Home Based Business: The $427 Billion Incentive
A projection of 10 million new millionaires will be created over the next 10 years due to an anticipated technology explosion! If that isn't enticement enough for you to stop contemplating and start creating the foundation for your own small business then think about this: home-based business is a $427 billion dollar industry and is predicted by some to hit the trillion dollar level by 2010!
So you might be asking yourself what's the real deal when it comes to working from home – are people truly making money at it? According to a recent IDC survey, the US Census Bureau, the Small Business Administration FAQs and other sources, home based businesses have an average generating income of $63,000 per year.1 And that answer may well bring you to the next intelligent question: HOW do they do it?
Of course persistence, hard work and excellent skills are non-negotiable key factors in building a successful enterprise and there is also the need to do your 'home work' prior to launching your business. I call this the 'Pre-Launch' stage and there are a series of steps that must be taken. You can review the first 5 Steps in my article, “Being Self Employed: 5 Pre-Launch Steps.” Researching your target market along with your closest competitors will provide you a 'snap shot' of services most often requested and provided by those already in your area of business. Devising novel methods of delivery or production [if you make or sell products] or providing 'executive' services not ordinarily marketed to your potential customers and clients actually allows your business to 'stand out in the crowd.' Currently being unique in business is called creating/filling a 'niche' that only your business is capable of offering. In other words, looking at ways to provide goods or services in a way that only you can [or are willing to do] puts your business in a position to capitalize on opportunities that others can't. For example, in April, 2008 Voila! Meeting and Event Management was selected to assist with coordinating the US visit of Pope Benedict the XVI. Voila! Was retained to handle all the media related activities and logistics for the Pope's tour of the Washington, DC and New York areas. You may be asking what significance does this have with starting a home based business? Plenty! The co-owners of Voila! were both mothers with children when they decided to form their own business in order to work from home so that they could be more active in the child rearing process! The 'niche' they filled was superior customer service AND personal oversight of every detail of each event plan from start to finish! 2
Then there's the little matter of 10 million new millionaires that technology can assist with creating; according to an article written by Dawn Rivers Baker, “In the marketplace, look for the financial services industry to be hot on the tail of IT in pursuit of the microbusiness market.”3 Translation: with the ever expanding IT or internet technology sector's abilities, the financial services industry [bankers, capital investors, etc.] will be partnering with IT in order to seek out, fund and sponsor the present and newly forming high profile online small and home based businesses!
Naturally money alone cannot motivate all of us into action – and frankly that's a very good thing! Owning your own business, especially once it starts to support you in the fashion you want to become accustomed to, provides a level of personal satisfaction and achievement that only living it can bring! In this climate of uncertainty of job security, social upheaval and global market instability having a self-respecting job and passion for what you do will be crucial factors in overall health and longevity. “There is no doubt, passion and profits mix. The concept of feeling love or passion for one’s company is gaining ground because a passionately engaged work force is becoming an important differentiator in the marketplace,” said Kate Feather, executive vice president of research firm PeopleMetrics.4
There is also the reality that small business, including home based business, employs nearly 6.9 million workers according to the US Department of Commerce. “Small businesses are the lifeblood of cities and towns across the country, and we salute small business owners, entrepreneurs and employees for enhancing our communities and expanding opportunities for all. The hard work and ingenuity of our nation’s small business men and women are helping to sustain America’s economic strength,” said President George W. Bush in a speech proclaiming National Small Business Week at the end of April, 2007.
So there you have it. What better reason to help stimulate the nation's economy and ensure long term economic stability than launching your OWN successful home based business and employing some needy neighborhood unemployed – your children or grandchildren for example! Unless of course a portion of the projected $427 Billion home based business industry is incentive enough.
YE is Here!
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YE is an author; electronics, computer & gadget geek; certified holistic health consultant; grandmother and devoted traveler that currently resides in Georgia. She can be contacted for interviews, consultations and general comments at either of her websites. ©2008 S.U.R.-B.E.T. Publishing
