katie@freelancersintheuk.co.uk
0779 397 2882
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Freelancers In The UK katie@freelancersintheuk.co.uk 0779 397 2882 |
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Home businessesEnterprise Nation at www.enterprisenation.com is the home business website, a free resource for anyone starting and growing a business from home.
Adjust your clocks as the world of work is changing. People in their thousands are heading home from the day job to build a business at nights and weekends. It’s what we call the 5 to 9 economy and it’s a great way of starting a business as it means low cost and low risk. Are you interested in joining this growing group of part-time and spare-room entrepreneurs? Starting up a business in your spare time is, I would say, the best way to start. You give yourself time to research the market, test out your products & services, build a presence on the web and, critically, make some sales. And you can do all of this whilst holding down a job that continues to pay the bills and cover your overheads. Consider a few small investments to get you going: Find dedicated space in the house – it’s important to keep home as a place to which you return from work and unwind so find a dedicated space/room which becomes your home office and in which you can comfortably be in ‘building my business’ mode. Technology – a growing range of products are designed to help the 5 to 9 entrepreneur. Create a home on the web through a blogging tool like blogger.com or wordpress.com, sell your products through sales platforms such as etsy.com and keep in contact with customers with a BlackBerry and follow-me numbers. These products and gadgets mean you can keep in regular contact with your business in a way that’s not detrimental to your job. Develop relationships – use your time to develop relationships with possible partners, suppliers and an all-round support network. Much of this can be done online by visiting business sites (such as my own at www.enterprisenation.com and www.freelancersintheuk.co.uk) and industry-specific sites where you can keep an eye on new ideas coming to market and follow what customers are buying. Business branding – promote yourself and your business at every opportunity with stylish stationery like business cards/promotion flyers/stickers etc. I particularly like moo.com as they offer good quality for low prices and the ordering process happens online. As your brand grows and, with it, the number of customers knocking on your home office door, the time you devote to the business will increase. Before you know it you’ll move from working full time for someone else to working full time for yourself! From hobby to home business We’re seeing something happen in the world of home business; every day we hear from people turning their hobby into a way of making a living. This is particularly so for people with a passion for arts and crafts. If you’re in this market, whose lead do you follow and what to do next? Crafty entrepreneurs We’ve profiled many a crafty entrepreneur on Enterprise Nation! And, of late, many of them have taken their hobby for arts & anything handmade and turned it into a profitable and home based business. Eloise Hall is a perfect example. Whilst working on a hat design, she started to play with butterfly shapes, mounted and framed them to brighten up her studio and saw the beginnings of a business as visitors wanted to buy them. She’s now successfully running ButterflyButterfly from her sales room studio. Rebecca Shreeve’s hobby for creating textile creatures for kids started whilst she was at University. The hobby has developed, as has Rebecca’s business that’s called Quirkles and is run from her parents' home. These, and many other hobbyists, show it’s perfectly possible to earn by doing something you love. Take a couple of steps and you could be too. Tell the neighbours .. and then the world Show off your work to friends and family; to neighbours and people in the local area. Put a price on your work and promote the fact that it’s for sale. It’s a great way to test the market and get the business up and running. Make sales, increase production, ask for customer feedback and keep on improving the product and your business process. When you feel confident enough, move on to a national/international stage and open yourself up to a bigger audience. There’s never been a better time to do this and never been so many sites to act as your sales platform. Check these out for starters: Etsy.com – still the mother of all craft sites, this American platform is stylish and powerful Myehive.com – a UK start-up launched in September ’08 yet already swarming with home business bees Folksy.com – passionate about being champions of cool crafts and design talent Allthingsoriginal.com – featuring independent British designers Dawanda.com – a sales and store place that’s spreading fast across Europe Experiment with these sites and test out the one that suits you most. Scale to finish As sales flow in, have the resource in place to scale up and meet demand. This may involve calling in other crafty folk to help out with production/wrapping/customer care. Which is good news as it means others can share in the fruits of your hobby too! A professional front door When you run a business from home, you realise the importance of extending a professional welcome to existing clients and potential customers. Presenting to prospects a reception that says ‘we are in business, here to serve and quality is our aim.’ There are a number of ways to extend such a welcome. By post You might want to hide your address; maybe it sounds too domestic or you just don’t want people turning up on your doorstep! You can do this with a P.O. Box number that’s easily set up with Royal Mail. Or, rent a mailbox at Mail Boxes Etc., which gives a more tailored and personal service than a P.O. Box. You get a nice sounding address – and a place to meet other home business owners. By phone It’s cheap and sometimes free to get an 0845 local rate number or an 0870 national rate number for your home business. It will hide where you’re based and divert calls to wherever you specify. Bear in mind, though, that having such a number – especially with national rates – might put customers off ringing you. If you use a landline number it’s best to have a separate line for home and for business. It will stop your business calls from being answered by the kids and give you a chance to escape work calls when you want to. You don’t need to invest in an actual second line as VoIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) is an option. This uses a broadband internet connection to make and receive calls. The VoIP service I use and recommend is Skype. To have someone take calls when you can’t, consider a call-handling service like Moneypenny. They answer calls with your company name, text on urgent messages and email the others, giving you a big business feel and giving customers a professional welcome that inspires confidence. On the web This could be the topic of a full feature in itself! Your website is sometimes the first thing potential customers see – and they’ll make a judgement in seconds! Create a well-designed site by hiring a professional designer or build your own and include the basic pages: About us/ News/ Products or services/ FAQs/ Contact us If you’re not ready to invest in a bells and whistles website, set up a blog to show off your products and services. This can be done for free via blogger.com or wordpress.com. Face-to-face Meeting clients outside the home office offers another opportunity to show how professional you are. Find a venue that chimes with your brand and that will create the right impression. Anyone who visits my site will know I’m a member and huge fan of private member’s club, One Alfred PlaceIt provides me with a professional base in the city and a space in which clients feel comfortable about doing business. Investing in these services will make you look professional and well and truly open for business. Top 5 technology apps of 2008 As we enter the month of December, I can’t help but look back at the year that was. The thousands of new businesses started, the people we’ve profiled, and the technology applications that have made our lives complete. In no particular order of preference, I give you my top 5 technology applications of 2008. 1. Basecamp [www.basecamphq.com] – the backbone of the business. This project management software helps us keep on top of things. By logging in, the team can see the status of each client and contribute to future projects. It saves on sending group emails and files and keeps your thoughts and intelligence in one place. To clients, it makes you look super-organised. Cost: 49 per month (£32) 2. Skype [www.skype.com] – our virtual water cooler, video conference system and podcast production kit. Yes, we do lots with Skype! It’s a versatile product that at its most basic level offers an instant messaging service. Taking it to the next level allows you to connect with customers by webcam or group calls. Cost: Free to download. £20 for basic hand phone or headset. 3. Twitter [www.twitter.com] – a perfect way to show off your expertise .. and, yes, see what your friends had for lunch. Twitter has had a bad rap for being ‘lightweight’ and ‘a form of virtual stalking’ but anyone who uses it will know it’s no such thing. Twitter is a tool that is low maintenance, yet powerful. It provides an outlet for your expertise as you tweet in less than 140 words on your thoughts and motions of the day. To be sure, there is a social angle to this neat application but that’s what home business is all about; business mixed with life. Cost: Free 4. Surveymonkey [Surveymonkey.com] – take polls and run Awards with this cheeky piece of software. Our 2008 Home Business Awards were managed by surveymonkey.com - it was a delight to use and is also cost-effective. Cost: Basic package is free. Cost to upgrade. 5. Blogger and Wordpress [blogger.com/wordpress.com] – the launch pad for many a home business. These blogging tools have allowed thousands of people to turn a hobby into a business and create a home on the web that generates a financial return. For that reason, blogging platforms make it in to the top 5 list! Cost: Free There are many other quality applications on the market. A number have been mentioned by members in our forum; from accounting packages like Freshbooks to mail shot programmes like Mailchimp. As for the applications we’ll be testing at Enterprise Nation in 2009, they include news feed Yahoo Pipes, sales tool Go To Webinar and customer relationship software, salesforce.com. It’s going to be another busy year! When the phones hush and emails subside One of the most appreciated aspects of December (aside from it being a time for family and festivities) is that it’s a quiet work time that allows home business owners to get the house in order. The phones don’t ring so much and emails don’t arrive so often. It’s a perfect time for some considered business planning. Make plans against these main headings to be sure of starting the New Year with that extra bit of oomph. Business Development The