Because there are so many home based business ventures out there choosing the right one can be difficult to say the least. Most genuine opportunities will require a small investment up front but beware of those that ask for large amounts of money.People sometimes make the mistake of thinking that businesses that require a large investment to join and set up must be very profitable and successful and are going to guarantee them success.This may well be the case if you are already a millionaire and planning on purchasing a McDonalds franchise but for the average man in the street this is certainly not going to be the case. Probably exactly the opposite in fact!Here are a few things to keep in mind that will help you make the decision that is right for you.1. Find a home based business that is centered around a product you already have belief in because you or someone else you know has used that product and had a positive experience with it.Promoting a product you genuinely believe and can give a positive endorsement of will help very much when it comes to making sales and money. You will also avoid the possibility of losing money when you later discover that the product is not up to the standard you were expecting.2. An easy way to highlight any positives and negatives of a potential home based business that will also help you work out how you truly feel about it is to do this simple test.Take a piece of paper and divide it into two halves. On the left hand side list all of the positive things about the business you are looking at and on the right hand side list all of the negative things about the same business.After doing this sit back and analyse what you have written down. What are the pros and cons? How do you feel about the business now that you have studied the results?3. There are many home based business ventures that you can start very cheaply, often for under $100. Some of them are even free!There are many companies and opportunities out there who will supply you with all the tools required to make a success of your home business for under $100 including your own website and email autoresponder to help you market your products and make sales.There is very often no cost at all associated with getting started as an affiliate marketer and many very cost effective and often free ways to promote your products. For example, article marketing and blogging are a couple of very effective ways to generate affiliate sales.4. Today many people build successful businesses by doing things for other Internet marketers. There is a lot of money to be made with graphic design, blog set up, article marketing, virtual assistant, blog writing etc.There are many things that need to be done constantly in order to build and maintain a successful online business. These tasks can become very time consuming when trying to do them all at once and a lot of business owners are more that wiling to pay other people to do some of the work for them.Outsourcing is big business these days because many business owners find that there workload is just too much and prevents them from actually running their businesses effectively.This is also a very cost effective way of starting up a home business. Depending on your skill level you may have to educate yourself about online business and this may involve purchasing some training materials. This should be viewed as a worthwhile investment in your future that will help you build a better business and make more money.These are a few things to keep in mind when considering potential home based business ventures. Never jump into an opportunity. Always take the time to consider and research the company, product and opportunity. This is very important because the very people who are usually looking for a way to earn money from home are the very people who can also not afford to lose money by making a mistake and a bad investment.
Best Home Based Business – Home Party Industry Vs Online Business – Which One is Right For You?
Could you use an extra stream of income? A home based business is a viable option but how do you know which one is right for you? A few areas to consider when trying to decide on the best home based business is your personality, time available and profit potential.-Personality: When considering the best home based business, your personality can steer you in a general direction. Many direct sales companies recommend having home parties or one-on-one meetings as their main focus for selling products. This requires contacting friends and family to host a party. If you have trouble talking to people face-to-face or in groups or don’t want to impose on those people closest to you, the home party industry may not be for you. However, it’s not to say you can not overcome your obstacles and have a successful career in the home party industry.On the other hand, a strong and outgoing personality easily fits the criteria for that industry but does not limit oneself to just the home party type of company. All personalities lend itself well to online businesses for two main reasons. First, no matter if you are shy and quiet or friendly and outgoing, many online companies have extensive training to guide you every step of the way taking fear out of starting a business. And second, if you fear talking to people about an opportunity, many companies are automated in which your only job would be driving people to your website. Some online companies even offer online assistants who will close sales and help lead you toward success.-Time: Another factor in choosing the best home based business is time. The home party industry typically promotes having parties during the day, evening or weekends. This could be difficult to schedule around your family’s needs. The online industry is more flexible. If you choose, you can work in the middle of the night and not disturb anyone. Can you imagine asking your home party host if you could start the party at 10pm after the children are in bed? The host would think you are crazy!-Profit Potential: If you are going to spend your time and energy building a business, choose the best home based business that fits your expectations for profit potential as well. Home Party businesses generally offer 30% to 50% in profits. The online industry is usually 50% but the sales are in larger quantities and in some cases provide residual income where you can continue to get paid an override on a sale you made in the past. Online businesses open a huge market far beyond the number of friends you have or the size of your family. All you need to do is learn how to capture online sales and plug into an organized system that guides you to the path of success while working from home.I would recommend exploring your options based on your personality, time available and profit potential when deciding which is the best home based business is for you. Whatever direction you choose to go, keep in mind that the most important ingredients to being a success are consistency and persistancy…take action every day!
