|
|
|
Anybody Can Be a Speaker!
Anybody Can Be a Speaker!
In my work, I often hear this refrain: "I'm a fine communicator
one-on-one, but put me in front of a group and I just die!"
There seems to be a mystique about the ability to be an
effective presenter...a mystique...
Let Your Appearance Speak for You, not Against You!
I am NOT about "Dress for Success." That's old hat, and you want
to hear something new. Mark Twain said: "Clothes make the man.
Naked people have little or no influence in society." However, I
want to talk about something your clothing CANNOT...
Never Be Caught Cardless Again: Five Tips to Help You Remember Business Cards
Sorry, I Don't Seem to Have a Business Card With Me... Those could be the "famous last words" of the forgetful entrepreneur. If you habitually find yourself without a business card, you're habitually losing money; or at least the chance of...
Team Building Celebration Plan -- Perfect For Any Time of Year
Copyright 2005 Denise OBerry When was your last team celebration? Have you been way too busy to bother? Sometimes we get so caught up in day-to-day work that we don't take the time to step back and celebrate success. Some teams may even consider...
What is a Business Analyst? (Part 2)
WHAT IS A BUSINESS ANALYST? (Part 2)
Today the term Business Analyst is synonymous with a career in
the IT industry but the most successful and valuable analysts
are those who understand the "business" rather than those who
understand IT....
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Working From Home Is A Family Affair
The level and quality of family input and support are often ignored when starting a business. Even with money and inventive ideas, family backing and emotional support are primary ingredients to success. This article provides questions which must be considered before embarking on any business venture. Don’t let your initial responses or persuade you to change your mind before you begin. They are meant to encourage you to be creative, think beyond the box, eliminate “tunnel vision,” and to master the possibilities of being an independent self-starter ready to be a successful entrepreneur.
Do You Have Family Support For Your Home Based Business Idea? Starting a business is challenging and difficult. Even with money and inventive ideas, family backing and emotional support are primary ingredients to success. Home based in itself means that more than one person will be affected by changes in environment and living conditions. Many home based businesses falter because owners fail to take into account the adjustments that naturally occur when working out of the home. Before embarking on any “at home” business take the time to explore the idea with all involved. Make a list of advantages and disadvantages together. Especially when children are involved, be sure to include them in this important phase of planning. Discuss “do’s” and “don’ts” when the parent is on “work time”. Clarify “quality time,” so that you diffuse resentment of changes in lifestyle patterns. Make sure everyone “buys in” to the concept of a work at home business. Most importantly, develop marketing strategies and projections so that each family member has assignments and business related “jobs” that encourage a sense of shared business ownership. Remember succeeding in business is difficult enough without the certainty of family support.
How Will You Know If You’re Ready? Home based businesses are more than a run-of-the- mill idea. One important consideration is selecting something not only of interest to you, but is also something you are capable of doing. It should be a business for which you have a high level of expertise as a result of professional and/or career interests and abilities or because of a hobby you’ve practiced over the years. Never elect to start a business based totally on new untested ideas or based on a dependency on the ideas of another. If you have not fully developed your idea, take the time to investigate and explore it from various viewpoints. Take the time to research your topic and write a vision for your business plan. It might also be worthwhile attend seminar or workshop training sessions on developing and writing a business plan. Keep the family involved in these early stage development plans. Remember, two heads are better than one. You also encourage continued family ownership in business development.
How Much Money Will You Need? The amount of money needed for starting your home based business depends on the product or services you are selling. Bridal consulting businesses, for example require low overhead costs. A computer and printer, telephone, file cabinet, paper, pens, etc. are some of the basic start up materials needed. However, arts and crafts, floral arrangements, or gift baskets will demand purchase of items needed to prepare the products for sale. With proper planning and business projections, you will be able to develop financial projections based on beginning inventories, expenses and estimated sales. Planning business income strategies and cutting costs for inventory investments can create a need for additional family discussions. What luxury items must be sacrificed or detoured during the business start phase? What family vacations will be delayed or eliminated and for how long? Up front and open family conversations at the beginning of business planning can help eliminate unnecessary disappointments later.
Do You Have A Product or Idea Worth Selling? This is where a family’s input becomes an immeasurable tool. Your family is your first line of prospecting and sales. You can start by presenting your idea as part of a family meeting. Your presentation should be as thorough and professional as if you are about to make the most important sale
of your career. Encourage them to role play customer questions and responses. This strategy serves a dual purpose. You gain from a critical “in-house” critique of your product or idea before it goes public, and you gain family members with a broader perspective of the company and their role as marketing advocates or potential sales representatives.
Do You Have A “Niche” Market? Who are your customers? A niche market is a small group of people who have a particular interest in what you are selling. It is important to develop a description of people you feel will purchase your product or will be receptive to the services you offer. Your marketing plan is developed based on the identity of your niche market. Your niche market will be composed of people buying products and service that will benefit them. Look closely at your product or service and compose a list of potential customers. Remember, people seek to buy things that will help them or make them or their loved ones feel or look better. Your goal is to have your business viewed as offering something of benefit to others. Take the time to evaluate your product or service then decide what type of people will benefit the most by using it. They will be your niche market.
Can You Afford a Marketing Strategy? You’ve developed your business plan, secured start up financing, identified your “niche” market and are ready to sell. Implementing a marketing strategy is an area where we all have made mistakes. Often we assume the only way to get an idea, product or service recognized is to invest large sums of money, the lack of which means no success. Don’t forget to think out of the box. With just a little exploration in basic marketing techniques, you can get into the competitive arena on
a limited budget. Instead of spending an enormous amount of money, you will reinvest energy resulting in better use of quality time.
