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Saturday, 29 August 2009
Thursday, 13 August 2009
Work From Home - What You Need to Know First
Have you been considering home based business opportunities? If so, you're certainly not alone, as there are an increasing number of people who are considering the idea of working from home very seriously. The trouble is that many people have silly assumptions regarding this method of working.
Many of the really important issues which need to be considered very carefully before making such a life change are often not given much thought until the jump has been made. In this article, let's have a look at some of the common assumptions and those matters overlooked, or not considered seriously enough.
Assumption 1: That you'll need to take a massive pay cut and take weeks, months or even years to earn a decent income. Although this can easily be the case, it needn't be. Those who claim that this happened to them, and perhaps quote it as the reason they gave up working at home, are probably those who underestimated the hard work entailed in leaving traditional jobs and staying at home instead. You wouldn't walk into a standard office job without having trained for it, prepared for it, and made sure that you're ready.
The same is true when considering work from home opportunities. It will be important to plan and prepare well in advance. Some people spend weeks or months working in their own time after work to get things started, and then switch to working part time to allow them to push the home work more, before finally committing to it full time. It's unlikely that you'll be able to walk out of a well-paid job on Friday evening and start heading up a successful and profitable home business opportunity on Monday morning.
Assumption 2: That you'll no longer have any support if things go wrong.
Of course, there's a degree of truth here, but in all honesty, it needn't be the case. If you're considering a work at home business, the chances are you've already started to investigate the possibilities. One thing you may well have noticed is how many forums and discussion boards there are which are maintained by those who have already started working from home, or have been doing so for years.
Make sure you join these, and talk to people. Often they'll be great support, but they'll also help put you in touch with relevant organizations and institutions which could offer a great deal of support and advice, whether it's tax related, sorting out your accounting, or looking at marketing strategies.
Overlooked point 1: Too many people assume that if they give up the day job and start working from home, they'll be able to relax a great deal more, with less pressure and more flexibility with hours. Of course, this can be the case, but only if you plan for it very carefully. A huge mistake made by some people is to start their home business on a Monday morning by sleeping in a few extra hours, taking leisurely time to watch daytime television, and squeeze a bit of work in here and there.
It's only when they start to realize how little work has been completed and how little money they've earned, that the pressure builds. Work from home business arrangements or opportunities require an inordinate amount of self-discipline. It requires that you plan carefully and rigidly, being aware of the work you need to do and planning your time off and breaks very carefully.
If you're not a very self-disciplined person, or would find it too tempting, this needs to be something you consider carefully. But with good planning and sensible use of your time, working from home can really provide the ultimate flexibility, and give you much greater freedom.
Overlooked point 2: Pressure from home. This might seem odd, since you're probably well aware of the pressures of office life, but your home is less stressful, and there's almost no pressure there - which is why you want to work from home in the first place, right? The trouble is that too few people really appreciate the pressure which their family can unwittingly bring to bear on their business plan. Seeing you at home all day, master of your own time, can easily give the impression that your time is now theirs.
Constant pressure to do little jobs around the house, play with the children, taxi them here and there, do some shopping, and a hundred and one other little daily tasks can eat into your concentration, eat into your precious time, and make you feel guilty for locking yourself away to work.
Bear this in mind, and discuss the whole business plan with your family to ensure they understand how you'll need their support.
If you take all of these hindrances to your success into consideration when you work from home, and take steps to ensure that you don't make false assumptions, and that you overlook nothing, than you will have a better than average chance of success with your new home business.
Many of the really important issues which need to be considered very carefully before making such a life change are often not given much thought until the jump has been made. In this article, let's have a look at some of the common assumptions and those matters overlooked, or not considered seriously enough.
Assumption 1: That you'll need to take a massive pay cut and take weeks, months or even years to earn a decent income. Although this can easily be the case, it needn't be. Those who claim that this happened to them, and perhaps quote it as the reason they gave up working at home, are probably those who underestimated the hard work entailed in leaving traditional jobs and staying at home instead. You wouldn't walk into a standard office job without having trained for it, prepared for it, and made sure that you're ready.
The same is true when considering work from home opportunities. It will be important to plan and prepare well in advance. Some people spend weeks or months working in their own time after work to get things started, and then switch to working part time to allow them to push the home work more, before finally committing to it full time. It's unlikely that you'll be able to walk out of a well-paid job on Friday evening and start heading up a successful and profitable home business opportunity on Monday morning.
