Nearly 1 out of 2 people in the U.S. work from home in some capacity…
as part-time entrepreneurs, full-time business owners, and telecommuters.

At one time or another, most of them have had to work around a “day job” for an outside employer, with the work usually done from an outside office. Nearly three-quarters of all home businesses are started on a part-time basis. Most of them hope that their part-time ventures will one day turn into full-time ventures. Many also want a back-up income should they lose their present job or need to supplement their retirement income. Others start a part-time job to fulfill their desire for more creativity and satisfaction in their work. With today’s technology, almost any type of business can be started from home.

If you use the right combination of productivity, technology, time-management, and smarts, you can run your business while at your day job and do it in a manner that is both ethical but still allows you to maintain or even improve your day job performance.

The Pluses and Minuses of Starting Part-Time..[Click Here to Read Full Article]

If you missed the first internet wave, it may not be too late. Working with new business models and boosted by investors’ growing appetites for dotcom startups, a second swell of online enterprises is emerging.

Venture capitalist Sam Jadallah of Mohr Davidow Ventures in Menlo Park, California, says that since media giant News Corp. paid $580 million to buy fast-growing online community-builder MySpace.com in 2005, entrepreneurs have been working feverishly on internet business plans they hope will appeal to consumers, investors and potential buyers.

Another reason for the return of interest in the internet: affordability. “The cost to get into business and experiment is dramatically lower than it was in the first boom,” says Jim Fowler, 41, CEO of Jigsaw Data Corp., a San Mateo, California, company founded in 2003 that helps members buy, sell and trade business contact information. Open-source software, offshore programmers, commodity-priced servers and other elements of internet infrastructure are better developed, better understood and less costly than before, Fowler says.

The companies that are part of the resurgence employ an approach labeled Web 2.0. It calls for websites to actively involve users, who build the business by contributing personal pages a la MySpace or valuable information like the corporate executives’ phone numbers and e-mail addresses bartered on Jigsaw.com. “It’s a lot more participatory now,” says Di-Ann Eisnor, 34, co-founder of Platial.com, where users contribute maps of favorite places. “[Users] don’t just come in and read something; they come in and do something.”

Read Full Article from Entrepreneur.com

Hot Holiday Toys offer Money-Making Opportunities!

Whether it was the Hoola Hoop, collectible Barbies, Furbies, Cabbage Patch Kids or the original Atari games of the 1970s, there have always been “must have” toys and games that have generated a frenzy at local stores, especially around the holidays. Today, however, in a new age of consumerism, driven by an “absolutely must have at any cost” mentality, gamers, toy collectors and, in some cases, manipulated parents are not only pre-ordering the latest fun favorites but are bidding them up to 10 times their standard retail price on eBay.

This year, cashing in on shoppers’ demands to have it “now” (or even sooner), retailers are touting their offerings earlier than ever by putting pre-order tickets in the hands of the buyers. But with much of the supply sold before the products even hit shelves, a secondary market is emerging: Smart sellers are capitalizing on the public’s insatiable demand for these hot items by using the leverage they have as owner of one of the “golden tickets” to resell them for an exorbitant price–and pocket the difference.

Gearing Up for PS3 & Wii
The latest craze focuses on the forthcoming releases of Sony’s PlayStation 3 on November 17 and Nintendo’s Wii on November 19. Pre-orders at several leading retailers, including EB Games, Gamestop and Toys R Us, allowed those who got in under the early October deadline to secure consoles and even games for the new systems. Some of the early buyers are gaming enthusiasts, but others are “situational” entrepreneurs who are turning around and selling the consoles on eBay, where prices for the 20GB and 60GB PS3s are already topping $2,000 and rising.

Julian Georgescu, a gaming enthusiast who runs the website www.MyWii.com, says prices will most likely hit well over $3,000 by Christmas. “It’s mostly hardcore gamers who are buying them at these prices,” says Georgescu, who camped out overnight last month to pay a $50 deposit for his own pre-order Nintendo Wii. (For full disclosure purposes, you should know Georgescu also works for Entrepreneur.com.)

