In this article we will look at the six essential elements required to establish and run a successful and profitable home business. The elements are, in no particular order, marketing, accounting, product or service, delivery methods, coordination or planning and the business of business.
Accounting – Cash is like oxygen to your home business, and the proper control of the funds is the only way to ensure that your home business continues to breathe. The same applies to much larger businesses as well but it tends to be more obvious in large businesses and no business will survive for long without good financial management.
Marketing – even people with a better mousetrap need to advertise and market – it is just a fact of home business life. Contrary to what you may hear elsewhere, good products do not sell themselves. People buy to satisfy their needs and wants. So they must know your product exists and they must be reasonably sure that it will satisfy their needs or wants before they will buy it from you.
Product or Service – Have you got what they want? Some so called advertising experts and copywriters say if you advertise well enough people will buy. While this may be true to some extent it does not tell the full story. If you operate like this you may end up with some sales but you will not make customers and your probability of your home business making repeat sales drops accordingly.
Methods of Delivery. Not just the deliver of goods or services but the whole interaction of your home business with your customers. Is the ordering process easy? Do the customers of your home business know what to expect and do you regularly delight them by delivering more than this?
The business of business. Even with a home business, the structure has to be looked after. There are basic legal requirements, licences, health and safety considerations, all the little things that don’t really make your home business thrive any better but will certainly cause some problems if they are ignored. In this category, also is the logistics – a chair, a desk, all the basic requirements to allow your home business to function.
Coordination and Planning. Imagine a jigsaw puzzle where each of the pieces were made separately and you had the job of trying to put them together afterwards. Some home businesses are constantly trying to adjust a bit here and there to fit circumstances as they arise. Some of this will still be necessary as things change. However you will be in a much better position to respond to changes if your home business operates as a coordinated whole most of the time.
So in conclusion, the successful home business is made of the essential elements of marketing, accounting, product or service, delivery methods, coordination or planning and the business of business. These elements put together and aimed squarely at a target market will surely make a successful home business just as the right ingredients for a cake properly baked will surely result in delicious eating.
All the elements are necessary. It is true that a home business may operate for a while without one or two – but in the end proper attention to all of these elements is what it takes to achieve massive success in your home business.
