Are you a home based business owner? Or, are you looking for a home based business that would allow you to spend more time with your family and children? The current economic problems being experienced world-wide are also presenting an opportunity for many who would like to quit the corporate rat-race and design an alternative lifestyle that allows them to spend more time with the people that are important to them.A Daunting ProspectStarting any business let alone a home based business can be daunting. But there are many home based business opportunities that allow almost anyone to achieve success and earn an income. The problem for many people isn’t so much whether they can earn an income, but rather it is how quickly will they be able to generate an income that will support themselves and their family?This question is often better answered by the prospective business owners themselves rather than looking at the opportunity per se. There are many business models that can return very healthy profits, but which don’t due to actions, or, as is more often the case, inactions of the person running the business.Whilst a legitimate home based business model is an obvious requirement, this is not the end of the story. There are many opportunities where success has been achieved both by the respective distributors and the companies involved also, but this is no guarantee that the next person to come along will also be successful.Your Actions CountThe success or failure of any business really comes down to the individual running the business. There are many businesses operating within the same industry as competitors, but not all businesses succeed. Whilst there may be many reasons why one particular business succeeds while another competitor falls by the wayside, ultimately it comes down to the person or persons in charge and the actions that they take. If a business fails, does that make that business model a failure, or is it the failure of those running the business?In the home business market, the proportion of people starting businesses without any business acumen or understanding of what is required in terms of effort, is disproportionately high. The net result of which is that any failures are blamed on the opportunity or business model rather than perhaps the business owner’s lack of action.Planning Is CrucialWhat is required is for the business owner to take the necessary action in order to succeed. The sort of action that is needed starts even before becoming involved in the business, at the assessment stage. With any business, the appropriate due diligence and research should be undertaken. Do you understand your target market? Have you put together a business plan that can be executed? The trouble is that because a home based business often doesn’t require the same level of investment that some of the more traditional business models might, it is seen as an easy option for starting up a business. This perception also leads to a lack of due diligence and research being undertaken, and an absolute lack of planning.If it is accepted practice to put a business plan together for the so-called ‘traditional’ business models, then why has it become acceptable to start a home based business without so much as sniff of a plan in sight?It is an unfortunate fact, that until prospective home based business owners start to plan their businesses to the same degree that would be expected of any other business model, then the continuing high failure rates are likely to continue.
Home Based Business – Top 5 Reasons to Start One Today
Owning your own home based business is one of the most exciting and rewarding experiences that an increasing number of Americans are choosing each and every day. For many, the recent economic downturn has had a significant influence on this decision.
The days of starting in a company after graduating from school and working your way to the top are long gone. Employee and employer loyalty are a thing of the past. With the recent losses in the stock market affecting many Americans 401k plans, and the increasing number of layoffs, there is no better time to start a home based business.
The ability to stay at home, spending more time with your family while building a strong financial future is very appealing. Growing numbers of Americans are realizing that they need to take charge of their future. With the recent collapses of many Fortune 500 companies, corporate America has lost much of its appeal. Most Americans in many recent surveys, have stated that there financial future concerns them the most.
Currently, 1 in every 53 American households files for bankruptcy each year. This statistic is steadily rising. Of those, approximately 60-70% could have avoided filing with an additional $300-$600 per month income. A very large percentage of retirement aged Americans cannot afford to maintain the lifestyle they had while working. Only 2% of Americans own their home outright.
I believe that Network Marketing is a great industry to be a part of. It allows you to get away from leveraging your time for money. It is a home based business that allows you to build a residual income. The most important thing to realize in any home based business, is that it is an opportunity and not a guarantee. It is like any other business that you start. It takes hard work, perseverance, and training to succeed in building a significant home based business.
The top five reasons that you need to start a home based business are:
1) Spend more time with your family
2) Eliminate Debt
3) Boost your retirement income by building residual income
4) Take more vacations
5) Enjoy Tax benefits
There are countless other reasons to start a home based business, and you really need to list all that are important to you. This will help you build your belief that you can succeed in this industry.