The retail prices for the 20GB and 60GB PS3s are $500 and $600, but “They’re only shipping a limited number nationwide–I think it’s around 400,000,” offers Georgescu of the reason behind the pre-order frenzy. Nintendo, meanwhile, expects to sell some 4,000,000 units of the new Nintendo Wii by January. Despite that number, the $250 console has seen bids of $500 and up on eBay…..Read Full Article from Entrepreneur.com

It’s not just a hobby - some small sites are making big money. Here’s how to turn your passion into an online empire.

(Business 2.0) — Michael Arrington is a partying kind of guy. While showing off his home in Atherton, Calif., he boasts about how he crammed 500 people into his one-acre backyard at a bash in February. Then there are the official parties, like the one he threw in mid-August at August Capital, a nearby venture firm. Arrington posted an open invitation on his website at 3 a.m. By sunrise, all 500 spots were taken; the onslaught of traffic crashed his site. “I knew it would be fast,” says Arrington, who houses so many out-of-towners in his ranch home that he often isn’t sure who’s crashing on which mattress on which floor in which room.

Arrington, a 36-year-old entrepreneur behind a long list of unrecognizable startups, has suddenly become one of the rising stars of Silicon Valley. Why? The answer lies in TechCrunch, Arrington’s blog about new technologies and companies. In the year since he launched the site, he has amassed such a strong following that he’s become a go-to person for VCs and tech execs looking to leak corporate tidbits or announce news. More than 1.5 million readers regularly check out his site. But here’s what gives Arrington real distinction: He’s pulling in $60,000 in ad revenue every month. That’s 10 times what the site was making earlier this year, which was when Arrington, convinced of the potentially monstrous riches ahead, quit his day job as president of a startup to blog full-time.

With Internet-like speed, blogs have gone from self-indulgent hobbies to flourishing businesses. Real businesses, with real revenue streams from real advertisers–not overhyped next big things with pick-a-number valuations based on selling out someday to some overenthusiastic big-media sugar daddy. Boing Boing, a four-person operation that bills itself as a directory of wonderful things, is on track to gross an estimated $1 million in ad revenue this year. The digital-media news site PaidContent.org, headquartered in the second bedroom of a Santa Monica apartment, is set to post even more than that. And Fark.com, a site packed with sophomoric humor run by a lone guy in Lexington, Ky., is on pace to become a multimillion-dollar property. In short, some of the most popular blogs, long the bane of the mainstream media, are themselves becoming mainstream…..Read More from CNNMoney.com

Tired of your humdrum workday routine? Looking for a new an exciting career path that allows you to be your own boss and make your own rules? The 200 Best Home Businesses is the book for you.

This completed revised and update 2nd edition profiles 200 of the best and most profitable businesses that you can run from your home Inside, you’ll find jobs for your every interest, from Computer Programmer to Personal Chef. Each business profile provides you with all of the information you need to choose the business that’s right for you:

• The pros and cons of each business
• Estimated start up costs
• Skills needed
• Advertising tips

Expert advice from home business entrepreneurs
No matter what your interest or level of experience, you can take charge of your life, tap into your unique background and talents, and build a solid career for the future. The 200 Best Home Businesss, 2nd Edition shows you how!

The 200 Best Home Businesses: Easy To Start, Fun To Run, Highly Profitable

“Owning a franchise or business opportunity is within your reach–it’s just a matter of finding the right one.

Your first million may be the hardest to make, but an edge, a system, a method can get you a fair shot at it. Franchising has cleared the path toward your first million. Find a successful franchise concept that’s knocking them dead in the marketplace, and buy and build one of your own. Then do it again, and your net worth starts to zoom toward the next seven-digit plateau.

Finding the right system for you will take some research, persistence and franchising street smarts–but you can get there if you take the following steps.

The Right Fit
There’s no perfect franchise; there are only franchises that fit perfectly with the franchisee. And it’s high time you got away from your singular association of franchising with food establishments. Restaurants have led the way in franchising, no question, but the franchising concept has spread its wings in dozens of other business categories, from specialty product distribution to publishing, from fitness centers to children’s parties. The first time you research franchises on the internet, you’re confronted with hundreds of opportunities.

Your first job is to sort through your own objectives, personal preferences and resources so you can knowledgeably evaluate the choices. Also, give some thought to what work you would enjoy doing. Do you see yourself dealing directly with the public, working a retail counter or selling services to businesses? Do you dream of owning a restaurant or a commercial cleaning service, or do you live for working on cars or teaching people how to use computers? As daunting as the number of choices may be, franchising presents a remarkable opportunity to find a business you’ll love.

