The first thing you must do before start home based business is some basic market research. Find out for yourself, first hand, just how many people there are in your area who are interested in your proposed product or service, and would be “willing to stand in line and pay money for it”. This is known as defining your market and pinpointing your customers. If after checking around, talking about your idea with a whole lot of people over a period of one to three months, you get the idea that these people would be paying customers, your next effort should be directed toward the “detailing” of your business plan. The more precise and detailed your plan covering all the bases relating to how you’ll do everything that needs to be done the easier it’s going to be for you to attain success. Such a plan should show you start up investment needs, your advertising plan, your production costs and procedure, your sales program, and how your time will be allocated. Too often, enthusiastic and ambitious entrepreneur jump in on an extra income project and suddenly find that the costs are beyond their abilities, and the time requirements more than they can meet.

Now, assuming you’ve got your market targeted, you know who your customers are going to be and how you’re going to reach them with your product or service. And you have all your costs as well as time requirements itemized. The next step is to set your plan in motion and start making money.

Here is the most important “secret” of all, relating to starting and building a profitable home based business, so read very carefully. Regardless of what kind of business you start, you must have the capital and the available time to sustain your business through the first six months of operation.

Specifically, you must not count on receiving or spending any money coming in from your business on yourself or for your bills during those first six months. All the income from your business during those first six months should be reinvested in your business in order for it to grow and reach your planned first year potential.

Once you’ve passed that first six months milestone, you can set up a small monthly salary for yourself, and begin enjoying the fruits of your labor. But the first six months of operation for any business are critical, so do not plan to use any of the money you business generates for yourself during that period.

If you’ve got your business plan properly organized, and have implemented the plan, you should at the end of your first year be able to begin thinking about hiring other people to alleviate some of your workload. Remember this: Starting a successful business is not a means towards either a job for yourself or a way to keep busy.

Please visit us for more information about
home based business,
facebook marketing, entrepreneurship

read comments (0)

The most important qualifications to look for in an operator are voice and attitude. The voice must be pleasant and sound alert, interested and ready to help the caller. Warn your operators never allow their “personal feelings” to show thru when they’re answering the phone. They represent your business and your customers. As such, they must project a professional manner at all times.

Teach your operators to answer the phones with a “happy smile” in their voices. Train them to take their time with the callers, and get the message right by reading the message back to the caller, and also be sure they ask the caller for the correct spelling of his or her name. Unless specifically instructed otherwise by a customer, insist that your operators never allow an incoming call to ring more than twice before answering it. Hardly anything frustrates anyone calling a business number more than a telephone that seemingly rings forever before someone answers it.

You can start you inexperienced people at $4 an hour, and your experienced operators at $6 an hour. Try to explain to them that the success of your business depends on them, and as your business prospers, so will give them their monetary rewards. Get them involved and interested in helping you succeed.

It’s going to take aggressive selling on your part to reach success with a venture of this kind. You must spend at least 50 percent of your time making sales calls–if you can’t or don’t wish to do any personal selling, then you’ll have to hire at least two full time people to take your place. In addition to your own sales efforts or people who will fill your shoes in this area, you should hire at least one other full time sales person. You should plan to have someone making telephone solicitations for at least 3 hours out of each working day.

Selling your services–building an ever larger customer list—is the name of the game for real success. You’ve got the start-up information, and form here on, the rest depends on your own ambition…

Associated Telephone Answering Exchanges, Inc.
Bankers Square
100 Pitt Street
Alexandria, VA 22314
(703) 683-3770

TYPICAL EQUIPMENT COSTS:

TWO OPERATOR CHAIRS…………………………$90
DESK & CHAIR……………………………….100
TWO SIDE CHAIRS……………………………..50
BOOKCASE……………………………………50
FILING/SUPPLY CABINET………………………..50
CALCULATOR………………………………….50
USED TYPEWRITER…………………………….150
BASE FOR SWITCHBOARD…………………………60
MESSAGE RACK………………………………..75
TIME CLOCK…………………………………250
OFFICE FURNISHINGS/DECORATIONS……………….150
5-THOUSNAD MESSAGE PADS………………………25
24-DOZEN PENS……………………………….12
SWITCHBOARD LEASE (ONE BOARD)………………4,000
CABLE INSTALLATION (ONE BOARD)……………..1,500
RENT ON OFFICE……………………………..600
UTILITY DEPOSITS…………………………….50
BUSINESS LICENSES……………………………50
BUSINESS INSURANCE………………………….350
LEGAL FEE………………………………….100
SUPPLIES…………………………………. 200

TOTAL ………………………………… $7,957

Related post with How to Start a Telephone Answering Service

How to Start a Telephone Answering Service (part 1)
How to Start a Telephone Answering Service: Switchboard
How to Start a Telephone Answering Service: Setting up Facilities
How to Start a Telephone Answering Service: The traditional Telephone Company Switchboard
How to Start a Telephone Answering Service: Maintaining Basic Customer Information
How to Start a Telephone Answering Service: Qualifications to Look for in an Operator

read comments (0)