A couple years ago I would have never thought about the top 10 home based business ideas; but like everything and everyone, things change. In today’s economy so many people are scared of starting a home business, but it really isn’t that bad. While you hear and see on TV that people are tightening their pocketbooks, there is one thing for sure; there is no recession on the internet.There are millions of families that have been affected by the current global financial crisis. Some have lost their homes, their jobs and everything they have owned. Others are looking to build the backup plan or additional income to get them through the tough times. Many are turning to different home business ideas because they offer the flexibility, low cost and lower risks models compared to the traditional brick and mortar business.Here is my list of what I consider the Top 10 Business Ideas and what they potentially involve:Blogging – A very low cost of generating income from home; is on the internet and is individual that do this are known as “bloggers”. Blogging is very easy to set up, maintain and gives you the ability to write about topics that you like. There are millions and millions of people online reading a wide range of content on a daily basis. With blogs you could become very successful by attracting certain readers and offer them products and or services that help them. You could also “rent” out space on your blog to different marketers, which in turn provides you with additional income.Home Based Franchise – The possibilities are near endless of starting a home based internet franchise; and many are recession proof. I have known people to start the own internet franchise but this is much more risky than joining a proven, time tested internet franchise. While an internet franchise can be a huge learning curve for many, I have found this as the most rewarding in more time for what I like to do but also the compensation is normally higher.Home Based Tutor – Although you may not have thought about this as an option, it has become a very viable one. No matter how bad the economy gets, people are always looking for additional education to enhance the situation that they are in. Many parents are doing everything in their power to obtain the finest education for their children, sometimes even taking out a second mortgage on their home. With the standard education; many people are obtaining tutors to give themselves and their children an educated edge over others. As unemployment rises, many are going back to school and they require some additional tutoring to help with the learning curve.A Food Home Business – No matter how grim it gets, people still have to eat and many are starting to cut down the amount of times that they go out to restaurants. With a food home business, you want to focus on a niche that is still needed year after year. Many people start a bakery offering wedding cakes, birthday cakes and other different treats involving chocolate. The chocolate industry is booming due to the satisfaction it gives to people and the lower cost compared to other treats.A Staging Home Business – With the real estate industry plummeting at an uncontrollable rate, home owners need help staging their property to sale. Home owners trying to sell their homes are turning to home staging experts to prep the home to its highest potential. Not only do home owners request home stagers but also banks and real estate agents; to prep and sell the property quickly.Virtual Assistant- Many companies are trying to reduce their operating costs while improving their profits. Companies have been and will continue to outsource, which gives you the ability to become a virtual assistant. A virtual assistant provides assistance and support to businesses, entrepreneurs, executives and really anyone that needs help but does not want to hire a full time employee. This is a very low cost in high demand home based business idea.Caregiver – no matter what happens, we are all getting older and caring for the elderly is now and always going to be in high demand. Many of the individuals now that need adult day care are also tightening their wallets but there will come a time that they need additional care and support that you could provide.Trading Assistants – During a recession more and more people start selling their personal belongings to get by for another month or two. Many people have heard of eBay and Craigslist, the problem lies with many not feeling competent enough to use them. Many people believe it or not, still do not have an email address or never used a computer. For this reason trading assistants exist, they help sell other peoples products in which they obtain a percentage of the sale price.Cosmetics Consultant – the demand for cosmetics will always be there, mo matter what. Many times during the toughest times is when products like cosmetics are at their peak. There are two primary reasons for this:People want to continue to enhance their visual appeal to maintain their employment or to gain new employment.It makes people feel good about themselves, improving self confidence in turn improving productivity.Affiliate Marketing – This is the home based business idea that many people use online and offline the same. This has become very popular and has exploded as unemployment rises and the recession continues. Becoming an affiliate marketer allows you to make a great deal of money while working from home; selling products like cosmetics, vitamins, soap, educational products and many more.While I cannot say that I have tried all of the Top 10 Home Based Business Ideas, I can say that I have been involved with a few of them. All of these ideas have pro’s and con’s, each has its own level of risks and rewards. I have had my home based business for quite awhile now and love the freedom and the financial benefits that come along with it.
How To Succeed At Online Product Creation The Easy Way
Product creation could be a frightening subject for a lot of Internet marketers to face. Some folks who get in the game with the intention of making a full time income are completely ignorant as to how an online business operates. One of the most profitable ways to create online cash is by creating a product that others are happy to pay for.
Product creation is legitimate method of generating money through internet marketing but many entrepreneurs get it wrong. They start by imitating their Internet marketing gurus by creating information products on Internet marketing in hopes of getting rich the way their heroes did. The problem is that they usually don’t know what they are doing and enter a highly competitive niche with very little marketing experience or connections.
Here are a few tips for effective product creation that may help you get on the right track:
Start by finding a profitable niche with low to moderate competition. If you conduct some rudimentary market research and keyword research, you’ll find many opportunities in areas that will surprise you. Amazon and eBay are two great places to brainstorm for product ideas.
