As a busy mom, you want to grow a business that allows you to stay at home with your children as much as possible. Although this is a full time job in itself you are so driven to be financially independent. Earning money to support your family is very important to you and you will do absolutely anything to turn this dream into a reality. You know that there is a lot to learn, especially because you’re starting from scratch. From presenting your business online to becoming an expert in your industry, you are willing to go above and beyond to turn your visions into reality. If you follow the upcoming eleven enlightening steps you will feel inspired, knowledgeable and ready to create a thriving home business for your family.
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Lay The Foundations of Your Knowledge
Before you take the leap and start building a home business, you need to lay a solid foundation of knowledge. If you know exactly what you want to do in your life it becomes much clearer to find a course, coach or book that helps you attain these goals. Of course it is important to look into avoiding distractions while studying at home; you don’t want to invest your hard earned money in a course only to carry it out half heartedly. Once you have established what you want to do in the future, you will be able to seek out the qualifications and experience that is right for you.
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Understand Your Strengths
At the moment, you might not believe you’re very good at anything. You may have strengths that you haven’t even tapped into yet. The truth is, can still start the process of launching your business, even if you haven’t found your “thing” just yet. Dig deep into yourself and write down all of the things you enjoy and the things you’re good at. This will help you to narrow down your business idea. Ask your friends and family what they believe you’re good at too. They are likely to come up with things you hadn’t even thought of.
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Carry Out Market Research
Once you have put your finger on your own strengths, you need to carry out market research to validate your idea. You might have an amazing business idea in theory, but if there isn’t any demand for it, you’re going to fall at the first hurdle. Take your broad idea and look online to see if there are other businesses out there doing the same thing. Although you might feel worried at the prospect of going into competition with a well established brand, it is actually a good thing to have other businesses in your industry. You can use their brands as models for your own and take inspiration from their current client demographic when you’re establishing your product, service and marketing strategies.
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Narrow Your Idea Down Even Further
Having a broad idea of what you want to sell is great. Now you need to take it one step further and narrow your idea down. Laser focusing on a very specific niche is really going to help you in the long run. You don’t want to be speaking to everyone; you want to speak to one clear demographic. When you’re writing website copy and posting on social media, you will be very grateful for narrowing down your niche.
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Adopt a Positive and Driven Mindset
Before you dive deep into the creation of your business you need to believe in yourself. Having the right mindset is the first stage of business; without this you are going to stumble at the first hurdle. Establish why you want to create a home business and use this as your motivation whenever you need it.
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Create a Brilliant Brand
Next, you need to start building a brand that resonates with your target audience. A brand is much more than a logo; it’s about encompassing a very clear ethos from the get go. Elements you need to consider for your brand include your color scheme, name, tag line, values, ethos and brand positioning statement. Think very carefully about what your ideal client would want to see or hear. This will guide you towards building an unstoppable brand that has longevity in your industry.
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Build a Website
Your website is going to be the main hub of your business. This digital platform is going to grab the attention of your target client, inform them of your services and persuade them to invest. Hire a web designer if you’re unsure of how to approach this process. It can take a while to get a website just right so it is worth setting aside some of your budget for a professional.
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Establish Social Media Platforms
It is better to have a strong presence on one or two social media platforms than have a weak presence across all of them. Think carefully about where your ideal client is hanging out. Are they on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest or even LinkedIn? As soon as you figure out where they are, you will be able to set up consistent social media platforms that are relevant.
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Pull Together a Consistent Content Strategy
Not knowing what to post on social media is frustrating, but if you have dug deep into the heart of your ideal client this should be simple. Don’t go into sales tactics every single time you post; tell your story, share testimonials, give value and create shareable content that your target audience can relate to. Map out your content for the week and schedule it into an app so you don’t have to post every single day.
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Grow and Monetize Your Audience
When it comes to converting a lead into a sale, you will need to put in a lot of extra ground work to make this happen. Interacting with your clients on social media, building a strong relationship with them and establishing trust is vital. It takes several encounters with a brand for person to part with their money, so keep this in mind when you are first starting out.
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Create Boundaries and Non-Negotiables
When you create a home business it can be very easy for the lines to become blurred. Working from home comes with a real commitment because you have to learn the art of balance. One way in which you can achieve this is by writing down your boundaries and non-negotiables. There are certain things in your life that you won’t want to change or miss out on so these are your non-negotiables. These may include having dinner with your family, picking the children up from school or having a daily walk with your dog. These are the things you want to and have to do everyday so make them a priority in everything you do. This will make it much easier for you to create boundaries as you will know what you can and can’t commit to when your non-negotiable activities are in place.
Running a home business might sound like a walk in the park. Getting to work in your sweatpants all day sounds like a dream, right? In truth, you are going to have days where you want to give up completely. You might become completely overwhelmed by the competition around you or you may start to doubt your own abilities. With a strong foundation of knowledge and a winning mindset you will be unstoppable. Creating the home business of your dreams is totally possible, you just need to take each stage as it comes and be patient during the entire process.