The home based business industry is the fastest growing industry on the planet. What you don’t often hear is that while this statistic does include some traditional network marketing business opportunities, the vast majority of these are online businesses from home. The power of the internet is undeniable, and people are starting to realize it. It’s amazing how easy it can be for average people to start up an online business from home and replace and often far exceed their previous income within a relatively short period of time. People are doing it every day. However, many more take the plunge and fail. What makes the difference? This guide will help you to consider a few critical factors in the success of most online businesses from home, and ensure that you’re one of the few who do versus the many who try, and fail.
The five critical factors that will make or break your success in online businesses from home are: Market demand, systems for leverage and duplication, training and mentorship, the integrity of the company and its leaders, and last but not least YOU!
Market Demand
A business can only survive as long as there is a demand for the product or service that is being offered. This seems like common sense, but you’ll want to be sure there will be a long term demand. If you’re looking for a get rich quick scheme, they don’t exist, so stop looking. You’ll also want to be sure that you have a product or service that is UNIQUE and can STAND ALONE apart from any business opportunity that may be associated with it. You’ll want uniqueness so that someone else doesn’t duplicate the same product and simply undercut your price (putting you quickly out of business). The stand alone aspect is important because building a business around the hype or the lifestyle that’s possible for a select few is not a sustainable model. Online businesses from home that rely on that kind of hype will not be around for very long.
Your best bet is to talk to a live person who’s involved with the opportunity you’re looking at. Ask them about the market demand, what makes the product unique, and how the product could stand alone apart from any business opportunity. Get the facts.
Systems for Leverage and Duplication
There are many advantages to running online businesses from home and you’ll want to take advantage of all of them, if possible. The most important benefits are time freedom, income potential, leveraged income potential, and residual income potential.
- Time freedom – The internet makes it possible to have your business operating 24/7, 365 days a year. Look for systems that will help you to eventually, if not right away, be working less than 20-30 hours per week. A good goal is to be working less than 20 hours per week.
- Income potential – Find out how much you would earn per sale, how many leads it takes on average to generate a sale, and establish how long it would take for you to replace your income and leave your current job, assuming that’s your goal. Good companies can help you do this in as little as 90 days or less.
- Leveraged income potential – This goes hand in hand with time freedom. You’ll want to be sure there is a way for you to get paid on efforts that don’t require your time or energy. Look for things like over ride bonuses, where you get paid the same commission when someone on your team makes a sale. This way you could eventually remove yourself from the equation. Rather than having to make 10 sales per month, you train 10 people to make one sale per month, and you’re laughing. So are they, if it’s a good company. They’ll have the same leverage benefits, and everybody wins.
- Residual income potential – Look for online businesses from home that require some kind of small monthly membership that gets paid to you when you bring new people onto your team. This way, even if nobody is making sales, you’ve got a residual income cushion that pays you every month.
Training and Mentoring
The number one reason most people fail when starting an online business from home is that the online business opportunity that they choose lacks the necessary support to make them successful. They buy in, and are left to the wolves. Be sure that you will have ongoing training, ideally from a mentor that you can work with directly. Some companies even have training that is put on by the company’s owner.
Integrity
The world of business has no place for snakes. Once upon a time you could be a slick salesman and get away with it. But people now smell that a mile away. Today’s buyer is smarter than ever, and is well aware that they are in control. Be sure that from the top down your company and its people have integrity and strength of character. Connect with a team or a mentor that you like, trust, and respect. All the rest are details, and if you’re willing to learn and be coachable, you can’t help but succeed.
YOU!
When push comes to shove, the only person that can take the actions necessary to build the life of your dreams is YOU. You have to connect to your passion, your drive, your entrepreneurial spirit, and take massive action toward your goals. Use your team to keep you accountable and give you the tools that you need. But you have to light your own fire.
Success isn’t a result of spontaneous combustion. You must set yourself on fire. ~ Arnold H. Glasow