starting a home-based business

Starting a Home-Based Business

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Recently I had the opportunity to be a guest on the podcast of Dave Goodwin of

Growinge – The Growing EntrepreneurHis podcast is new to the scene so if you

haven’t heard of it, please check it out and bookmark it.

www.perfectmarketingequation.com © All Rights Reserved.

https://twitter.com/davegoodwinge

http://growinge.com/

I got the opportunity to talk about my experience as a recession entrepreneur, the struggles I faced in my endeavor, and how I finally not only got it right but also

found my purpose.


I’ve always had a different mindset than most people when it comes to being an

entrepreneur. I believe that you don’t have to actually own a business to be one.


The reason I know this is because I’ve been an entrepreneur my entire

life, however I’ve only owned a business for 5 years.


To me being an entrepreneur is the acceptance of great

responsibility. The willingness to do whatever it takes.


Having the ability to really put yourself out there and giving

something everything you have. You could actually do this working for someone else.


However, here’s the obstacle, you have to work under

leadership that’s comfortable with allowing other people to be free

thinkers.


This isn’t always easy to find because most leaders are

threatened by that mindset and finds those people hard to

manage.


There seems to be more leadership that prefers the regime of control versus inspiration. This is what

pushes people like me out of the cube to start our own thing.


Home-Based Business Means Goodbye Cubicle

Hello Couch


Many people are interested in starting a home-based business;

in fact it’s Googled millions of times each month.


Most of the time the root motivation is they’re merely

unhappy in their current situation.


An article written by Alan Hall in Forbes Magazine online says that 2 million

people quit their jobs each month! He reports that the number one reason they

leave is the lack of recognition.


The Grass is Greener?


Many people want what I have. However, when they find out the dedication and

extreme hard work it takes to have a good level of success working for themselves

they dart back for the cubicle.


It doesn’t have to be as hard as they make it – the problem is they’re

looking for the easy solution or the quick way to success, there isn’t one.


First mistake – I didn’t properly gage my target market for

product interest.


It’s important that you know I wasn’t working for shopping money so

failure wasn’t in my list of options. I was the primary income earner in my

household.


Home-Based Business Failure One


My first business endeavor failed. It failed because –


I didn’t properly gage my market.I didn’t understand marketing – more

specifically Internet marketing.I couldn’t reach enough people as a result I couldn’t make enough money to sustain

my business.


Home-Based Business Failure Two


Due to the fact that failure wasn’t an option for me I took about 5 minutes

to lick my wounds. Then I dove in and learned the errors of my ways.


Step 1. Learn about marketing – how can I reach enough

customers?


Step 2. How can I leverage my current skillset for a specific,

in-demand niche?


Step 3. Execute – ASAP. (The bills don’t stop

coming.)


Due to carefully diagnosing my reasons for failure and the ability to

find a way to leverage my skillset in a need-driven market, business two

was successful very quickly.


I was making some great contacts and I was finally able to work at

home for myself and actually pay the bills.


Houston We Have a ProblemOkay, so I was finally making money!

Problem – I’m miserable.


Second mistake – I thought that making money was enough and

would make me happy.


Often, from a distance I’ll observe certain Facebook groups and conversations

about home-based business opportunities. Everyone seems to have the great opportunity everyone else is

looking for.


Here’s the problem with that – chasing the dollar and the easy answer isn’t going to

work. If you’re just looking for a quick escape from a situation you’re miserable in or a quick buck – you’re always going

to struggle as an entrepreneur.


Finally, Home-Based Business Success


My second endeavor involved creating tangible things such as websites and branding tools for

entrepreneurs.


It was during this time that I learned that many of the entrepreneurs I was working

for wanted to create compelling brands for themselves but something was missing.


They didn’t have answers to some very fundamental questions in their

businesses. Some of the same questions I couldn’t answer in my first endeavor.

This puzzled me and also got me thinking…


The Perfect Marketing Equation is Born


I’m a very analytical person. When I’m faced with a problem or obstacle often I will get out a piece of paper, write down the problem, write down a few solutions

and choose one.


Here’s the other thing about me, my finger is always on the trigger. I don’t stew about

things much. When I make a decision I act immediately.


This occasionally gets me burned but for the most part – it has always

turned out to my benefit. I’m a firm believer in ACTION.


When I went into business two I had put together a marketing equation that was a combination of research and everything I

figured out I was missing.


I would use this map as paint by numbers approach. It worked

beautifully and took me to financial success within months.


I would talk about this process to my clients, they were intrigued and

wanted to find their Perfect Marketing Equation.


This was when it hit me, I will teach entrepreneurs how to come up with a marketing plan in their

businesses.


I’ll be the one that decides what pieces make sense for them, and

then we’ll put them together for the perfect combination.


The custom-built equation would be the combination of marketing tactics

that would take them to a higher profitability in their business.


I would pull them off the hamster wheel – they would finally have purpose in their business. I had

finally found it, this process was my purpose.


If you need some help picking a niche market I just launched a new

training product that will tell you how to make that choice step-by-step. It’s

absolutely FREE. Click here to check it out.


http://perfectmarketingequation.com/howtofindyourniche

Visit my website for more entrepreneur training courses.

www.perfectmarketingequation.com


http://www.perfectmarketingequation.com/

If you’re bootstrapping a business and need a roadmap look up my

book, Yanking Bootstraps, on

Amazon! It’s a short but powerful read that will give you strategies

to use right away in your business.


Connect with me!Twitter -@thawkbridgesFacebook - www.facebook.com/TammyHawkBridges


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I hope you found this slideshow helpful in your business please visit me at perfectmarketingequation.com for marketing training and educational information for entrepreneurs.

Tammy Hawk-Bridges is an author, entrepreneur mentor and marketing strategist. She provides education and marketing training for entrepreneurs. Connect with her on Twitter @thawkbridges.