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Home Business Possibilities 5
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Reprinted with permission from Janet Attard* Copyright 2004. All rights reserved.
Are there any drawbacks?
Yes, there can be some drawbacks. Chief among them is the need to wear all the hats in the business. Instead of being able to delegate marketing, billing, filing, bookkeeping, routine correspondence, and other office functions to a staff, most people who work at home have to handle all of these functions themselves. Other potential problems include:
- finding or attracting customers may be difficult
- getting substantial fees or contracts may be a problem
- making important business contacts may be harder
- financing and suppliers credit may be hard to come by
- family interruptions may be disruptive
- family members may not be supportive of your business
- family privacy may be disturbed if you have customers come to your home
- start-up expenses may be higher than you expected
- receivables (payments from your customers) may be slow in arriving—or never arrive at all
- money for pension, health and life insurance come entirely out of your pocket
- vacations from work mean vacations from income
What does it take to build a successful home business?
Business school professors, venture capitalists, and bankers say it takes a combination of factors to build a successful business. They include:
- a good product or service at the right price
- a sizable market (a substantial number of customers)
- a clear-cut plan for reaching your market in a reasonable amount of time
- sufficient financing
- an experienced management team
- the competence to produce and deliver the product
- the means to market the product or service
- an emphasis on customer satisfaction
- the ability to collect from customers
- an accurate method of keeping records
- an awareness of tax and other laws affecting the business
- a watchful eye on the competition and market trends
- the flexibility to change direction when change is needed
- an owner who is at once optimistic, persistent, realistic, and enthusiastic about the product
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