I want the flexibility to be there for my children.”

Now we can start to narrow down the options for business choices:
*You could start a retail scrapbook store, but that really wouldn’t help the problem as brick and mortar stores take 50 to 100 hours a week to get up and running.
*If you decide to sell custom made wedding albums and get into partnership with a photographer, what if she sends you 5 orders a month during the peak wedding season, are you prepared to put in that much time for a short period? Would that time conflict with soccer season?
*You might come to realize selling custom made baby albums to retail baby stores is a good fit. This gives you more control over your time, somewhat easier marketing (one customer to supply over and over rather than getting new customers for each product,) and a little less profit.

If you are truly serious about starting and succeeding in business, you’ll want to take the time to really think through these types of questions. Having a better understanding of yourself and what your objectives are will put you well ahead of the pack. You’ve heard that 4 out of 5 businesses fail within the first 5 years. You know there are millions of abandoned blogs and web sites out there. Most of those folks had a dream to start a business but they didn’t have a realistic idea of what they could do and how much time they could put into it.
You’re going to start your business off on a much better foundation because you’re taking the time to get a good idea of what business will realistically fit your lifestyle.

Scrapbook Business

This is me asking for opinions, should I add a welcome video to the home page of my new site? YourScrapbookPages.com

Would a video of me explaining what the free class is about, be more appealing? Read more

Selling Premade Scrapbooks

For the scrapbook artist who wants to sell crafts online, selling premade scrapbooks can be the perfect answer. There is a growing market for premade scrapbooks, premade scrapbook pages and even specialty albums like baby and wedding albums. Read more

Becoming a Small Business Woman

Being self employed requires a new paradigm, or way of thinking. It requires a willingness to change. Just starting a business, does not make you successful women entrepreneur. It takes a new mindset. Many businesses fail because women with great dreams, good ideas, and a willingness to work, lack one thing: a business owners perspective of the world. Read more

Are You an Entrepreneur?

Do You Have What It Takes?

Learn the characteristics and habits of creative, successful entrepreneurs.

Many successful entrepreneurs have similar traits and characteristics.  Learn what these are and what you can do to improve on your own. Read more

Why Scrapbook for Others?

I just read a very touching story about a  man whose wife died suddenly of cancer, leaving him to care for two young daughters, hold down his job, and do all the funeral planning. He was distraught over his desire to create a photo montage of his beloved wife before the funeral but had no idea where to begin.  “I want people to see her as she really was,” was his distressed cry to his friends. Read more

Efficiency vs Effectiveness

Time management. For the home business person, it can be a hard area to conquer. There is always something around the house waiting to be done. When you’re working, you’re thinking about the laundry or making supper or picking up that clutter you can see through the open doorway. Read more

What is your Business Personality?

What is your business personality, and why should you care?
You may be familiar with the study of personality types. We’ll discuss the four most common ones in a moment. You know everyone is different, we see the world differently, we have different likes and dislikes, different preferences and ways we interact with the world. Read more

You Can Write an eBook!

EBooks are an excellent business-building tool. They can be used as a giveaway to build your email list, as a product to sell and as a bonus for a larger product or service.  They build credibility and help position you as an expert in your field. If you’re new to writing an eBook, it can seem like an overwhelming process.  Here’s how to break it down and make writing your first eBook manageable. Read more