first priority is to take care of existing clients. Send Christmas cards (with personalised notes) to thank them for their custom over the year. For bigger clients, set up New Year meetings to ask for feedback and propose new ideas and activities for the new year. As for new clients, make a list of those you’d like to work for in 2009. This is your sales pipeline that can be recorded in excel, in your carry-around note book or via software applications such as www.salesforce.com. Spend a couple of quiet hours researching contact names and, if you can find the time in between merriment and mince pies, send an introductory email to the contact so the note is waiting for them at the beginning of the year. Marketing Produce a 12 month press schedule and resolve to writing a press release each month. Think about partners who could add weight to the release - maybe through a joint piece of research or a survey – or help with distribution. Set up these alliances now so they’re ready to activate when the time comes to release your news. If you have an online presence, December is the month to spend an hour going through the site as if you were a new visitor. Does the design still reflect the brand/ are there any broken links/ is the press section up to date etc. Give the site a spring clean so it’s ready for all the new traffic set to arrive on account of your ’09 marketing plan. Technology Carry out a technology audit. The key questions to ask are:
Finance The final piece of planning is the finances. Does cashflow look strong and is this the time to consider outside investment to take the company to its next stage of growth. After all this planning, you’ll feel fit and ready for the year to come. And will have earned yourself a glass of fine mulled wine! The top 5 home business occupations in 2009 You can guarantee that the number of businesses started at home will increase in 2009. That’s for sure. And it’s on account of lower start-up costs, lack of commute and the fact that many more people will launch a part-time business; holding down a day job and returning home to build a business at nights and weekends. But what will these businesses be doing? Here’s a list of what we think will be the top 5 home business occupations of 2009.
Arts and crafts Driving this growth is the increasing number of platform sites offering a window to the world for products. In a recent feature (link to http://www.enterprisenation.com/detail/The_top_5_sites_for_selling_arts_and_crafts/2440/1.aspx), we reviewed five such sites, from the globe-sprawling etsy.com to UK upstarts such as myehive.com and folksy.com. They all offer a powerful sales channel for artisans and are a key factor in the continued rise in arts and craft home based business.
Business services Expect to see thousands of new businesses started by professional experts including web site designers, accountants, copywriters, lawyers and recruiters. Skilled and talented individuals are leaving employers (or, in the unfortunate case of redundancy, being asked to leave) and choosing to go off and do a better job on their own. We hear from many who are enjoying the new-found freedom and flexibility that comes with being your own boss.
Making Money Online You can’t ignore the web. And why would we, when it’s delivering so many new opportunities for people to make money. Start a part time business on eBay and build up sales. Launch an online store with venda.com and watch the orders come in. Build traffic to your blog or website and generate advertising and sponsorship. By the time the year is out there’ll be dozens more new ways of making money online and home business owners will be making the most of them.
Domestic services If people aren’t moving homes in 2009, they will be improving them. This throws up a raft of opportunities for new home business owners. We predict a rise in the number of businesses offering services from cleaning to interior design and garden landscaping.
Franchise This final one isn’t an occupation as such but we are confident of seeing a rise in the number of people opting to buy into a franchise. In doing so, business owners benefit from being their own boss but also being part of a team. Outfits to benefit from this will include Travel Counsellors, Virgin Vie, My Secret Kitchen and Girlie Gardening. We’re expecting an exciting year for home business in 2009. Let’s wait until the end of it to see if we got these judgement calls right! 7 steps to creating the right impression You only get one chance to create a first impression. To make sure it’s the right one, follow these 7 steps that will have people meeting you, liking you and, critically, wanting to do business with you. 1. Be confident – walk into a room with your head held high and confidence intact. This will come across clearly in your posture. Shake hands firmly and look the other person in the eye when introducing yourself. If someone is coming to collect you from a waiting room, remain standing whilst you wait – no matter how appealing the sofa looks! 2. Look the part – are your shoes polished and hair brushed? This may sound like a small thing but potential customers will look for the detail. The state of your appearance and dress could make the difference between winning a contract, or not. If you can, check yourself in the mirror just before greeting; it’s the safest way to avoid sitting through a vitally important meeting with cappuccino froth on your lips! 3. Good design speaks volumes – ensure your personal image is reflected in your professional image. Do you have a memorable logo? And does that logo appear on business cards, your website and other promotion materials? Company design can make you stand out and it’s worth paying a professional to get it right. 