You’ve decided to take the big step and you’re starting a home based business. It’s something you gave a lot of thought to and that you really want to see succeed. The good news is you have started on a path that can give you the financial freedom to choose how you live and how you work. The bad news is most people who start a home based business fail.This article will give you a quick rundown on how to avoid the common mistakes and how you can turn this business into the dream you want. Okay enough hype, the facts are pretty straight forward it just seems like the dream sometimes overpowers our ability to see them for what they are.The Number One Reason Home Based Businesses FailActually this depends on the type of home based business that you have. If you’re trying to sell physical products and you have to carry an inventory then the number one reason for failure is insufficient capital. In short you don’t have enough money to effectively run the business. If you are into internet marketing, the number one reason for failure is the business owner simply quits too soon.In both cases, the underlying reason for failure is that realistic market research and revenue projection were not performed. It’s absolutely amazing how many times the imaginary analysis of “if I get 100 people to see my product and only 2% buy that will give me $XX in sales”. Did you go through this? Did you make a revenue estimate based on numbers you pulled off the top of your head or did you do research?For the physical product operation, faulty marketing research will kill the cash flow and put it out of business. For the internet business, the fact that few if any sales were made will discourage the owner and he or she will quit before their efforts have had time to mature.The Number One Reason Home Based Businesses SucceedThe number one reason for success is a well thought out business plan. That means this home based operation is being treated as a business and not a hobby. It is not considered something that you can start and stop as you please but rather a business that has a purpose and a plan of action.The market niche is identified, the product to promote is selected, a unique selling proposition is created and an intelligent marketing plan is put in place. Budgets for advertising and overheads are established. Sales and expenses are tracked.Most importantly, the owner takes action on the business plan each day. Every day that passes the business makes progress. The owner has reasonable expectations and has the patience to let his efforts take effect. This business succeeds because the owner works it as a business and doesn’t allow distractions to interfere.Starting a home based business is not difficult and if you put the effort into the planning you have an excellent chance of succeeding. Know your market, know your product, market smart and give good customer service and you’ll wind up with a winner.
Demystifying The Cloud – How Small Businesses Can Leverage Cloud Computing
Cloud computing is redefining how businesses run, impacting the operations of large enterprises as well as start-ups. For some, the notion of “cloud computing” is a relatively new concept.Cloud computing provides businesses with access to the valued end result or output of equipment and software, without the ownership or maintenance costs required by purchasing it. Most often, cloud computing is delivered as software as a service (SaaS) where users can access a web based solution via a subscription without the heavy investment in the IT infrastructure to support it. Recent growth in cloud computing is partly driven by the growth in mobile technology platforms that allow users to access information anywhere, anytime.Although large enterprises with multiple geographically dispersed offices have benefitted from cloud computing, it has been an even greater benefit to small businesses. Small businesses now have access to enterprise solutions via cloud computing that would otherwise be unaffordable for them. Even more importantly, these cloud based solutions allow small business to function more like larger business in the information they can access while simultaneously maintaining the flexibility and agility of a small business, allowing them to react and adapt to situations.Some of the benefits cloud computing provides for small businesses, include:No heavy investment or maintenance costs in IT- The software as a service method allows multiple users to subscribe to the solution. The vendor providing the solution- Intaact, NetSuite, etc. absorbs the maintenance costs, and by offering the solution on a subscription basis can pass along cost savings due to economies of scale attributable to user volume.Ease of implementation- Cloud based solutions eliminate the need for small businesses to invest in infrastructure development, training, and support. Businesses subscribe to the service, and training and support are provided by the vendor on an as needed basis. The business owner can subscribe and unsubscribe to the cloud service as they wish.Redeployment of IT- For small business with limited manpower, cloud based services free up time for IT resources to be redeployed on more strategic initiatives or reduce the need for full time IT employees.Security- Business owners should always check this, but reputable cloud based solutions are knowledgeable about the most up-to-date security measures and encryption technology. This becomes one critical task which the business owner does not need to address, as the responsibility is absorbed by the cloud service provider who may have more expertise in this arena.Scalability- Most cloud providers offer packages with different access levels so that small businesses only need to pay for the services they require and use, resulting in overall cost savings for the small business.Business Continuity/Disaster Recovery- As a small business, this is a critical task which can often lack the attention it deserves simply due to manpower and bandwidth. Cloud based services assist with this, as they back-up critical data offsite as part of providing the solution, facilitating access to this data in case of an emergency.Small to mid-sized businesses have the most to gain from leveraging cloud based solutions in their business operations.
Auction Listings Are Vital to the Success of Fundraising Auctions
Fundraising Auction Tip: You should always provide potential bidders with a printed Auction Listing of both your Live and Silent Auction items at any Fundraising Auction. A printed Auction Listing is vital for several reasons:
An Auction Listing informs bidders of the order of sale, and what is coming up next. If you keep your bidders guessing, they will simply not bid.
If bidders are not 100% certain of what they are bidding on, they will not bid. A printed Auction Listing should answer any and all questions about what is being sold in order to encourage bidders to bid as much as possible.
