Does Your Home Business Have the Summertime Blues?

2006-07-07T13:38:00.000-07:00

The summer months can be hard on a home business. Distractions abound – the kids are home, the temperatures are balmy, and there are just so many other things to do. Plus, the summer months tend to be slower for business anyway – because those same summer distractions are affecting your customers, too.

But you don’t have to succumb to the summer slump. Here are seven tips for reinvigorating your home-based business today.

1. Recognize that all businesses have an ebb and a flow, so try not to get overly concerned about a month or two of dwindling numbers. The last thing you want to do is push the panic button. Use this slower time as a cue to re-examine your priorities and your values as a home-based business owner. Rewrite the mission statement of your business.

2. Refine your “success system.” The most effective and efficient businesses have a streamlined system for success. Take a hard look at your business plan, including your advertising and promotion, ROI, overhead costs, sales, and conversion rates. What’s working? What’s not? Crunch your numbers from the previous months – and determine where your summer business starts to flag. Can you make up for declining sales with additional promotion? What can you do now to make your autumn and holiday business boom? Look at your financial reports from last summer. What kinds of activities were successful in breaking you out of the rut?

3. Think outside the box. Promote your business with a summer fundraiser or write a series of press releases. Brainstorm as many new promotional possibilities as you can – however outlandish they may seem at first. Then try one or two marketing activities you’ve never tried before…just for the sake of experimenting.

4. Renew your goals. What do you want to accomplish in your business between now and December 31? Sometimes a new goal is all it takes to get out of a self-induced mental slump. Write down short term sales goals, as well as the number of business-building activities you aim to do each day. Review your goals once or twice daily.

5. Enlist your kids. If the summer months bring distractions from your kids, enlist their help. Even small children can help with certain tasks. You may also consider hiring a neighborhood teen to play with the children in the backyard while you get the important stuff done.

6. Take some time off. When the sun is shining and the breeze is blowing, sometimes you just have to get away from your desk for an hour or two. One of the greatest joys of having a home-based business is the flexibility to call your own shots and work your own hours, so go enjoy yourself for awhile. You’ll be able to concentrate much better when you return.

7. Follow your time off with immediate, purposeful action. Even if you need to take your laptop to the Starbucks patio, get working on your new goals. Keep telling yourself that this is going to be your best year yet – and you’re going to make it happen!

How To Choose the Right Direct Sales Business

2006-05-30T12:53:00.000-07:00

You may know me from my website, momscape.com - and you may have seen some of the articles I've written on the subject of home-based businesses. I just recently wrote the following article, which you are welcome to share or reprint as you see fit. Please just keep the About the Author section intact.

Ten Tips for Choosing the Right Direct Sales CompanyBy Susie Cortright, http://www.momscape.com/
Direct sales can be your ticket to a profitable home-based business. There's low risk and low overhead - and you'll find lots of conversation, creativity, and cooperation among the company's representatives. But how do you know which company is right for you? Here are ten things to look for as you research your options.

1. Products. Successful direct sales consultants exude a genuine enthusiasm for their products. Before joining a company, you'll need to have the inner conviction that your company brings products and an opportunity that no other company can. It's important for you to get your hands on the products before you sign. Place an order or, at the very least, request a catalog and product samples before joining.

2. Passion. Does this company involve a business you are truly passionate about? One of the nice things about a direct sales business is that you can often find one that suits your personal passion...whether it's cooking, home décor, beauty, or scrapbooking & cardmaking. And when you're genuinely enthusiastic about the industry and the product, you'll feel as though you are sharing, teaching, and helping - not selling.

3. Initial investment. What kind of cash outlay will your start-up require? Look closely at the company's joining fee and/or the cost of your business starter kit, but also think realistically about how much inventory you'll need to have on hand and what kinds of business supplies or products you'll need to get your business started.

4. Monthly minimums. What kind of personal sales volume is required? Are you ready to invest the time and energy that this level of business building requires?

5. Compensation Plan. Each direct sales plan is different, and it's important to look over the fine print. What is the commission rate and how is it paid? How are you awarded for recruiting others? How does the company handle breakaways?

6. Control. How much control do you have over the way you build and promote your business? Ask to see the company "rule book" before signing on.

7. Support. What kind of support networks are in place? How involved in the business is your upline? (Is your upline able to answer the questions in this article, for example?) How quickly does he/she return phone calls and emails?

8. Advertising. What kind of advertising and promotion does the company deem acceptable? Most companies have rules for the way their logo and trademarks are represented, both online and off.

9. Accessibility. Does the company offer exclusive products? Also, take a look at the level of saturation in your particular market. A newer company that offers quality products may hold a lot of promise in your particular industry.

10. E-commerce. Does the company have an e-commerce option? Many direct sales companies are now offering replicated websites so each representative can promote an individual online presence. A few direct sales companies even have shopping carts alongside these websites so you can make sales online, too, with the product dropshipped from the home office.
Take your time researching your options. When you have found the company that's right for you, you'll know it.

About the author:
Susie Cortright is the founder of Momscape.com, where you can find more ideas and resources on starting a home-based business: ideas'>http://www.momscape.com/home-based-business/opportunities.htm Visit Susie's site today and get a subscription to her home-based-business newsletter for free: http://www.momscape.com/subscribe.htm

Home Based Business Ideas

Does Your Home Business Have the Summertime Blues?

How To Choose the Right Direct Sales Business