4. Take an interest in the other person – creating a good impression is about listening to the other person, as much as it is telling them about you. Ask questions about their business, hobbies, life and they, in turn, will take a deeper interest in yours. It’s also through asking questions that you’ll find common points of connection. 5. Be clear on the offer – when asked to describe your business, product or offer, be clear and concise. Perfect your elevator pitch – this is the description of the business that can be uttered in less than 15 seconds. When I meet someone new my line is “Hello. I’m Emma Jones. My company helps people start and grow businesses from home.” 6. A bit of give and take – when heading to a meeting or networking event, of course you want to get something out of the experience but be prepared to give a little too. You’re meeting a potential client and would like their business. Give something in return, whether that be your free expert opinion or opening up your rolodex and making a virtual introduction (this takes only seconds yet will keep you in the mind of the beneficiary for time to come) 7. Follow-up – back in the home office and it’s time to follow up on the actions agreed. Be prompt and the relationship will progress just so. Taking these steps will ensure you create the right impression and that your business is regarded as professional and trustworthy. What better way to secure new customers. Twitter Mania You know there’s something happening when you speak at a business event, mention the benefits of Twitter and, by the time you’re home, have 13 new followers. Twitter is catching on. Fast. And it’s a great little tool for business, if you know how best to use it. Tweet, tweet Not only are people signing up to Twitter in their millions, it’s the application on everyone’s lips. In the past two days, popular blog Zen Habits has posted a feature on ‘how to get things done with Twitter’ and copyblogger.com is advising on ‘how to go viral with Twitter.’ The more this micro-blogging platform is spoken about, the more it will continue to catch on. And why not? When Twitter is free, quick to use, and easy to maintain, it’s only right that so many people are opting to post life and business snapshots in 140 characters or less. Here are some tips on how it can work for you. Make it easy for people to follow you – display a Twitter feed on your website or blog and include your Twitter identification at the end of presentations and on profiles. Ease in to it gently – post gradually at first and get comfortable with becoming a micro-blogger. People have told me they don’t feel Twitter is for them. I reply to say that’s how I felt at first. But if you see Twitter for what it is (a useful business tool and social meeting pot) then it soon becomes a useful and enjoyable part of everyday life. Share your expertise – Twitter is a great outlet for sharing your knowledge. Post links to industry news and snippets and upload your thoughts and ideas. This will enhance your image as an expert and encourage people to buy from you. Get feedback – asking questions via Twitter will result in almost immediate responses. Journalists post and ask for case studies, pollsters ask for views and on the road homeworkers ask for hotel recommendations. Join the conversation – make the most of Twitter as a business and social tool. When you work from home it’s good to have a network of chattering contacts that you can step into on a 5 minute break or breather. I would recommend Twitter to you all. Sign up at twitter.com and find and follow me at emmaljones – I share home business tips...and offer what some believe to be out-of-touch homeworking playlist recommendations! Never has this piece of advice been more relevant. You went in to business to do the things you most enjoy. When you enjoy something, you’re good at it and that, in turn, attracts loyal customers. Keep hold of those customers by sticking to your knitting and find other experts to take on the tasks you shouldn’t be performing. What’s outsource-able? Part of the adrenaline drive of business is getting to do many a varied thing. On Monday you could be courting new clients and on Tuesday completing the VAT return, whilst meeting a project deadline. Being the Finance Director, Marketing Director and Business Development Director in all one body and in one day is very much part of the adventure that is business. But there will come a time when some of these tasks could be done better, faster and cheaper by someone else. Tasks such as:
The good news is there are a host of experts starting up their own businesses in these fields to cater for your every need. Here’s my advice when it comes to doing what you do best and outsourcing the rest. Do the groundwork – spend some time working on the task yourself so you’ve built some foundations before handing work over to a third party. For example, if you outsource sales to a specialist, have a ready-made contacts list and some open doors that the specialist can build on, rather than start from scratch. This will make it more cost effective for you; it’s not a contract from a cold start, you have already done the groundwork. Be clear on the brief – having spent some time doing the task yourself, you will have a clear idea of the brief for the specialist. Back to the example of outsourcing sales, if you’ve spent 6 – 12 months sourcing leads and making contacts, you’ll have a much clearer idea of