Developing Your Product does not have to be a difficult project. You can find experts in the right field for your niche and pay them to write the material while an artist designs the packaging and website or blog. You can outsource the entire product creation part of the project after you conduct the research and testing to ensure profitability.
Sales and marketing strategies should be created while developing the product and learning about the market. Some experienced marketers use pay per click to drive traffic to their offer page; some folks outsource the entire marketing campaign to affiliates through ClickBank or other affiliate programs.
Product creation does not need to be hard, particularly when the merchandise is electronic. E-books, videos, audio and multi-media products sell very well. They are distributed immediately to customers electronically. Once you have a good feel for a niche market, try to service your customers with associated products and upgrades. If you want to earn money online through product creation, you must understand supply and demand. The majority of new online marketers fail miserably because they go after highly competitive markets or forget to research their chosen niche properly. You have to create your products according to the needs, wants and desires of the prospective customers.
A Simple Product Creation and Product Launching Formula
If you tried to think of people involved in product creation, who would come to mind? You may think of Edison, Franklin, or maybe Henry Ford. Would you ever think of yourself as someone who can create a quality product? Product creation is actually relatively easy and product launching is not that tough either! If you follow a few easy to understand steps, you could be starting the product creation and product launching process sooner than you think.
The first step in creating your information product is to know and understand your market. This can be very time-consuming, especially if you are unsure of what to do or where to look to know your market. Studying your niche market and understanding the buzz words and buying patterns can ease the process dramatically. Personally, I would recommend networking with someone who has had success in the niche market you are considering and learn from their results. If they are into product creation and not very business savvy expect some hesitation. If they only sell products and have nothing to do with product launching or product creation you may your first affiliate (sales person)! Something else you can use to find hot trends is with the Google Trends tool.
The second step is the product creation process. Take your niche market and brainstorm ideas and topics relating to it. There are a lot of product launching contests going on recently relating to a newly created internet marketing tool. There are so many aspects to the mentioned niche that literally, and unfortunately, anything can be considered an Internet Marketing tool. The reason that anyone can basically create an Internet Marketing tool is because of something called Private Label Rights products.
What I use private label rights products for, and highly recommend them in this specific manner, is to cure writer’s block especially when it is lingering. Many people base their entire product creation and product launching on a private label rights product. This is where you can start to shine and build a strong brand for yourself. If you set goals for yourself, short-term goals to be exact, you can see your product creation come into being much faster and there is a good chance with less revision needed. If you keep hitting time restraint road blocks; however there is nothing wrong with a slow and steady approach, you can consider outsourcing portions of your project. Outsourcing can be an extremely huge benefit or just as great of a disaster.
You can find someone to outsource work to at a freelance site such as Guru.com or eLance.com. When reviewing proposals it is almost mandatory you perform a background check on them as you are in essence hiring them. Doing a background check on freelancers is as easy as asking for samples of their work and reviewing feedback on the freelance site from previous customers. Depending on the size and requirements of your project this can add up to a decent sized investment, so caution is very important. One tip I always recommend to people looking to hire an individual is to ask them what they can provide you that no one else can. This simple question gives them a chance to “toot their own horn” and acknowledge where they feel most competent as far as their skill set.
The final portion of the product creation and product launching formula is the launch. This can literally make or break the effort, time, and maybe (if you invested) money you put in to your project. There are numerous aspects to product launching and although their relevance is debated in terms to their effect, experts agree all must be followed. The person in your field who you asked for product advice from can help you substantially if you have kept in touch. If not, the first thing you need to do is to create a visually appealing website with flawless design work.
I also mentioned outsourcing before, this is one aspect of product launching I have little strength in and I always outsource this portion. The website does not have to be large however the content (ad copy in Internet Marketing) must be stellar and as perfect as possible. This is where advertising knowledge or experience is beneficial. When the site is set up you now put a lead capture form on your website.
I put two lead capture pages on all products I create on the internet and is one of the best methods of getting a solid start when you are in the product launching stage. When you gain information from a prospect or someone looking to get paid for referring sales you are able to provide them updates or specials. Many people abuse their prospect or affiliate lists by in turn emailing them with a new product daily and I find the recommendations to be totally unrelated to their original need, problem, or interest.
Another stage in the product launching stage is creating a free report or demo version of your product to entice the product to sign up to your email list. Using proper follow up with this can help generate numerous sales for you. One thing you need to ensure is that your free product completely relates to your main product that you are looking to sell.
You are now ready to advertise your product launching to customers as well as the opportunity to sell for affiliates. This is the single aspect that many product creations and launches fail on. It is actually not entirely difficult. One thing you can do is write articles (and a good amount of them) on topics relating to your product. I am a huge advocate of giving a solution in forums. When you join a forum you are normally offered the opportunity to create a signature. In your signature, you should enter the link to your opt-in or lead capture page. When you respond to posts, you are advertising your opportunity.
It is not impossible to create a product and it does not have to take a long time. You need to setup a plan and stick to it. If you get stuck, look at similar and successful products to your own and try and see how they did it. When you sit down and brainstorm you will be surprised with what you can imagine.