Internet Home Business Benefits

Operating an internet home based business has many benefits.  The greatest benefit in operating an internet home business is reduced overhead.  The other benefit is the family working together.

It can become a great teaching tool for the children old enough to participate.  They learn all aspects of operating a business, accountability, communication skills, working with equipment, becoming independent, self-reliant, and experiencing personal fulfillment.

Internet Home Based Business

The personal challenge of operating an internet business from the home.

Are you a self-starter?  Can you keep your internet home business separated from home life?  These are the big ones that you need to address before starting an internet home based business.

The family-employee relationship is another challenge that needs attention.

The challenge is establishing an employer employee relationship with your family when at work, not as a husband or wife, or parents and child relationship.  Include all participating family members in your process of making major decisions and solving problems.  You should pay them a fair wage and on time.  This will help establish a good working relationship at the beginning.  Once this relationship is established you'll notice it slowly becomes a family working together.

Non-family employee working in your internet home business.

You will need to treat your family and non-family employees as equals, fairly and with consideration when critiquing them.  Try to establish a line of demarcation between the office and living quarters.  In the living quarters your employees become family and friends.  And, don't overlook the potential liability risk of non-family employees, especially when they enter your living quarters.  In some cases, it may be difficult to delineate between the office and living quarters.

Keep in mind, the best employee is the one that respects their boss and enjoys their work.  Remember, your employees can make or break your internet home business.

A home internet business plan is the perfect tool.

An internet home business plan is the perfect tool to measure your knowledge and resources needed.  It will also help you discover how to find the information and resources you don't possess.  This plan is like a recipe and road map rolled into one, it establishes your goals; void in knowledge and resources, and helps you to develop a plan on how you're going to reach your goals.

This home business plan does not have to be complicated.  Again, the most important part of this plan is finding out what you have and don't have to reach your goal.  Do you have the knowledge to run a business?  Do you know your products and/or service inside and out?  How are your management, communication, writing, marketing and accounting skills, etc.?  If you are lacking in any of these areas what are your alternatives.

The physical side of the business.

The physical side of the business.  Your location, facility, equipment, supplies, and marketing plan.  Consider the demographics of your marketing area, potential customers, their location, income, and need for your products and/or services.  When an honest business plan is finished, you have increased your chance of success dramatically.

Time and/or money?

Finally, do you have the time and money to start this internet home based business and to carry it for the first couple of years?

If you have the money but not the time, it's time to start thinking about hiring a webdesigner that is a search engine optimization specialist.

If you're short both time and money, then keep your job and start by spending your time off researching the internet for everything you can find about search engine optimization and web designing a search engine friendly website.

When your internet home business is online and producing, the good news is you don't have to mind the store all day.  When you get home from work, fill your orders and count your money.  When your home based internet business stabilizes, making more money than your present job, it's time to quit that other job and enjoy staying home.  That's why many people around the world are setting up an internet home based business.

Make no mistake about it, the gold rush is over, but there is still some gold in them thar hills.  It's going to take tenacity, will, planning and a positive attitude.  Good Luck.

Teaching Children Business Ethics

I have to share this story with you about teaching ethics to your children about business.  However, this story takes a twist and I was the one taught ethics by my daughter who was about 10 at the time.  She said I'd be sorry if I gave you her age today.  I'll just say this happen in the 70's and since then she has been a CFO of a Telecommunication Company.  There.

I had taught my children (6), in those days, to answer the phone by saying, "Wilson residence, (child first name) speaking, may I ask who's calling." However, some evenings I just didn't feel like taking a call, so I'd tell them to say I wasn't available, even though I'm sitting right there.

One day my daughter asked if she could talk to me about something.  She presented her confusion about us (parents) asking her to lie when she answered the phone when we were sitting right there, and how we had instilled the importance of never lying.  The very first thought was, do as I say, not as I do.  But, luckily I caught myself from creating more damage.  I said, your right.

So we came up with this, "I'm sorry, but my dad is not receiving calls this evening" and if they asked why, the answer was, " Dad is spending his time with us" or "Dad is (whatever I told them) or "Dad didn't give us a reason, and in all cases "may I take a message".

Well, wouldn't you know it, weeks later a large deal was hanging fire.  When I got home, I announced "no calls".  Sure as you can think it, the phone rings, I hear my oldest son gives out the responses.  When he hung up he told me the man was not very happy, I ask for the name, it was the deal and no phone to call, in this case.  I thought, that's it, I lost the deal.

Next morning, in my office, trying to reach this person, my secretary announces his presence in the outer office.  When he came through the door I'll never forget his expression of annoyance.  I'm thinking, he wouldn't be here if the deal is blown.  Well, he lit into me ranting and raving about the phone call.  I started to apologize and he said that was my second mistake.

He started to tell me, after his playful get even for the night before, that after hanging up he was infuriated, that was it, deal off.  Then he said the more I thought about it and his family, it hit him.  He told me that that same night he set up the same procedures in his home and thanked me.  Got the deal!  Ethics does pay, inside and out.