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Is a Home-based Business Right For You?

If you are searching for a great way to have a successful income and you like the thought of doing it from the comfort of your own home then a home-based business could indeed be right for you. Many people think of home-based businesses as being easier than an outside of the home business, but the truth is this is not so. Home-based businesses bring their own type of stress and challenges.

The only way to know if home – based businesses going to be right for you and your lifestyle, is to weigh the pros and cons that it brings. Every year more and more home-based businesses startup. There are over 15 million people the describe themselves as being self-employed, meaning that they basically own their own business. The good news is that working from home with your own home base business is now accepted as a viable and lucrative alternative to working outside the home for someone else.

Thanks to the constant changes and improvements in technology, working from home has become easier and easier. Basically, people from all over the world can network, and this makes a home-based business even more of a lucrative possibility. Of course you have to be technology minded in order to succeed in a home-based business. You need to at least have the basics down. You also need equipment, which would be a computer, a high-speed Internet connection, and the phone. Depending on the work at home business that you have, will depend on how technologically advanced you need to be.

Some of the immediate advantages of having your own business are the freedom that you will have. Plus, you have the ability to make your own decisions and not have to rely on a boss that tells you what to do. You can set your own hours, you work when and how long you want. You get to choose the people that you work with, or in this case, don’t work with. Many people find that having a home-based business allows them to fulfil their potential. If you don’t feel that you are able to achieve everything that’s possible for you in an outside the house job then owning your own business lets you aim as high as you want. You are in charge of your own life.

The disadvantages of having a home-based business must be realized as well, because if you’re unprepared you could find that your business will fail. The first and the most obvious risk is going to be financial uncertainty. If for some reason the worst happens and you either don’t find clients, or find clients that don’t pay you, you need to determine if you can afford to lose the capital that you have invested in the business, or that you need to live. Having your own business generally will mean the you wont have benefits. If you’re going to have benefits than you have to determine if you can afford that.

Running your own business takes a lot of time and energy and some people get burned out. Work at home business owners are particularly susceptible to this because they generally handle all aspects of the business. The fact that you are home alone and working by yourself most of the time can be a negative aspect for some people. Some cannot handle the isolation factor. Another con to home-based businesses is an unsupportive family. If you cannot make your family understand that you actually are working, or if you work so much that you never spend time with your family this can cause many difficulties.

Working Together In One Home Based Business

Many are struggling in the crazy economy. There so many who don’t know what will happen next. When they say it’s getting better for some it seems to get worse. Individuals are being fired, laid-off and just told we can’t continue to keep our doors open without customers. The question that many are asking is what can anyone do to survive. I think that we must all come together. It’s a matter of our existence as humans. If we don’t come together we will all fall. Recently, I notice a growing trend, people joining home based businesses to make a few extra dollars. Some have made more than just a few extra dollars, they are making a living. They have replaced their 9 to 5 for the home life and an income. Is this possible for anyone or is it just for a few fortunate people being in the right place at the right time. I believe that if people would come together and trust one another this can become a reality for them. I really think that a new approach or home business model may work better than some of those in the past. For example, instead of joining one home based business as a individual try joining one as a group. What I’m saying is working together in one home based business may reduce failure and the home business fatality rate.Research has shown that 90% of the people who start a home based business fail within the first year. What I’m saying is that I noticed I can see the growing trend of people joining home based businesses as well as people failing over the first year. The trend of failing could be because of the old approach. That approach go something like this, one person joins a business then he tries to recruit 3 or 4 friends that don’t have any money to get in. Then the person that join looses money due to the monthly products he had to buy and the lack of members in his home business. I believe that in a good economy or a bad economy if we look at things differently this could be reversed. I have listed 10 steps that could reverse this trend. These 10 steps are based on working together at all cost. This would be cost effective and profitable. I call this the internet survival home business plan.1. What you want to do is get about 4 or 5 family members or friends together.2. All will present companies that they would like to join, but all will only agree to join one home based business that you all researched. One person’s name will be submitted as the owner of the business. It has to be this way because 4 to 5 names can’t be listed.3. All the members of the group will pitch in evenly for the start-up fee.4. All the members will recruit candidates to join the business, not the group. The group will always remain at 4 or 5 members.5. As a team you will pick who will be the best candidate chosen for each leg of the business. Again, this is for the business, not the 4 to 5 man group. These are new recruits, individual(s) that will be joining the your business.6. It very important to choose go-getter to head out your business and group. So, that money can be made quickly. You can elect a head or chairman of the group from the beginning. But, remember this doesn’t mean that he makes all the decisions. In order to be successful you have to work together. In the case of the business the weaker links that want to join should be put in a position where they have sponsor that can motivate them. These members should not be at the top of the chain.7. When the first check comes in, it will be split evenly among all the members or put into a pot an at a specific amount or time profits should be evenly distributed.8. Remember 4 to 5 heads are better than one if all are willing to work together. You want to continue this process unto infinity or until each member thinks that they can survive on their own. This process will reduce the failure rate and increase profits.9. One of the main keys to success is each member sharing their talent or individual skills. If one is good at marketing then he needs to train others. If one is good at speaking then he need to be the spokes-person or train others on how to speak successfully.10. Finally, Try to pick a business that doesn’t have monthly fees. I have found that this works better because of economy. This can work with business with monthly fees, but I wouldn’t encourage it if finances are low when starting out.This can be done with family or friends. You can recruit or hand pick your own group based on talent and skills as long you can all agree on things.I believe that this new approach will definitely work more effective than the approach that many have followed in the past. The key to survival with individuals in life is family. A family is a support system. We as human seem to thrive from this system more than those who don’t have a family or family structure. This concept can be use in any internet home business and I personally think that it will work effectively.

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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.

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