How to Find Great Live Auctions for Resale Items
Hi, my name is Walt. I’m an auctioneer with 25 years of experience in the auction business and licensed in the state of MA. I own Quick Auction Service, a company that specializes in building and running custom auctions, I’m also the webmaster of my own site and have been on eBay for 8 years. Besides eBay, the types of auctions I run most frequently are antiques and on-site estate auctions, although I’ve run everything from business overstock auctions to charity & special event auctions.
I enjoy sharing my knowledge and stories of the auction business. My goal for article is to help folks get the absolute most out of their auction experience.
Whether your fresh out of the package or a seasoned dealer I think I can offer something in this article to help you with your auciton adventures.
There may be as many reasons to attend auctions as there are types of auctions to attend. Maybe you want to attend an auction to buy items for re-sale on eBay, or some other market. Maybe you want to furnish your home with wonderful antiques, or you want to furnish your home as inexpensively without sacrificing quality.Some folks are just looking for a fun night out. With a little perseverance all these things are possible.
There are antiques and estate auctions, auto auctions, overstock auctions, absolute and no reserve auctions, real estate auctions, specialty auctions where only one genre of items are sold, tailgate auctions, live auctions, online auctions, sealed bid auctions, silent auctions, charity and fund raising auctions and many more.
Can you really buy for pennies on the dollar at an auction? You bet! Many times I’ve seen folks buy and re-sell at the same auction on the same night for a good profit, although be advised, this should only be done after the auction is over.
There are a lot of ways to find an auction, but here are some tips on how to find and attend the best ones.
Visit the genre of shops in the area that apply to the type of auction you want to attend. IE: If your looking for a good antique auction to attend, stop in the local antiques shops and ask for what there are for good auctions in the area. Sounds obvious right? But listen to what they don’t say as well as what they do say. Oftentimes when a dealer speaks poorly about an auction he or she attends, it may be likely that they are trying to keep a good thing secret. Think for a moment, why would a dealer keep attending a lousy auction?
Newspaper ads: I personally like to find ads in the classified ad section rather than flashy display ads. Flashy ads are usually indicative of an auction that will be high priced, may have reserves, (a set price on an item), and usually an enormous crowd. While any auction can be profitable to attend, it is usually best to steer clear of the glitzy ones, at least for the beginner.
Here’s the minimum you want to find out before you go. If there is a phone number in the ad, call and ask for the terms of the sale. What forms of payment do they accept? Is it an absolute auction? An absolute auction is one that has no minimum or reserve bids on items. These are the best auctions to attend! Is there a buyers premium? A buyers premium is like a tax that everyone who makes purchases at that auction must pay above the winning bid price. Most auctions these days do charge a buyers premium, 10% is not unreasonable but I feel much more than that is greedy, and the auctioneer that charges over 10% is counting on most bidders not doing the extra math as the bids quicken in pace.
A fair auction will have ample time to inspect the merchandise, usually at least 2 or 3 hours. Find out when inspection starts and make sure to attend! Never attend an auction if you can’t make the inspection, not unless your prepared to gamble. Most auctioneers sell at a rate of about 100 items per hour, which is why they sell “as is”. They simply don’t have the time to give a detailed description of all the items. Since almost all items at auction are sold AS IS, there are sure to be some damaged, refinished, fake and incomplete items at any given auction. Beware of any auctions that offer very little or no inspection time.
Good auctions will usually have 150 to 400 lots. A lot may be one item or a group of items. The exception to this are specialty auctions, auto auctions, real estate auctions etc.
When you attend your first sale, take note of the 1/2 dozen or so dealers that buy the most often. See if you can find out about other area auctions they attend.
When you do find an excellent auction, attend it as often as possible. By frequenting good sales, you help increase the bottom line of that business. It’s difficult for many auctioneers to keep the quality of merchandise consistent, so good attendance certainly helps. And when an auctioneer gets to know you as a buyer, he/she will go out of the way to accommodate you, to keep you coming back.