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Work at Home Success - A Delicate Balance of the Right Business and the Right Approach

Guest post by: Craig Whalen

Article Overview: If you're currently involved with an online work at home company and are having little or no success, or you're looking to start a work at home enterprise, I'd recommend taking a step back and objectively evaluating the business you're involved with (or looking to start with) as well as performing a self-evaluation and looking at how you approach your business.

Work at Home Success - A Delicate Balance of the Right Business and the Right Approach

Like many of you, I've tried several different online opportunities in my search for work at home success. I've tried multi-level marketing (MLM) or "pyramid" schemes, vitamins, super fruit juices, legal insurance, and so on... Some of the work at home opportunities I've tried in the past may have actually offered a valuable product but, since I've now actually found success with a work at home business, I can see in hindsight many of the things that these business models were lacking, as well as my own shortcomings. Many years of trial and error have afforded me an insight that I feel obligated to share and, hopefully, I'll be able to help others avoid some of the same pitfalls.

If you're currently involved with an online work at home company and are having little or no success, or you're looking to start a work at home enterprise, I'd recommend taking a step back and objectively evaluating the business you're involved with (or looking to start with) as well as performing a self-evaluation and looking at how you approach your business. There are a few key components that exist in my current business model that I've found lacking in previous endeavors that have made THE difference in my success. Look for these attributes when evaluating and online business opportunity (this is certainly not a comprehensive list, but a few BIG items to look for):

• an application process that pre-screens your prospects - Many MLM businesses are dependent on your spending hours on the phone "selling" and "convincing" your prospects to join your team or buy your product. This usually ends up being completely wasted time because a majority of people looking to make money online are looking for the mythical "get rich quick" opportunity and are not ready to start a business. Even if you convince someone to join, it's unlikely they'll do what is necessary to succeed because they first had to be convinced to join and were not motivated by factors important to them. The online application pre-screens your prospects and weeds out those who are not serious so that your valuable time is spent on only those who are ready to take action.

• professional call center to close your sales so you don't screw it up - Most people are not good a sales. I count myself at the top of that list! All of the previous business models I'd used were 100% dependent on me and my ability to "sell" people on why they needed my product or service. Unfortunately, if I had to sell to live I'd probably be dead! So, any home business that is dependent on my personal sales ability is doomed to failure. A professional call center staffed with trained "closers" is a goldmine!

• marketing education tools - Past MLM experiences have always left me hanging after signing up. I'd be given some phone scripts and some sources to buy lists of leads and left to my own resources (or in my case lack of resources). Having training tools to show you exactly how to market online is imperative. Without this education you'll find yourself floundering and wondering why you aren't having any success. Many online opportunities lead you to believe that if you join their sales team and buy a corporate "cookie cutter" website that you will then have overnight success. That's simply not true. You need to be educated on the "how-to" if you're going to see any results.

• teamwork and community - Again, many of my past endeavors have been with companies that are all about the numbers, but not the support. Once they get the sale, the new team member is left to figure things out alone. This is not a model for building a successful business. Being able to speak directly to and learn from successful seven-figure earning work at home entrepreneurs is priceless! Look for a business or opportunity that actually has successful members who are willing to share their own "secrets" and techniques for success.

Finding a work at home business that has all of these attributes will definitely put you ahead of the crowd with regard to making money online, but it's only half of the equation. The other half is YOU. What are your daily work habits? What are you doing to build your business? How do you approach it every day? You can be a member with the best work at home business on the net, but if you don't develop consistent income producing daily work habits, it's worth absolutely nothing to you.

I heard a speaker once describe four personality types associated with people who attempt online work at home business. I don't remember exactly where I heard this, but I think that these four personality types perfectly illustrate why some have tremendous success online while others working the same business have little or no success at all. Which one are you?

• The "cop-out" - This is the person who signs up for an internet business expecting to get rich quick. They may make a small effort in the very beginning while they're still excited. They don't see immediate results and quickly give up, labeling the business a "scam", when their lack of action is indeed the reason for their failure.

• The "hold-out" - This is the person who signs up but never gets started with any marketing or income producing activities because they're intent to learn absolutely everything there is to learn before ever getting started. They over-analyze every aspect and refuse to take any action if there is any part of the business that they do not fully understand. They often NEVER get started because they get paralyzed from analyzing. The truth is, you can't steer a car that isn't moving. Pick a direction and go. You'll need to make adjustments along the way, but you've got to get out of the garage!

• The "drop-out" - This is probably the most common. This is a person who has great intentions. They get out of the gate quickly and begin doing the daily activities necessary for success...then over time, their daily activities become less frequent and inconsistent until one day, they just stop altogether. They, themselves, may not even know why. I think that they simply let the things of life gradually work them out of their business habits. It's imperative to stay consistent and focused and intent on success. There is no get rich quick! It's usually a slow fade as habits are undone, until one day they're not working their business at all.

• The "all-out" - These are the people we refer to as "three-percenters", meaning that 97% of people who try a work at home business fall into the previous 3 categories, so the "all-out" personality comprises the 3% who actually make their business a success. These are the ones we want to learn from and emulate. It's not going to be easy at first. It takes the average person 5-6 weeks to develop a new habit. Until something becomes a habit you'll have to MAKE yourself do it consistently. The same can be said for undoing habits that are unproductive. You may have to move your home office to a room without a television until you break that nightly habit! Develop the habits of successful entrepreneurs and be a 3% leader!

Having the right business coupled with the right approach is certainly a recipe for success. You can WANT to make a cake, but unless you add the right ingredients in the right measure what you want is irrelevant. You'll get out of it what you put into it. Strive for excellence every day and become a 3% leader!

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Article Tags: business work, delicate balance, home success, success, work at home
Referred by: http://jaykubassek.com



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Try wikipedia.com for more information - That depends what type of business you are involved in. Maybe if you share that, we can help you a little better. I work mostly in the Work at Home industry so my advice would only be along those lines.
Re: Sources of Cash - Thanks for the help. The items will be recorded in the Balance Sheet. But why does the Balance Sheet always balances. Is there a specific reason
Re: How do you budget your life? - Here is my financial management categories for today: 15% Long Term Savings; 10% Home Expenses; 45% Business and Marketing charges; 10% Friends (Meeting); 20$ Scientific and Law Books. But this will change when it is August or September. Orxan
My entry - 1. The Best Business Books Ever: The 100 Most Influential Business Books You'll Never Have Time to Read - this is a fascinating book about the history of Business theory, and I'd recommend it to anybody. 2. The Big Book of Small Business: You Don't Have to Run Your Business by the Seat of Your Pants, by Tom Gegax. Ditto. 3. PADI: The Business of Diving Book Okay, so this book won't be of use to anyone who doesn't want to start a scuba store, but I did, and this book was of course invaluable to me in reaching that goal.


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