Article Excerpt from BusinessKnowHow.com:

“You had high hopes when you started your work at home business. You figured you’d get all the business you need for your fledgling startup by running an ad or two in the newspaper and telling all your friends and former business associates about your new home business. But customers have been few and far between. And most of the people who express interest in your product or service, don’t want to spend the money to buy it.

What can you do? How can you keep your home business dreams alive? What are successful home businesses doing that you aren’t doing?

Here are several home business marketing suggestions to help.

Expand your network. Your friends and family may be supportive of what you’re doing but they may not be the best sources of referrals. Consider who would make a good customer and then look for ways to meet those people. Chamber of commerce meetings, PTA meetings, local civic associations, regional trade shows, professional conferences, and phone calls can all be effective. So, too, can networking online through message boards and mailing lists. Don’t spam the boards or lists with links to your products. Just participate and contribute to the groups that are likely to include prospects for your services and you will get known.

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“If you do what you have always done, you will get what you have always gotten!”

Awesome words of wisdom. Think about that for a minute. Realize that your work at home business will not grow magically and if you have been struggling in building your home based business you are not alone.

Too often, we get stuck on a great idea or strategy that just does not work for us. But rather than change what we are doing, we continue to do what we have always done.

Unfortunately, most of us also expect a greater result. We get stubborn and refuse to change what we do. Then we become frustrated because we are not getting the results we expect and deserve.

So how do you get the results you know you should get and the results you deserve. The answer is simple. But simple is not always easy. We are often afraid of challenge or difficulty in change, so we continue to do what we have always done.

The bad news is unless we change and start doing something different in our work at home marketing, we will never achieve our desired results. Change MUST take place in your attitude and in your marketing plan to help you become the success you want to be.

Begin with a 30 day plan of action and track your progress. Even if you are uncomfortable, that is okay. Changing habits and forming new ones is often difficult. Well, after you track your progress for 30 days, create a 90 day plan of action. Use your statistics to help you plan and forecast your work at home business.

Realize that no one can change you or your habits except you. Building your home based business and becoming successful in all you do is YOUR responsibility. Keep in mind that you must make change and form new habits of success if you want the results you desire. Know that no matter what you do, “If you do what you have always done, you will get what you have always gotten!”

Book Review: How to Buy, Sell, and Profit on eBay: Kick-Start Your Home-Based Business in Just Thirty Days

The eBay phenomenon may be the greatest opportunity for home-based entrepreneurs ever. With close to zero start-up costs and a worldwide customer base of 150 million people, the little guy can now compete on a level playing field with huge corporations. Although TV infomercials and eBay itself are teeming with hucksters trying to sell advice, wholesale lists, and auction software to help you jump on the eBay bandwagon, 99 percent of it is junk and unnecessary.

In October 2001 Ginsberg had a modest business selling high-end pool tables and tried selling one on eBay on a dare. For him, the rest is history. He now runs a million-dollar eBay business and ships pool tables all over the country. This quick read is a pretty straightforward primer on the do’s and don’ts of starting your own (serious) eBay business. Since Ginsberg seems to hold back somewhat on the finer points of advanced online business management and product sourcing, you will have to do some of your own homework, but there is plenty here to get you started.

Here’s a great article excerpt from BusinessKnowHow:

“One of the biggest challenges you will face during the first two years of your home based business will revolve around cash flow and money management.

In order to give yourself the best chance possible of surviving the first two years so you can thrive from that point on, it’s imperative that you achieve mastery in five areas:

1. Gain control over your spending today
2. Create a personal and business budget
3. Increase your financial IQ
4. Explore sources of capital
5. Think like a successful business owner

First things first. Gain control over your spending today – Honestly evaluate your spending habits and identify where your money is going. Are you living beyond your means and buying things you don’t really need?

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Blogging is the latest innovation to take the web by storm. According to blog tracking firm Technorati, there are currently 14 million blogs with 80,000 more being added every day. And 30 percent of all 50 million internet users are blog readers. In short, a lot of people are reading and writing blogs.

Yet despite their popularity, you may be one of those people who doesn’t really know what a blog is or what relevance blogging has to your home based business. In this article, I hope to answer those questions and cover the basics of using blogging to deliver favorable business results.

So just what is a blog and why should you care? Basically, the word “blog” is short for web log, a frequently updated web-based journal that’s intended for general public consumption. So what do people write about? Anything from personal stories (from the mundane to the bizarre) to theme-centered creations (finance, politics, parenthood) to businesses (philosophies; updates; branding methods) to…you name it!

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