Assumption 2: That you'll no longer have any support if things go wrong.
Of course, there's a degree of truth here, but in all honesty, it needn't be the case. If you're considering a work at home business, the chances are you've already started to investigate the possibilities. One thing you may well have noticed is how many forums and discussion boards there are which are maintained by those who have already started working from home, or have been doing so for years.
Make sure you join these, and talk to people. Often they'll be great support, but they'll also help put you in touch with relevant organizations and institutions which could offer a great deal of support and advice, whether it's tax related, sorting out your accounting, or looking at marketing strategies.
Overlooked point 1: Too many people assume that if they give up the day job and start working from home, they'll be able to relax a great deal more, with less pressure and more flexibility with hours. Of course, this can be the case, but only if you plan for it very carefully. A huge mistake made by some people is to start their home business on a Monday morning by sleeping in a few extra hours, taking leisurely time to watch daytime television, and squeeze a bit of work in here and there.
It's only when they start to realize how little work has been completed and how little money they've earned, that the pressure builds. Work from home business arrangements or opportunities require an inordinate amount of self-discipline. It requires that you plan carefully and rigidly, being aware of the work you need to do and planning your time off and breaks very carefully.
If you're not a very self-disciplined person, or would find it too tempting, this needs to be something you consider carefully. But with good planning and sensible use of your time, working from home can really provide the ultimate flexibility, and give you much greater freedom.
Overlooked point 2: Pressure from home. This might seem odd, since you're probably well aware of the pressures of office life, but your home is less stressful, and there's almost no pressure there - which is why you want to work from home in the first place, right? The trouble is that too few people really appreciate the pressure which their family can unwittingly bring to bear on their business plan. Seeing you at home all day, master of your own time, can easily give the impression that your time is now theirs.
Constant pressure to do little jobs around the house, play with the children, taxi them here and there, do some shopping, and a hundred and one other little daily tasks can eat into your concentration, eat into your precious time, and make you feel guilty for locking yourself away to work.
Bear this in mind, and discuss the whole business plan with your family to ensure they understand how you'll need their support.
If you take all of these hindrances to your success into consideration when you work from home, and take steps to ensure that you don't make false assumptions, and that you overlook nothing, than you will have a better than average chance of success with your new home business.
Thursday, 6 August 2009
Fatal Branding Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
In launching a new business, branding can often be an aspect given far less attention than it really deserves, and this can cause a number of problems and issues in the future. The brand of a product or service, or the company as a whole, can make a huge difference as far as its success is concerned. Think of the many brands which are clearly in the general public's consciousness, and then ask yourself, how they managed to get there.
In some cases, it is simply as a result of longevity. Naturally, major brands or companies which have been around for many years have become well known, and household names. But there are many new companies, organizations and services available which have not been around for very long at all, and yet they have already achieved a high level of status and recognition.
The most successful companies, including offline and online home businesses, put a great deal of time, effort and attention into their branding, and will include marketing and advertising into the discussion to try to ensure that the product is as successful as possible.
Branding can be everything from the name of the product or company, the logo, and any attributes such as color themes, styles, physical appearances and slogans. These need to work together, without being too complicated.
When it comes to a successful brand, simplicity is often the key.
Sometimes the very complicated graphics, or difficult names, can be forgotten or ignored too easily. The simplest graphics, slogans and names can often become very popular, simply because they are so easy to remember and to recognize.
If you think of logos first of all, which brands jump to mind? Often it is the simple, clear, distinct logos which are most easily remembered, such as Nike, for example. Although there are successful logos which are at the same time quite complex, they tend to be in the minority, and have another aspect to them which is simple, in order to compensate for it. The Coca Cola logo is rather more complex than Nike's tick, yet the colours are limited to red and white, with a distinctive font.
Branding involves a wide range of aspects, the name being one which is of most importance. Remembering a logo, or a slogan, or even a color theme, without being able to remember the actual product or business name, is of no use whatsoever. Any logo or slogan needs to be able to bring the product or business name to mind, otherwise the branding has failed.
But thinking of a clever brand name is fraught with challenges. How do you come up with a name which is memorable, easy to pronounce, even if your customers don't speak the same language as you, and at the same time, encourages associations which are positive and relevant?
When deciding on a good brand name for a product, there are a few golden rules. Firstly, avoid trying to cash in on a rival's success by emulating their brand name, or copying or adapting it in a way which is clearly recognizable. Although this has been done before, and occasionally with a measure of success, it is best to avoid it for a number of reasons.