Also consider your financial resources. Write down your liquid assets, the assets against which you can borrow money and funds you can scrape together or borrow from friends and family. You need a sense of the level of business investment you can afford. For instance, if you can borrow up to $100,000, that dramatically affects the categories of franchise businesses you can consider. Most leased and built-out retail locations cost $350,000 and up, but you can operate scores of franchise businesses in your investment range from home. Think hard about these issues and start to close in on the challenge of finding the perfect fit–the real key to making your first million…..”

Read Full Article from Entrepreneur.com

Book Review: 101 Best Home-Based Businesses for Women, 3rd Edition

More women than men start new businesses annually, since women enjoy the flexibility and ease of child care that working at home provides. Huff, a business journalist and author (Home-Based Business Ideas for Women, Pilot, 1993), enumerates 101 business opportunities to women found in traditional areas. Each listing includes information on start-up costs and financing sources, pricing guidelines, marketing methods, equipment, necessary education/training or experience, income potential, and information sources. Huff begins the book with short sections on selecting a business, developing a business plan, and understanding franchises and distributorship.

Review
Praise for 101 Best Home-Based Businesses for Women, 3rd Edition:
“A phenomenal resource for any woman with an entrepreneurial spirit! Priscilla has made it easier than ever for women to find their ideal home-based career. If you’re interested in launching a successful business from home, this book is a must!” — Debra M.Cohen, founder, Homeowner Referral Network (HRN) Business, and president, Home Remedies of NY, Inc.

“Six years ago I was scared I would never be able to be with my baby. I bought one of Priscilla Huff’s books. Now I have my own successful home business. I cannot believe I now offer advice to others who want their own home businesses. If you want to be successful, buying this book is very important.” — Jennifer Dugan, Dugan’s Travels

Entrepreneur.com

“With the proliferation of home design shows on cable TV networks, as well as last year’s return of domestic guru Martha Stewart, interest in interior design has never been stronger. But there’s one segment of this industry that’s experiencing especially strong growth and presents a great opportunity for creative people who are interested in careers in home design.

Interior redesign (aka interior arrangement or one-day decorating) is a close relative of interior design. Instead of creating an entirely new decorating scheme with new furnishings and accessories, as an interior designer does, an interior redesigner works with whatever the homeowner already owns–including items purloined from other rooms in the home–and rearranges it to give a room an entirely new look. The result is a decorator look without the decorator price tag.

“Redesigners are a ’safe’ version of the traditional designer,” says Julea Joseph, 44, owner of Reinventing Space in Chicago. “People are no longer looking for an interior designer to sweep into their home and say, ‘Dahling, everything must go.’ Instead, they’re educated consumers who just need someone to pull everything together.”

“[Redesigners] are nonjudgmental about the homeowner’s belongings, and they’ll work with any constraints or within any budget,” says Michele Roark, owner of Interior Arrangements By Michele Roark in St. Michaels, Maryland, and vice director of Interior Redesign Industry Specialists, the redesign industry’s leading membership organization. “No matter what the homeowner has, a redesigner will work with it and make it work.”

Read Full Article

Book Review: Starting Your Mystery Shopping Business

This 271 page manual contains all the information, strategies, and materials needed to start a mystery shopping business in your community. It addresses marketing, selecting and preparing contract shoppers, organizing work, evaluating shoppers’ reports, designing report formats, producing statistical reports, pricing your services, and ethical issues. The CD-rom that accompanies our manual contains samples of blank forms for many different types of businesses, forms to track the work in your office, and samples of contracts for shoppers.

From the Publisher
Starting Your Mystery Shopping Business is now available in the third edition! We have been working hard over the past several months to get the book written and published and to produce the CD. Every time we write a new edition, I am amazed at how much and how quickly our industry is changing.
Our new edition includes plenty of information about the introduction of computer technology. In this new edition, we have included information about how the Internet has impacted the operation of a shopping company. It’s hard to imagine running this kind of business without e-mail, access to websites that provide information about shoppers, and a company website.

Owners of shopping companies have formed associations to strengthen the industry. Both groups sponsor educational activities and promote networking.