the type of prospecting the specialist should do. The clearer the brief, the better the results. Take your time – and take references. Spend time evaluating the specialists in the market and, if you can, talk to their existing clients. Do they have the industry experience you’re after, will they represent your brand in a professional manner, have they shown commitment to other clients. When an outsourced arrangement works well, the partner becomes part of your team so choose the partner as carefully as you would choose an employee. Let go! – outsourcing a key function means having to let go a little. Someone else becomes accountable for the results of this part of business. Embrace this rather than resist it. As the business owner you remain in ultimate control but the expert will need their own space to flourish. Outsourcing can save you time and earn you money. And finding the right partner, on the right terms, will make you feel like a new and liberated person. Working away from home A niche businessNew technology means it’s possible to work wherever you want. You’ve already decided you want to work for yourself and away from the traditional office, but now – with a few simple tips and tricks – you can enjoy unprecedented flexibility, and work almost anywhere, from your local coffee shop to the public park. With your computer If you already have a fairly up-to-date laptop computer, you have all you really need to work away from home. Most can pick up wireless Internet access from receivers already built-in. But if you have a slightly older laptop, buy a small adaptor which you plug into a spare USB port. Affordable options are available from a company called Belkin [www.belkin.com/uk] who provide pretty clear instructions to help you get started. If WiFi hotspots are few and far between, you can now get on the Internet practically anywhere, with a USB dongle. It looks like a flash thumbdrive and allows your laptop to connect to broadband speed-Internet from a mobile phone provider. Wi-Fi hotspots are usually free of charge in places like public libraries and independent coffee shops, where owners encourage you to use their hotspots to boost sales. If you’re looking fro out of home working locations in your area, check out myHotspots myhotspots.co.uk With your mobile or smart phone A Blackberry [http://eu.blackberry.com/eng ] is a smart phone and one of the most popular devices for working away from the home office. It allows you to surf the web, check your e-mail and edit office documents. Most mobile phones allow you to check email on the move, but it's best to check with your service provider before giving it a go. Unless included in your contract, checking email or surfing the web on your mobile phone can be quite expensive. If you use web mail, from Google for example, or Yahoo!, it's easy to check your email as there are mobile ready versions of their websites, which you can view on your mobile phone's web browser. Yahoo! Mobile [http://uk.mobile.yahoo.com] Google Mobile [http://www.google.com/mobile/] Mobile broadband is great if you're often on the move or use your laptop in a variety of locations, but it can be pricey. Look around for unlimited packages and those that provide the hardware for free. A forwarding number Skype www.skype.com, offers a call forwarding feature, which allows you to direct incoming calls to your Skype account or Skype phone number to your mobile phone. Depending on your package you can forward calls at no extra cost and it's easy to set up. Taking these steps will free you up to work from anywhere and, with the sun starting to shine, why not head into the garden to take on the inbox! In best-selling book ‘The Long Tail’ author Chris Anderson says the future of business does not lie in blockbuster hits but in niche products. Home businesses up and down the land are testimony to this. Emma Jones looks at why niche is good and showcases a few shining examples. An authoritative source Chris Anderson has achieved fame (and possibly a small fortune) through his excellent book that started the conversation on the power of being a niche business. In it he said: "We are now a nation of niches. There are still blockbuster movies, hit TV shows and top-selling CDs but fewer events that capture the communal popular culture spirit. The action is elsewhere, with the country watching cable shows or reading blogs that play to a specific audience." Niche is good Anderson is right. Home businesses are starting up to cater for specific needs and a specific audience. This is good for three reasons:
Here are just a few examples of niche businesses. They show you can find your niche whether you’re in food, fashion or events.
Green Union www.greenunion.co.uk - this is no ordinary wedding planner as Rosie Ames organizes ‘green weddings’ for couples who want to tie the knot in an eco-friendly fashion. The Cheese Shed www.thecheeseshed.com- came about after founders Ian Wellens and James Mann asked themselves: “What if there was a website where people from far-flung parts of the country could buy fabulous westcountry cheese?” – they went on to create it, bringing joy to Westcountry cheese lovers everywhere. If you’re starting a business, develop a specific product or idea that serves a specific audience and, if you’re growing your business, how about streamlining activity to focus on a niche end of the market.Emma Jones is Founder of Enterprise Nation www.enterprisenation.com, the home business company, and author of ‘Spare Room Start Up – how to start a business from home’ |
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