Dodo Loves Marketing

Running a business from home is going to mean a lot of hard work — more than you ever dreamed. As a one-man or one- woman outfit, you’re going to be responsible for absolutely everything to do with the smooth running of your day to day affairs. To tell the truth, it’s going to be anything but smooth.

Big business runs on teamwork — someone creates an idea, another tests and develops it, others manufacture it, market it and a host of extras package it, deliver it, invoice it and collect payment on it. And when something goes wrong, they all blame each other. ..more

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Now that you have the start of your brand new business at your fingertips, let’s take a look at you and your attitude to being in business.

Let’s make it professional. Don’t fool yourself with the idea that working from home will be easy. While you won’t have to join the morning rush-hour traffic to work, you also won’t have the benefit of the discipline that a 9-to-5 office day and a bevy of co-workers imposes on the rest of us. ..more

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Once you have decided that starting your own business suits your abilities and is what you really want to do, then you need to consider what sort of business you are going to run. In fact you may have thought initially of the business you wanted to start and then considered if it was the right step for you. The basis of your business is a business idea – one that is likely to be viable and, when put into practice, will give you a good quality of life in more than just financial terms. ..more

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A great deal of interesting and useful information can be derived from close observation of potential competitors. In one sense they are doing today what you are planning to do tomorrow. They should have already refined their product or service and learned from their mistakes — knowledge from which you can benefit. Furthermore, as they will be your competitors, it is wise to know their strengths and weaknesses. As you follow various avenues of research, compile a dossier on each of your competitors and add new information as you go along. This will make it easier to conduct your final assessment. ..more

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As much as you can possibly put away. This is a simple answer but true. Every sacrifice made now will prevent a greater one later. We have already looked at the value of money and can see that it will be impossible to have too much. No one knows what the future holds so it is necessary to do the best you can. Doing nothing will lead to hardship while doing anything will help. ..more

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Jack Welch argues, ‘When the rate of change inside the business is exceeded by the rate of change outside the company, the end is near:

Today’s markets can evolve incredibly quickly. New ideas and structures, standards and expectations can spread in a way that was previously reserved for fads and fashions. Speed is driven by the connectivity of people through technology, the rise of non-locational communities and the constant desire of consumers to have the latest, best, coolest, smallest, fastest devices. ..more

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These structural and behavioural changes fundamentally reshape markets, making profitable ones unprofitable, requiring new ways to approach existing ones, and opening up completely new spaces to compete. Indeed, it is useful to draw an illustrative map of your extended ‘market space’, your existing and adjacent markets, adjacent in terms of both business capabilities and customer applications. ..more

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Market and technological convergence, the irrelevance of physical boundaries, the changing needs of consumers and retailers, and competitors emerging from previously unrelated markets have created complexity in every sector. ..more

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Complex markets, intense competition, expectant customers and demanding shareholders require more intelligent marketing. To see the emerging form of markets and how they can be shaped, to target the best opportunities before others, to beat competitors in smarter ways than price discounting, to innovate more radically in new directions, to build brands like nobody else, to engage with customers in ways they have never thought possible, and to deliver returns to shareholders that would make analysts jump requires a new and different approach. ..more

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These days philately has expanded to include all aspects of the postal system — covers, postmarks, stamp books, etc., etc. But a few postal accessories so far seem to have escaped the attention of the philatophiles; invest in these NOW and cash in on the future: ..more

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The business plan will have at least two functions:

• It will help clarify in your own mind exactly what you intend to achieve with your business.
• It will show potential investors that you have thoroughly researched and prepared everything for starting a business— that you have a serious proposal worth consideration. ..more

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If you do not have any particular talents, or you discover that your talent is not of a sufficient calibre to exploit professionally, then you may be able to use your specialist knowledge and experience in your home-based business. Do you have any specialist knowledge? If you can answer ‘yes’ to any of the following questions you could have the basis for a home-based business. ..more

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Do you have any talents which can be exploited profitably? If you can answer ‘yes’ to any of the following questions, you need look no further to see what to base your business on.

1. Can you write readable, interesting, factual or fiction material?
2. Can you take and process photographs of a high quality?
3. Can you sing, without fear, alone in front of a large audience, well enough to earn applause? ..more

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These markets operate over weekends and public holidays and offer a wide and very general range of merchandise — in fact everything from clothes and curios, inexpensive goods from the East and India, food, jewellery and music – as well as hand made crafts. ..more

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The Internet

Although it is still relatively new in the craft world, another option for mail order selling is having a website through which you can sell over the Internet.

It is not without teething problems, particularly when it comes to money transactions. A craft business owner suggests using your website to display your products with price lists and colour charts. But to do the actual orders via email or fax. ..more

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Working creatively with wrought iron could be a means to starting a lucrative home-based business in your area. Projects could include: table and chairs; fire screens; wall-mounted pot-plant holders; brackets; candlesticks; name- signs for business premises and private homes; lanterns; door knockers; gates and gardenware; wind vanes; boot scrapers; toasting forks; magazine racks, and lamps. You could also accept commissions for larger items. Designs may be simple or you could specialize in fancy scroll work. ..more

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Jewellery making can be practised at different levels, involving varying degrees of skill, more or less sophisticated equipment, and materials ranging from pebbles and shells found on the beach to alloys and precious metals like gold and silver. ..more

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Duration of the interview

How long a given interview lasts is, of course, very largely determined by inherent factors. The time devoted to an interview should be sufficient to ..more

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Today you will seldom find home-based entrepreneurs struggling on their own to meet deadlines. Help, whether in the form of people or equipment, makes life easier. Many people contract or employ others to help them on a part-time, full-time or as-needed basis. Another way is to invest in a personal computer or word-processor, photocopier, or fax machine. ..more

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Now to sell to a shop

Make a list of all the shops that would be likely to stock your product. Because you’ve done your market research, you should be able to accurately pin point who to go to. The range of areas you sell in can be quite wide. ..more

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