Nevertheless, while the industry has grown and changed, the qualities needed by the entrepreneur getting ready to start his or her own business remain the same. You will need courage to market your service aggressively and make your initial sales calls. You will need to read and study this material, but remain flexible enough to adapt some of it to your customers and your locale. Especially in the first year, you will need to have faith in your idea and keep plugging through the months of foundation building. Starting a business will probably be one of the hardest things you do in life, but it will also be one of the most rewarding.

Somewhere between scribbling your idea on a cocktail napkin and actually starting a business, there’s a process you need to carry out that essentially determines either your success or failure in business. Oftentimes, would-be entrepreneurs get so excited about their “epiphanies”-the moments when they imagine the possibilities of a given idea-that they forget to find out whether that idea is viable.

Of course, sometimes the idea works anyway, in spite of a lack of market research. Unfortunately, other times, the idea crashes and burns, halting a business in its tracks. We’d like to help you avoid the latter. This how to on researching your business idea is just what you need to keep your home business goals on track.

The Idea Stage….
Analysis….
Checking Out the Competition….
When Your Idea Is Ready to Go…..

When you’re ready to get started, be sure you’re selling where your target market is likely to buy. “Your marketing plan and budget should include a well-crafted distribution strategy,” notes Shenker. If you’ll sell over the Internet, budget for media to drive new customers to your site. If you’ll sell via retail distribution, you might need workers with industry experience to help you reach your target market.

Read the Details on these methods from Entrepreneur.com

Book Review: The Home-Based Bookstore: Start Your Own Business Selling Used Books on Amazon, eBay or Your Own Web Site

“Want to know the most profitable, lowest-risk idea for your home business? It’s selling used books online, which is growing 33 percent annually, according to a November 2005 study by U.S. publishers. Learn how to start your business part-time, then work as little or as much as you want. This step-by-step guide, written by one of the most successful and highly rated sellers on Amazon.com and eBay, includes everything you need to know:

– Where to find books Find books in your own neighborhood to resell profitably to a worldwide pool of ready buyers. Get the best sources for valuable used books at low prices.
– Where to sell Learn how to list your books to sell at the best price on Amazon.com and eBay, and even your own Web store.
– Which books to buy What to look for in fiction, nonfiction, and collectibles to resell at the highest profits.
– Grading and pricing your books How to describe and price your books. Learn what buyers are looking for.
– Handling customers Tips on handling online book buyers. See the author’s time-tested scripts for responding to customer issues. Learn how you can get and maintain high feedback ratings.
– Fulfilling orders Easy-to-use ideas for storing, organizing, and shipping your books and handling returns.
– Automation tools Maximize your efficiency with these tips on automating your business. Automatically notify customers about shipments, and print postage to ship your books without leaving home.
– Taxes and legal requirements How to register your business to obtain the proper permits and be exempted from paying sales tax on your inventory.
– Exclusive list of wholesale book distributors Exclusive profiles and contact info for 32 wholesale distributors of used and new books. Order inventory at up to 90 percent off retail, shipped right to your door.

Read More…

Starting and managing a business takes motivation, desire and talent. It also takes research and planning.

Like a chess game, success in small business starts with decisive and correct opening moves. And, although initial mistakes are not fatal, it takes skill, discipline and hard work to regain the advantage.

To increase your chance for success, take the time up front to explore and evaluate your business and personal goals. Then use this information to build a comprehensive and well­thought­out business plan that will help you reach these goals.

The process of developing a business plan will help you think through some important issues that you may not have considered yet. Your plan will become a valuable tool as you set out to raise money for your business. It should also provide milestones to gauge your success.

Before starting out, list your reasons for wanting to go into business. Some of the most common reasons for starting a business are:

* You want to be your own boss.

* You want financial independence.

* You want creative freedom.

* You want to fully use your skills and knowledge.

Next you need to determine what home business is “right for you.” Ask yourself these questions: [Go to SBA.gov]

A market in its entirety is too broad in scope for any but the largest companies to tackle successfully. The best strategy for a home business is to divide demand into manageable market niches. Small operations can then offer specialized goods and services attractive to a specific group of prospective buyers.