You can invest in low cost e-commerce web sites to advertise and market your product or service. It is best to research and select web site programs that allow you to prepare, edit, add and delete content and pictures at your own pace. Take the time to learn how to manage your own site and save money. Publish articles on the web, so that you can attract customers to your site. Establish auto responders on your web pages so that people can interact and learn more about your products. Family input is key. Let them participate in this process. Encourage them to share ideas and include them in the step by step planning and development process.
Will You Be Successful? Your level of success in working at home is measured based on the amount of input and time you invest in your business. It will be enhanced by the quality partnerships you develop with people as close as the kitchen table. If you include your family in the very beginning of the planning process, they will be your foundation of support,encouragement, and strength. They will be key assets for promoting and marketing strategies. They will be your first line of defense and support during those challenging and “lean” times every business experiences. Starting and running a business is a family affair. If you can determine their comfort level of involvement, you will help increase your chances for success.
All Rights Reserved. Permission is granted to electronically reprint the following article as long as no changes are made and the byline, copyright information, and resource box. Minimal content editing is allowed; however, you may request changes to the content byline: e-mail MA@meetingtheneeds.org with necessary changes. Off line printing is permitted. Please send a copy of the article on publication to: VMAssociates, Inc., PMB 47182, Windsor Mill, MD 21244.
About the Author
Theresa V. Wilson, M.Ed. is a freelance writer and owner of a home based business dedicated to providing products and resources for grieving families and caregivers facing health recovery related issues. In addition to her grief support site: www.meetingtheneeds.org, she has a health and nutrition site www.renewingyourhealth and is active with her online Christian Business Network discussion group http://groups.aol.com/marketplacechris.
|
|
|
|
|
| Oral Presentation Advice |
| Your presentation should not replace your paper, but rather whet the ... Below I consider goals for academic interview talks and class presentations. ... |
| www.cs.wisc.edu |
|
| Presentation Skills |
| This site contains annotated links to resources concerned with presentation and communication skills. |
| lorien.ncl.ac.uk |
|
| Presentation Helper - Free PowerPoint templates, help, advice and ... |
| Resources on how to make effective presentations. Includes tips on PowerPoint and topic ideas. |
| www.presentationhelper.co.uk |
|
| Neurobehavioral Systems, Inc. |
| Neuroscience stimulus delivery software can be used for cognitive psychology, fMRI, erp and single unit research (Windows). |
| nbs.neuro-bs.com |
|
| Why tables for layout is stupid: problems defined, solutions offered |
| Why tables for layout is stupid:. problems defined, solutions offered. Tables existed in HTML for one reason: To display tabular data. ... |
| www.hotdesign.com |
|
| The Gettysburg Powerpoint Presentation |
| This presentation prepared with the help of Microsoft Powerpoint Autocontent Wizard. ... Permission is granted to use this presentation in any course or ... |
| norvig.com |
|
| Presentation Zen |
| I love the clear presentation of the ideas in the book and the fact that the ... In the context of presentations, moving info away can help you and the ... |
| www.presentationzen.com |
|
| Presentation Tips for Public Speaking |
| Better Public Speaking & Presentation - Ensure Your Words Are Always ... On the Job: Public Speaking Tips - Twelve Steps to Great Presentations by Elise ... |
| www.aresearchguide.com |
|
| Presentation - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia |
| Presentation is the process of presenting the content of a topic to an ... You should plan to rehearse your presentation out loud at least four times. ... |
| en.wikipedia.org |
|
| OSCON 2005 Keynote - Identity 2.0 |
| “A barn-burner of a presentation. I loved this.” - Cory Doctorow. “I watched it twice, and greatly enjoyed it both times.” - Jon Udell ... |
| www.identity20.com |
|
| Presentations - Effective Communication - Public Speaking |
| Tips and tools for creating and delivering presentations: text, techniques and technology. |
| www.presentations.com |
|
| Presentation Information Resources - Presentation Technology News ... |
| Presentation Information Resources - Comprehensive presenter's resource providing instant access to up-to-date information on technology and techniques for ... |
| 199.249.170.231 |
|
| Effective Presentations homepage |
| In addition, the skills needed to prepare an oral presentation can be used ... A spiffy presentation discussing Effective Teaching with Powerpoint from the ... |
| www.kumc.edu |
|
| Impress |
| Your presentations will stand out with 2D and 3D clip art, special effects, animation, ... Slide show Animation and Effects bring your presentation to life. ... |
| www.openoffice.org |
|
| PRESENTATIONPRO - experts for Microsoft PowerPoint |
| A series of products and services to help enhance PowerPoint presentations with templates and backgrounds. |
| www.presentationpro.com |
|
| Leadership - Presentation Skills |
| Presentation, PowerPoint, and Leadership. ... Presentations and reports are ways of communicating ideas and information to a group. But unlike a report, ... |
| www.skagit.com |
|
| Presentation: See what people are saying right now on Technorati |
| See all blog posts tagged with presentation on Technorati. |
| www.technorati.com |
|
| Secretary of State Addresses the U.N. Security Council |
| My friends, this has been a long and a detailed presentation. And I thank you for your patience. But there is one more subject that I would like to touch on ... |
| www.whitehouse.gov |
|
| Rubric |
| Organization, Audience cannot understand presentation because there is no sequence of information. Audience has difficulty following presentation because ... |
| www.ncsu.edu |
|
| Presentation Skills |
| Presentations are one of the first managerial skills which a junior engineer ... This article looks at the basics of Presentation Skills as they might apply ... |
| www.see.ed.ac.uk |
|
|