Bidders often need time to plan their bidding strategies, especially on multiple and/or larger value items. A printed Auction Listing helps them to do that.
Couples often need time to consult with each other about what they are willing to spend on something. A printed Auction Listing helps them to do that.
Potential bidders need to know the specifics, the benefits, and the restrictions on any item they are going to bid on, especially on travel and/or other higher value items. A printed Auction Listing should answer all of their questions, in writing.
After bidders see that they have lost an item to another bidder, a printed Auction Listing makes it easier for them to re-strategize on what else they can bid on.
Printed Auction Listings generally come in 3 forms:
Printed in the Event Program or Auction Catalog.
Printed on loose sheets of paper and hand-inserted into the Event Program or Auction Catalog.
Printed on loose sheets of paper and hand-delivered to all attendees, or left on each dinner table in the room.
Auction Listings cost practically nothing to produce and they can make the difference between the success and failure of a Live and Silent Auction. You should never conduct a Fundraising Auction without one.
A Case Study
Let me share a real-life experience with you. Once I was hired to conduct a Fundraising Auction for a nationally renowned organization. The event was held in a major hotel, in one of the country’s largest cities, with several hundred “black tie” participants attending. It was an extremely professional event, with the music, singing, lighting, speeches, and awards all perfectly timed and choreographed. Everything was done to perfection… exception the Fundraising Auction.
Although I had signed an agreement to serve as their Auctioneer nearly one year in advance of the event, no one bothered to contact me for any advice or help. Approximately one week prior to the Auction date, I contacted the group to see if they had replaced me with another Auctioneer. But they said that I was still their man.
Upon arriving at the event I asked for a copy of the Auction Listing. I was told that there were none. I’m not sure whether they felt that the Auction Listing wasn’t necessary, or whether someone forgot to have them printed. This was never made clear. When I asked what I was to use at the podium, I was told to copy the list of Live Auction items from a committee member’s computer. It took me about 30 minutes to copy three pages of hand-written notes in order to prepare for my role as their Auctioneer.
I knew that they had created a PowerPoint program showing the various Live Auction items. When I asked whether the PowerPoint slide order corresponded to the order of sale I had copied from the committee member’s computer, I was met with a blank stare. The committee member left to check the slide order, and returned to let me know that the slide order did not correspond my notes, and he provided me with the correct slide order… hand-written on a paper napkin. This forced me to re-arrange my three pages of hand-written notes before taking the podium.
There was a Live Auction Table with descriptions of the Live Auction items that were to be sold, but the table was not clearly marked, and it received significantly less attention than the Silent Auction Tables, which were clearly identified. Since the Live Auction Table was located adjacent to the “Raffle Table”, it appeared that most people thought it was part of the raffle and therefore paid very little attention to it.
According to the event program (which did not include an Auction Listing), I knew approximately when I was to begin the Live Auction. At the designated time the Master of Ceremonies announced the start of the Live Auction to the several hundred people in attendance, and introduced me as Auctioneer. As I approached the podium I realized that photographs of award winners were still being taken… directly in front of the podium where I was to stand… which required me to stand aside for several minutes until the photographers were done. Can we say “awkward moment”?
As the photographers cleared, I approached the podium and began my Live Auction introduction. Approximately one minute into my introduction, the “Raffle Committee” approached the podium and stopped my Live Auction Introduction in order to pull the 8 or 9 Raffle Winners. These drawings lasted about 5 minutes. Upon it’s conclusion I was allowed to resume the start of the Live Auction.
When standing at the podium two intense and extremely bright spotlights were pointed directly at the podium. The lights were so bright that I literally could not see the center 1/3 of the room. I could see the tables on the right, and on the left, but was totally blinded when looking straight ahead. It took perhaps five minutes before the spotlights were turned off.
While at the podium and describing Lot #1, I had to ask someone to start the Lot #1 PowerPoint Slide… because apparently no one was assigned that job.
So with only the Auctioneer’s verbal description, and a PowerPoint slide, it appeared that few people in the room had any idea about what we were selling… or when we were selling it… until it was announced by the Auctioneer. As a result, bidding was extremely light and the final results fell several thousands of dollars short of where they should have been
The learning experience is this:
The Live Auction is where you place your better items, and where the real money should be made at any Fundraising Auction. Let bidders know as far in advance as possible what you will be selling, and the order of sale, so they can get excited about the Auction, and plan their bidding strategy accordingly.
Auction Listings are absolutely vital to the success of both Live & Silent Auctions. In my opinion, revenues at this Auction fell thousands of dollars short of where they should have been, because no Auction Listing was provided to the guests.
If bidders are not perfectly clear on what is being sold, including both the item’s specifics, benefits, and restrictions, they will not bid.
When you have a committee of volunteers, especially volunteers having full time jobs and/or very busy schedules, the services of a professional Fundraising Auctioneer can help to keep the committee on track.
And once you retain the services of a professional Fundraising Auctioneer… use the services that you are paying for.