There are undoubtedly some particular products or services you are especially suited to provide. Study the market carefully and you will find legitimate opportunities. As an example, surgical instruments used to be sold in bulk to both small medical practices and large hospitals. One firm realized that the smaller practices could not afford to sterilize instruments after each use like hospitals did, but instead simply disposed of them. The firm’s sales representatives talked to surgeons and hospital workers to learn what would be more suitable for them. Based on this information, the company developed disposable instruments which could be sold in larger quantities at a lower cost. Another firm capitalized on the fact that hospital operating rooms must carefully count the instruments used before and after surgery. This firm met that particular need by packaging their instruments in pre-counted, customized sets for different forms of surgery.

While researching your own company’s niche, consider the results of your market survey and the areas in which your competitors are already firmly situated. Put this information into a table or a graph to illustrate where an opening might exist for your product or service. Try to find the right configuration of products, services, quality, and price that will ensure the least direct competition. Unfortunately, there is no universally effective way to make these comparisons. Not only will the desired attributes vary from industry to industry, but there is also an imaginative element that cannot be formalized. For example, only someone who had already thought of developing pre-packaged surgical instruments could use a survey to determine whether or not a market actually existed for them.

Learn More from SBA.gov

From SBA.gov

There is no way to eliminate all the risks associated with starting a small business. However, you can improve your chances of success with good planning and preparation. A good starting place is to evaluate your strengths and weaknesses as the owner and manager of a small business. Carefully consider each of the following questions.

Are you a self­starter?

How well do you get along with different personalities?

How good are you at making decisions?

Do you have the physical and emotional stamina to run a small home business?

How well do you plan and organize?

Is your drive strong enough to maintain your motivation?

How will the work at home business affect your family?

It’s true, there are a lot of reasons not to start your own business. But for the right person, the advantages of business ownership far outweigh the risks. You get to be your own boss.

* Hard work and long hours directly benefit you, rather than increasing profits for someone.

* Earning and growth potential are far less limited.

* A new work at home business venture is exciting.

* Running a home business will provide endless variety, challenge and opportunities to learn.

Learn More from SBA.gov

Save up as much money as possible before starting.
All too often, people go into business without any savings, exclusively using loan money from friends, banks, or the SBA. They except to be able to start paying the loans back right away with their profits. What these business owners don’t realize is that it can take months or years to make a profit. And once a lender discovers a business isn’t as profitable as expected, the lender is likely to call in the loan or refuse to renew it for another year. Often new business owners then have to take out home equity loans or use credit cards to pay off their loans (which puts their home and credit rating at risk). For more information, see Business Financing FAQ.

A better plan is to save up as much of the needed investment money as possible, including your living expenses for the first year, or even two. Odds are that your business won’t be profitable for one to two years. Even if you get plenty of business coming your way — and your customers pay you on time, which isn’t always a sure thing — you’ll want to be able to invest most of that money back in the business for space, equipment, advertising, and insurance needs.

Start on a shoestring.
Think small. Don’t rent premises if you can work somewhere else, and don’t hire employees until you can keep them busy. (You can hire independent contractors or temps in the meantime.)
People who start their small business on the cheap, often in a garage, den, or some other scavenged space, and create their first goods or services with more sweat than cash, have the luxury of making their inevitable rookie mistakes on a small scale. And precisely because their early screw-ups don’t bury them in debt, they are usually able to learn and recover from them.

Understand how — and if — you will make a profit.
You should be able to state in just a few sentences how your business plans to make a substantial profit. For starters, you need to know your costs: how much you’ll spend purchasing inventory, paying the rent, compensating any employees, and covering what is likely to be a surprisingly long list of other costs. Then you can figure out exactly how much you need to sell each month, for how many dollars, to cover those expenses and have an adequate profit besides. These numbers are all you need to create a “break-even analysis.”
Read More from Yahoo Small Business…

Starting an eBay business is effortless with these 10 simple steps.

With more than 2 billion items listed on eBay in the past year, and close to $50 billion sold, the sheer size of this online marketplace can be overwhelming. Fortunately, as eBay has grown, the company has worked hard to make it easier for new sellers to get started and be successful. Here are 10 quick and easy steps for building a business on eBay.

1. Just Do It
Some people aren’t sure where to begin, says Terry Gibbs, founder of IWantCollectibles.com and author of The Auction Revolution. Gibbs has been buying and selling antiques and collectibles online since 1997. At his business’s peak in 2002, Gibbs was auctioning more than 500 items per week. Although the pace of his eBay selling has slowed since, he says, “eBay is the best way to sell [an item] quickly for the most money.”

