Tips to Improve Your Home-based Business
Taking that big leap from employee to entrepreneur involves great risks and shift in perspective. After all, the financial concept called Risk/Return Tradeoff tells us that high risks or business uncertainties are often associated with high returns/rewards.
To manage the risks involved, we undergo a long transition as weekend entrepreneurs initially before going full time. Our homes become the focal of entrepreneurship, eventually paving way to the boom of home-based businesses. StartUp Journal presents 10 helpful tips for home-based entrepreneurs.
Do a detailed analysis of costs to figure out how much money you’ll need. Forecast three scenarios: a best-case, realistic and worst-case financial picture. Karen Belasco, founder and “chief cookie counselor” of Good Fortunes, a personalized cookie business in Canoga Park, Calif., said she wishes she had spent more time learning about cash flow and the bottom line when she started the company in 1995. “I really lost money for a very long time and we couldn’t figure out why,” Belasco said. “There were certain hidden costs we just weren’t seeing.”
Not all dreams can become a reality and not all business ventures can survive. According to Small Business Administration’s Office of Advocacy, only 44% of small businesses survive at least 4 years of operations. So, stay open, try to be very objective in making decisions, and learn when to pull the plug if needed.
