In the age of the Internet we see many work at home businesses pop up. The sad truth is most look like a homemade mess. Running a successful and professional home business isn’t impossible, but it does take logic, time, determination, and a business mind. So what can be done to make a home business appear more professional? Follow the 7 steps of success used by leaders in the home business arena.
1. Treat A Business Like A Business.
-Tke business seriously
-Dn’t be afraid of hard work
-Have a business plan
-Budget your time, money & resources
-Have business hours
-Post contact information on the website
-Have a separate phone line
-Be compliant with the law – get tax licenses etc.
-Posses professional marketing materials
-Advertise the business
-Network
-Develop strategic alliances with other home business owners
-Develop partnerships
-Cross promote
-Find a mentor
2. Professional Business Cards
-Absolutely NO free business cards with logos of the printer on the back
-Business cards should show business name/logo, email and phone at a minimum
-Include a coupon or incentive for customer
3. Exclusive Business Domain Name
-Spend the extra 5.00 a month and 8.95 a year for hosting and a good domain name (ex. www.me.theotherplace.com instead of just www.me.com)
4. Professional Email Address
-Have a professional email address
-Try to have it at the domain (ex. me@me.com)
-Avoid yahoo, hotmail and other freebie accounts
5. Clean Up, Clean Up
-Have a professional looking website
-Combine links and “fun” things on a separate page
-Don’t clutter the site with useless information make sure it’s related
-Eliminate extra spaces to ensure the home page is not 3 miles long
-Research Search Engine Optimization and find out how to get the website’s placement optimized for success
-Use colors pleasing to the eye
-Make visitors return to the site by offering them tools and other extras that keep them coming back for more
-Offer something free
-Don’t overdo the graphics
-Have an impartial party take a look at the site and offer honest advice
-Tailor the site to its audience
-Be concise and to the point
-Build a site map
-Offer contact information
-Tell your story, after all you are a work at home business owner so use this as an opportunity to make the site more personal while still remaining professional–this is your advantage over the big guys
-Use professional graphics not clipart
-UPDATE YOUR SITE REGULARLY
6. Customer Service
-Ship items in a timely manner
-Keep customers abreast of the status of their order
-Have a working customer service email
-Have a working customer service phone number
-Listen to the customer
-Give customers something extra
-Thank the customer
7. Show Stability
-Prove to the customers you’re not going anywhere
-Don’t give up
-Don’t open, close, and reopen your site continuously
-When on vacation find someone to cover the site or conduct business remotely
-ADVERTISE – it shows stability and the repetition creates branding
-Stick to your guns
Tara Crooks is the site owner and editor of
http://www.AdvertisingMoms.com. Taras journey with WAHM
Advertising began with the launch of her first site in June
2001. Since, she has earned a profitable living by building
a great WAHM advertising resource & network in Advertising
Moms. She is a PROUD Army Wife and WAHM!