2. Create a Routine
Next, pick a block of time you’ll devote to your business on eBay. Set aside a certain part of the day, or particular evenings each week, to pack up auctions that have ended, list new items for sale and respond to e-mails from potential buyers, says Gibbs. Not only does such discipline stake out time for your new business, but keeping sold items moving out the door also helps make space for new merchandise.

3. Take a Good Picture
Though item descriptions are important, the photo may be even more essential. Buyers assume the photo is the best-case scenario–that the product probably looks worse in real life, says Justin Hartenstein, 25, founder of Advanced Automotive Concepts in Metairie, Louisiana, which sells custom car headlights. A good photo can make or break a sale.

4. Build Trust
Once you’ve got the eBay process down, your next objective is to boost your feedback rating–the number of positive responses you’ve received after transactions–which helps build trust with members of the eBay community. “If you’re new to eBay, trust is everything,” says Rogers.

5. Stick With a Niche
Once you’ve developed a process for regularly listing and selling items on eBay, it’s time to start specializing. Sellers who specialize in a particular product category have a leg up on people who sell a wide variety of goods. “Specializing gives me the ability to spot a deal,” says Gibbs.

Read More from Entrepreneur….

Entrepreneur.com

“There’s a good reason why cable TV networks like HGTV, The Learning Channel and DIY Network have such a huge following from coast to coast: The home design and improvement industry is hot, hot, hot and is showing no signs of cooling off. There may be no better time than the present to tool up your skills and fire up your enthusiasm for a career in this creative and fulfilling field.

But while Americans are keenly interested in home improvement and home design and have made household names out of “Extreme Makeover: Home Editions” Ty Pennington, professional organizer Peter Walsh from “Clean Sweep” and other home design show hosts, the fact is many don’t have the time, talent or inclination to undertake such projects themselves. Or they enthusiastically take up a paintbrush, rearrange the furniture or make a stab at organizing their lives, then toss up their hands in defeat when they realize it’s not as easy as it looks.

All this means there are plenty of opportunities for entrepreneurs like you to start what we are broadly calling a home design business. In our startup guide Home Design Services, we’ve outlined the information you need to start five different home design services: interior design, interior redesign, professional organizing, building preservation/restoration, and faux painting. Here’s a closer look at each of those businesses so you can get feel for the opportunities available in this industry, and what will fit your personality and creativity the best.

Read Full Article

Every home business startup knows the drill–you’re big on dreams but short on cash. Fortunately, we’ve got the scoop on how to stretch your budget.

First, says Stephanie Frank, a business consultant and author of The Accidental Millionaire, “You’ve got to have a plan–you’ve got to know what your cash flow is.” Know what you have in your coffers, and always plan for contingencies.

Also try keeping costs down like Jennifer Zan-kan, founder of Jeneration PR, a fashion and beauty PR and marketing agency in Sherman Oaks, California. Starting up in March 2005, Zankan, 30, invested the bulk of her $4,000 in startup money in a laptop and marketing materials with her professional logo. This former attorney stretched her money by doing everything from cutting living expenses to buying a used multifunction printer/fax/copier on eBay. It’s helped her push annual sales well into the six figures.

Read Full Article from Entrepreneur.com

Don’t Get Stalled at Startup

If you’re like most new or wannabe work at home business owners, you want to hit a home run right from the start. And who can blame you? You’re probably investing the majority of your life savings in your business, so you need it to succeed, right?

Here are eight guidelines you’ll want to follow to help you make sure the home business you’re starting or buying has a fighting chance to survive–for both the short and long term:

1. Find something you’ll enjoy day-to-day.
You’re going to be working a lot of hours each week, most weeks of the year, without much time off at the start. It’s important that you enjoy both what your company does and what running the company entails.

2. Don’t start if you can’t ensure a solid profit margin.
So often people try to get by on the slimmest of margins and wonder why they don’t enjoy owning their business for very long. Make sure your business will have a solid profit margin, which is vital to long-term success.

3. If it’s your first home business venture, think about buying an existing business or a franchise.
You’ll already have enough to learn about running your own business without having to invent everything yourself. Your first business will always be the toughest because you have so much to learn. An existing business or franchise provides a shortcut through much of that process.

Read Tips 4-8 at Entrepreneur.com