Seven Habits Of Successful Home Business Start Ups

You’ve read the ads or seen the infomercials:  “Build a six or seven figure income while lounging in your pajamas in your home business.”

For many people who hear this, their scam detector goes up and they become defensive.  Why? Because they’ve heard countless stories of people who’ve lost their shirts trying to start a business from home.

However, the truth is there are thousands of homepreneurs who have cracked the code, created their place in the home business world and are taking it to the bank.  So how did they do it? Why do some people struggle and never ever break even while others create outrageously successful home businesses?

There are certain habits and traits consistent in all the successes.  Here are seven of those habits that, when you adapt them and make them yours, can lead you to the same kind of success:

1. Find a hungry target market and look for a product or service to meet their needs. I’m surprised how many frustrated Homepreneurs miss this. What happens too often is someone gets hit by an entrepreneurial seizure and tries to start a home business with a product or service he or she feels will sell simply because of their emotional attachment to it.

Keep an open mind when looking at home business ideas, just make sure someone wants to buy what you want to sell before you jump in.  You do need to have a passion for what you do. But your passion for 8 track tapes might be a problem for a home business start up.  And depending on your age, you might be thinking, “What’s an 8 track tape?” However, finding a group of people who are hungry for what you have is like fishing in a bucket. When you find a group that has a problem they want solved they’ll pay for the solution.

2. Understand nothing happens until a sale is made.  It’s amazing how many budding homepreneurs say they hate sales. This is unfortunate and a mindset that needs to be changed. If you don’t have sales coming in, eventually the doors will close.

Sales and marketing, when done correctly, is the engine to your home business success. The key is to add value to the customers at every opportunity. Remember the first time you get a new customer is the most costly.  But the real wealth is built when you sell to your customers over and over again. Some companies even take a loss to get the customer in the pipeline because they realize the real money is on the back end and the true profit is in the lifetime value of the customer.

3. Develop a strong team. One of the traits that will accelerate your success is the leverage generated by the help of others.

Robert Kiyosaki, author of <u>Rich Dad Poor Dad</u> says, <i>”Business and investing are team sports. The average investor or small-business person loses financially because they do not have a team.  Instead of a team they act as individuals who are trampled by very smart teams.”</i>

While you’re building your home business, don’t do it alone. There are only 24 hours in a day and you can’t do everything. Look for opportunities to outsource all non-revenue generating activities.  Successful homepreneurs don’t waste a lot of time on filing and organizing.

4. Focus on the business; don’t just work in the business.  Your ability to create a business that provides you with a great income and your chosen lifestyle versus one that chains you to the doors is a matter of focus. Successful homepreneurs focus on the big picture.

It’s sad to hear people say, “No one can do what I do.” This might be true in some things, but it presents a special challenge:  You become a slave to your business. The business no longer serves you. The goal is to take “you” out of the mix as much as possible.

Look for ways to remove you, automate, and systemize the process. One way is to use technology. You might want to use a website that allows people to order your product or service 24/7. Or you might write a book which can be sold while you are sleep.

5. A successful home business has a central theme or mission.  Many home businesses never reach success because they’re trying to do too many things at the same time. You might be saying, “But I want to create multiple streams of income.”

That’s fine but multiple streams of income can become a nightmare if approached incorrectly. New homepreneurs often make the mistake of trying to create several profit centers at the same time or with non-aligned businesses. Trying to start selling real estate, doing a network marketing business, and internet marketing all at the same time is a recipe for disaster.

You can not build momentum. Each business has a totally different business model and you can’t leverage the energy of one for the another.

The successful homepreneur understands the law of momentum. An author’s first product would be a book.  That could be spun into an empire by repurposing it into a digital book, audio program, work book, seminar, boot camp, and training program.

Do you see the power of having one central product or theme and how you can leap frog to success? You want to be focused and committed to a central theme. Once you have success you can add another stream of income. This trait is one of hidden keys to success.

6. Resilient and quick to adapt to change. This is one of the distinct advantage homepreneurs have over large companies. Large corporations invest thousands of dollars in a project and even when they know it’s not working are slow to change.

In a home business your ability to change on a dime allows you to test things.  When something works, you can take all out action and maximize your returns. When something doesn’t work, you can you simply stop and move on to something else.

7. Commit to continual education. I am not talking about degree or certificate programs. There are plenty of people with plaques on their walls who aren’t able to create the income and lifestyle they want. But Jim Rohn, a foremost success expert, says, <i>”Formal education will make you a living; self education will make you a fortune.”</i>

Personal development and specialized knowledge often are the difference between a fledgling operation and one that has an outrageous bottom line. Why? Because successful people know that the best investment they can make is in themselves.  Talk to any successful person, in any walk of life, and they’ll tell you they spend thounsands every year on their personal and professional development.  Make sure you are always ahead of the curve.  Immerse yourself training in your industry, in business techniques, and in your own growth.

Do you want to build wealth with your own home business? Model these traits from successful home business owners. Copying what works gives you a leg up on your competition and sets you up for the success you want in your home business start up.