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Give Your Web Site a Small Business Marketing Tune Up
Your web site is like your car. Both are significant investments that require the right features and regular and proper maintenance to ensure maximal satisfaction and performance. Your car is a finely tuned machine. You bought it not only to get...
How Real PR Works
For some, public relations works well when their news release or special event winds up in the newspaper or on the radio.
For others, public relations works best when it does something positive about the behaviors of outside audiences that...
How To Find And Sell to Your Small Business Niche
Any given market in its entirety is simply too vast for any business but the largest of corporations to properly undertake. Therefore, the most lucrative strategy for smaller businesses is dividing the potential demand into different manageable...
Small Businesses Make a Big Impression: Use a Meeting and Conference Center to Connect with Clients
You've got a great business plan, a phenomenal product or
service, and the energy and drive to promote your business.
There's only one problem. You're running your entire company out
of a corner of your living room, or your garage; or...
The Ugly Truth about Search Engines
Do you want more search engine traffic? Are you having trouble getting it? You’re not alone. You could have the most highly optimized web site possible and still fail to achieve a top ten, or for that matter, even a top 20 ranking in an engine...
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What is Your Motivation - Goal Setting for Your Home Business
If you are a home based business owner probably the largest obstacle you must overcome is finding motivation. You work at home and need to get online to work on your website, marketing, research, etc. But there are many other things going on that vie for your time. What do you do to ensure you are devoting adequate time to your home based business?
My main tool for motivation in my home based business is goal setting. This takes some planning, but if you spend a little time you can develop challenging, yet attainable goals. Why set goals? Goal setting allows you to determine where you want to go with your business. Setting targets gives you a basis for creating a defined plan and to identify those activities that are non-value added.
Goal setting is an activity used by successful business people, top level athletes, students and high achievers in all walks of life. Setting a goal and then reaching that goal gives a great sense of satisfaction and accomplishment.
There are several types of goals. You first establish your long term goals. These could be set for three to five years out. Profitability, net annual income, increase in business volume, ROI, size of customer base could all be used for long term goals.
Next is the creation of medium term goals related to the long term goals. These would be in the one to three year range. This is followed by short term goals that you want to achieve in the next several months. Finally, you develop an action plan that will lead to meeting the short, medium and long term goals.
The lifeblood of an online home based business is visitors to your website. So one of the goals should relate to how many visitors you are getting. Granted, there are ways to generate thousands of hits, so the goal must reflect
"targeted" visitors. If you are new to online marketing you can set a smaller target. Set goals for one month, three months and one year. When you have met your 1 month target reevaluate the longer term goals and adjust them if necessary. Just be sure to validate or revise your action plan to keep moving toward the next target.
If you are not meeting your goals review the steps you are taking. Look for new and creative ways to market your home based business web page. Don't limit yourself to online marketing. Business cards, newspaper ads, flyers, etc. are all great options.
If your home based business offers a product the goal could be obtaining a certain number of orders per week or per day. It could be sales or unit volumes. If you are an affiliate marketer your goal could be recruiting a certain number of affiliates per day or increase in your downline.
Once you have generated an adequate quantity of data, i.e., unique visitors per day and units of product sold, you can determine how much you sell per unique visitor. A new goal could be to increase the sales per visitor.
Make sure your goals have a time aspect, such as 500 visitors daily by the end of the next three months.
Setting achievable goals and then attaining them is a great motivator for a home based business owner. Once you get in the habit of setting and reaching goals your enthusiasm for your home based business will grow and your success will be assured.
Timothy Spaulding is the owner of the Work At Home Business Resource Center and Home Made Profits providing valuable tools, articles, affiliate programs and products for the home based business entrepreneur.
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| United States Small Business Administration |
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| Business & Small Business |
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| Microsoft Small Business Center |
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| SCORE "Counselors to America's Small Business" |
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| Small Business and Self-Employed One-Stop Resource |
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| Welcome to Small Business BC your business resource in British ... |
| BC Business Services offers assistance and resources for those running or starting a business in British Columbia and Vancouver. |
| www.smallbusinessbc.ca |
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| Small Business Service | Home |
| Provides information and advice to help small businesses realise their potential. |
| www.sbs.gov.uk |
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| NSW Small Business |
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| Microsoft bCentral Small Business Directory |
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| Small Business Development Corporation |
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