Are You A Home Based Business Entrepreneur

I am a firm believer in the statement “When the student is ready the teacher appears”. Several years ago I purchase the book by Professor Paul Zane Pilzer, called the Next Millionaires.
As you probably know Pilzer is a leading predictor of economic catalysts and trends.

Now how’s this for the law of attraction… this book jumped back into my hands several days ago and  as I started to reread it I got very excited about what was jumping out of the pages.  The next millionaires according to Pilzer are those that capitalize on the internet,  and he goes on to say why home based business entrepreneurs will be among the richest in our new economy.

Fortunately for us we are still well within the 10 year times span that Pilzer predicts.   As he says in the ten years from 2006 to 2016, we’re on track to creating in excess of more than 18.5 million millionaires.   And they way to go is to develop your own successful home based business.

Now, for those of you who know me, you’ll know that I am passionate about helping others (especially my women friends) to create better business lives, to shift the focus from having a job to integrate both our family and business lives and still have time to indulge ourselves in the odd “cafe latte”.

Making the transition to home based can be simple if you follow the steps I will be sharing with you over the next few weeks.  First it’s important to know what the common mistakes people starting their own home based business make… so here’s the first one..

1.    The problem most business owners have is that they develop their product first.

Your product or service must solve a problem for a ‘group’ of individuals. It must identify their pain and take them to pleasure. Discover their problems and give them a solution.

Do you know the thing that keeps them awake at night, takes up their thought processes, or is on their mind from the moment they wake up in the morning.

If your product or service can solve this problem then it is worthwhile pursuing.

We work from the premise that you should find your target market first, find out what they want, what problems they have and then formulate your product or service around this existing market.

Rather than launching into your business and hoping that it will succeed – it is critical to do your research first. The internet is a quick and inexpensive way to find out if your idea will “fly”.  (Key word searches, looking at the competition and searching for niches will all assist you)

Build it and they will come – is not the catch cry of business today – you need to be a ‘savvy marketer’.

So remember: Market first – Product or Service second

Finding Your Ideal Client

Now…I hope you’ve been thinking about your Dream Business….because believe me it’s possible…first let’s begin with how to get started…the right way.

Most people start their business for the wrong reasons –

• they love clothes so they buy a boutique,
• they like cooking so they start a restaurant,
• they like nic nacs so they start a gift shop

No wonder so many business fail within the first 5 years. This is the hard way to do business – because it is starting at the wrong end.

The best way to start a business or any new venture is to “Begin With The End In Mind”.

The best way to start a business is to first find a starving crowd and then feed them, and do it so well, give so much value that they keep coming back for more.

Doing it any other way is like a farmer going out into his yard and scattering grain hoping that the chickens will come.  In business it really is a case of finding the chickens and then feeding them the right grain.

Most business go out and get the grain and then wonder why the chickens don’t come knocking at their door.

Of course if you already have a bunch of clients then the best thing you can do is find out what type of grain (product or service) they need in order to thrive.

The first thing you should be looking for is a problem that is shared by lots of people and then set out to solve their problem – sound too easy – doesn’t it.

Let’s look at it this way – people will only buy something if it:

1. Solves a problem
2. They really, really want it
3. They have a fear and they need a solution
4. They have a frustration that they want to go away

In other words what are their greatest – Wants Needs Fears and Frustrations?

How do you find your target market or your ideal client?

1. You should be offering what you do best (your niche)
2. To a group of people (your ideal client)
3. Who hang out together in some organized fashion  (your marketplace)
4. Who desperately need and will pay for what it is that you offer (your target or niche market).

So a good definition for your niche or target market would be:

“Your target market is composed of individuals and businesses that have similar interests and needs, that can be readily identified and can be easily targeted and reached.”

Whatever  target market  you choose to pursue, make sure it involves something you either care about or want to do.

There are so many choices and opportunities out there that you should be able to find the fit between a money-making business and your passion and talents.

You’ll make much more money attracting a smaller stream of ideal prospects to your business or service  than a deluge of wrong ones.

This is the key to operating a successful business. The more focused you can become in defining what you do and in describing the group who needs what you do, the more effective your marketing becomes. Weeding out all those prospects who don’t fit your niche, target market, or ideal client profile will leave you with a much better qualified pool of prospective clients.

So when I  speak to you next I want you to be thinking about “who is your ideal client”.

See you in the Café’s of the World!