So, you're looking for a business you can start and run from home. That is pretty smart! By running a Home
Based Business you have lower overhead costs and more control of your business.
Take a look through these Home Based Businesses and see if you can get some ideas. Heck, we even have businesses
that you don't have to run from home, but from anywhere you are.
WHAT DO YOU REALLY WANT OUT OF YOUR BUSINESS?
Let's start with "vision." What's yours?
If you don't have an answer to that, you need to spend some quiet time
sitting and thinking. Starting a business without a vision is kind of like jumping into your car, firing up the engine and
starting to drive--- without any clue as to where you'd like to go.
The
vision is, in essence, your dream. Example: "I will have a full-time business of my own, specializing in fund-raising for
hospices and convalescent homes."
So go ahead, write down your vision.
Got it? Good--- now, let's move on to goals.
Goals are the way you measure
you progress toward your vision. They direct your actions, give you targets to hit, and because a goal should be time-sensitive,
serve as benchmarks that keep you on track.
It is recommended that you set both short-term and long-term goals. "You
might want to establish weekly goals, quarterly goals, annual goals, and even 3-5 year goals," they advise.
Usually, the best way to come up with short-term goals is to set long-term
goals. Example: Your long-term goal is to have your part-time business generating $10,000 in sales by the end of 2006. One
of your short-term goals, then, might be to build a customer list of 200 during the 2005 holiday season.
The key to the efficacy of any goal is to make it "SMART." Specific;
Measurable; Actionable; Results oriented; and Time sensitive. (There are varying definitions of
this acronym, but in the end, they all mean roughly the same thing). Example: "Get lots of sales this year" is a good idea,
but it's not a SMART goal. A SMART goal would be, "Achieve $1000 in weekend swap meet sales each week of November."
So if you haven't already done so, take some time to write out your vision,
a handful of long-term goals, and a series of short-term goals to get you where you want to be. That way you'll know exactly
where you car is heading, and how close you're getting to where you want to go!