How to Find Great Live Auctions for Resale Items
Hi, my name is Walt. I’m an auctioneer with 25 years of experience in the auction business and licensed in the state of MA. I own Quick Auction Service, a company that specializes in building and running custom auctions, I’m also the webmaster of my own site and have been on eBay for 8 years. Besides eBay, the types of auctions I run most frequently are antiques and on-site estate auctions, although I’ve run everything from business overstock auctions to charity & special event auctions.
I enjoy sharing my knowledge and stories of the auction business. My goal for article is to help folks get the absolute most out of their auction experience.
Whether your fresh out of the package or a seasoned dealer I think I can offer something in this article to help you with your auciton adventures.
There may be as many reasons to attend auctions as there are types of auctions to attend. Maybe you want to attend an auction to buy items for re-sale on eBay, or some other market. Maybe you want to furnish your home with wonderful antiques, or you want to furnish your home as inexpensively without sacrificing quality.Some folks are just looking for a fun night out. With a little perseverance all these things are possible.
There are antiques and estate auctions, auto auctions, overstock auctions, absolute and no reserve auctions, real estate auctions, specialty auctions where only one genre of items are sold, tailgate auctions, live auctions, online auctions, sealed bid auctions, silent auctions, charity and fund raising auctions and many more.
Can you really buy for pennies on the dollar at an auction? You bet! Many times I’ve seen folks buy and re-sell at the same auction on the same night for a good profit, although be advised, this should only be done after the auction is over.
There are a lot of ways to find an auction, but here are some tips on how to find and attend the best ones.
Visit the genre of shops in the area that apply to the type of auction you want to attend. IE: If your looking for a good antique auction to attend, stop in the local antiques shops and ask for what there are for good auctions in the area. Sounds obvious right? But listen to what they don’t say as well as what they do say. Oftentimes when a dealer speaks poorly about an auction he or she attends, it may be likely that they are trying to keep a good thing secret. Think for a moment, why would a dealer keep attending a lousy auction?
Newspaper ads: I personally like to find ads in the classified ad section rather than flashy display ads. Flashy ads are usually indicative of an auction that will be high priced, may have reserves, (a set price on an item), and usually an enormous crowd. While any auction can be profitable to attend, it is usually best to steer clear of the glitzy ones, at least for the beginner.
Here’s the minimum you want to find out before you go. If there is a phone number in the ad, call and ask for the terms of the sale. What forms of payment do they accept? Is it an absolute auction? An absolute auction is one that has no minimum or reserve bids on items. These are the best auctions to attend! Is there a buyers premium? A buyers premium is like a tax that everyone who makes purchases at that auction must pay above the winning bid price. Most auctions these days do charge a buyers premium, 10% is not unreasonable but I feel much more than that is greedy, and the auctioneer that charges over 10% is counting on most bidders not doing the extra math as the bids quicken in pace.
A fair auction will have ample time to inspect the merchandise, usually at least 2 or 3 hours. Find out when inspection starts and make sure to attend! Never attend an auction if you can’t make the inspection, not unless your prepared to gamble. Most auctioneers sell at a rate of about 100 items per hour, which is why they sell “as is”. They simply don’t have the time to give a detailed description of all the items. Since almost all items at auction are sold AS IS, there are sure to be some damaged, refinished, fake and incomplete items at any given auction. Beware of any auctions that offer very little or no inspection time.
Good auctions will usually have 150 to 400 lots. A lot may be one item or a group of items. The exception to this are specialty auctions, auto auctions, real estate auctions etc.
When you attend your first sale, take note of the 1/2 dozen or so dealers that buy the most often. See if you can find out about other area auctions they attend.
When you do find an excellent auction, attend it as often as possible. By frequenting good sales, you help increase the bottom line of that business. It’s difficult for many auctioneers to keep the quality of merchandise consistent, so good attendance certainly helps. And when an auctioneer gets to know you as a buyer, he/she will go out of the way to accommodate you, to keep you coming back.