Associating yourself too closely with a rival could result in people thinking you are the other company, and remembering your advertising, but their product. You might also find yourself beset with legal challenges and infringement of copyright issues. Not only that, but what would you do if there was a scandal, or problem with the company you were trying to piggy back a ride on?
The general public has tired of words such as 'mega', and other related superlatives. The trouble with superlatives is that they can be too frequently abused and, like a medicine or drug, they become accepted, and eventually ignored and unnoticed. If your first product is a 'mega', and then you bring out an improved model, what superlative will you use next?
And after that? Eventually it can become absurd, with products branded as new, and improved, mega super products that begin to sound slightly desperate.
Be aware also that when people are searching the web for products or services such as yours, the name needs to be clearly associated with the type of product or service. Think about the keywords you'll be using. If you're selling web hosting, then try to include the words web, hosting, or other technology related words in the brand name, since most searches will be based on these.
Branding is a tricky area, and needs to be treated with caution and care, and given enough attention, without overworking it to the point of unnecessary complexity.
Naz Daud is the founder of CityLocal. This Franchise Opportunity is for people who would like to work from home and be their own boss.
In some cases, it is simply as a result of longevity. Naturally, major brands or companies which have been around for many years have become well known, and household names. But there are many new companies, organizations and services available which have not been around for very long at all, and yet they have already achieved a high level of status and recognition.
The most successful companies, including offline and online home businesses, put a great deal of time, effort and attention into their branding, and will include marketing and advertising into the discussion to try to ensure that the product is as successful as possible.
Branding can be everything from the name of the product or company, the logo, and any attributes such as color themes, styles, physical appearances and slogans. These need to work together, without being too complicated.
When it comes to a successful brand, simplicity is often the key.
Sometimes the very complicated graphics, or difficult names, can be forgotten or ignored too easily. The simplest graphics, slogans and names can often become very popular, simply because they are so easy to remember and to recognize.
If you think of logos first of all, which brands jump to mind? Often it is the simple, clear, distinct logos which are most easily remembered, such as Nike, for example. Although there are successful logos which are at the same time quite complex, they tend to be in the minority, and have another aspect to them which is simple, in order to compensate for it. The Coca Cola logo is rather more complex than Nike's tick, yet the colours are limited to red and white, with a distinctive font.
Branding involves a wide range of aspects, the name being one which is of most importance. Remembering a logo, or a slogan, or even a color theme, without being able to remember the actual product or business name, is of no use whatsoever. Any logo or slogan needs to be able to bring the product or business name to mind, otherwise the branding has failed.
But thinking of a clever brand name is fraught with challenges. How do you come up with a name which is memorable, easy to pronounce, even if your customers don't speak the same language as you, and at the same time, encourages associations which are positive and relevant?
When deciding on a good brand name for a product, there are a few golden rules. Firstly, avoid trying to cash in on a rival's success by emulating their brand name, or copying or adapting it in a way which is clearly recognizable. Although this has been done before, and occasionally with a measure of success, it is best to avoid it for a number of reasons.
Associating yourself too closely with a rival could result in people thinking you are the other company, and remembering your advertising, but their product. You might also find yourself beset with legal challenges and infringement of copyright issues. Not only that, but what would you do if there was a scandal, or problem with the company you were trying to piggy back a ride on?
The general public has tired of words such as 'mega', and other related superlatives. The trouble with superlatives is that they can be too frequently abused and, like a medicine or drug, they become accepted, and eventually ignored and unnoticed. If your first product is a 'mega', and then you bring out an improved model, what superlative will you use next?
And after that? Eventually it can become absurd, with products branded as new, and improved, mega super products that begin to sound slightly desperate.
Be aware also that when people are searching the web for products or services such as yours, the name needs to be clearly associated with the type of product or service. Think about the keywords you'll be using. If you're selling web hosting, then try to include the words web, hosting, or other technology related words in the brand name, since most searches will be based on these.
Branding is a tricky area, and needs to be treated with caution and care, and given enough attention, without overworking it to the point of unnecessary complexity.
Naz Daud is the founder of CityLocal. This Franchise Opportunity is for people who would like to work from home and be their own boss.
Monday, 3 August 2009
August Print Offers Of The Month
Why not take up some of our fantastic printing offers of the month - for a full list of August's Printing.com offers please visit our website www.sdmproductionsuk.co.uk and click on offers!
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