Book title: Perfect Ideas for a successful home-based business exposed

Subtitle: You can start on a tight budget

Author Name: Celine Claire.

Translator Name:

© Copyright 2021 - All rights reserved.

It is not legal to reproduce, duplicate, or transmit any part of this book in either electronic means or in printed format. Recording of this publication is strictly prohibited and any storage of this book is not allowed unless with written permission from the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

Introduction

Can you begin a successful business based at home? Well, yes, you certainly can! Many people today have ventured out into home-based businesses and are minting money from doing this.

A home-based business in today's world is a remote-friendly business that you can use to generate more income. In a home-based business, you can work alongside other stakeholders to attain your set goals.

Finding the best home-based business that works for you depends on your goals. Do you require a solid work-life balance as a stay-at-home mom, or do you need to hustle before achieving quick success? How much start-up capital do you have? What skills are you already equipped with that can help you run a home-based business?

Just as you would when venturing into any other kind of business, think so critically about your goals, what drives you, and what you enjoy doing to develop a home-based business, which works for you.

Chapter One

How do you start a home-based business?

Perfect Ideas for a Home-based business

Idea 1: Book publishing business

If you've ever watched the reality show called Shark Tank, you may have found yourself daydreaming about starting your business. And if you are an indie author who's learning the self-publishing ropes, you could be wondering if you should start your book publishing business instead of doing everything under your real name.

The costs involved in opening a book publishing business are potentially less. For example, most publishers start by working from home, which reduces costs in terms of leasing and extra utilities. Whereas an upfront advertising fee is necessary, it should take less than $10,000 to form a multimedia campaign, which runs in local newspapers, radio stations, and online.

You can also use social media advertising based on your goal and budget. You will have to figure out the operational costs for writing, editing, proofing, and book cover design that is attractive. You need to estimate the cost of digitally convert your books and prepare in advance.

For print books, you must include the cost of printing and shipping them.

To start a book publishing business from home, ensure that you meet the following criteria;

You are publishing one or more book series. The hassle of starting a book publishing business may not be worth the effort if you intend to publish only one title.

Suppose you are working on books having a higher risk of liability, such as technical and health-related books. Or if you are searching for added protection of your personal assets.

If you want to operate as a professional writer and not a hobbyist writer.

If you have a concrete brand that you wish to expand to include similar books by other authors.

If all the above criteria don’t apply to you, you are likely better off publishing all your books under your name.

Benefits of starting your book publishing business

You enjoy an air of professionalism

Whereas self-publishing is a significant milestone, which should be recognized with pride, most bookstores and libraries will not stock their shelves with books published by authors. Additionally, readers are less likely to buy a self-published book title since they would prefer to opt for books that publishers have vetted. This certainly means they are missing out on some fantastic reads.

One of the most apparent indicators of a self-published title is that the book author's name is listed as the book publisher. But, if you begin your book publishing business, you can use that business name as the imprint, which may give your book a more professional air.

The ability to develop your brand

Suppose you've already set up the infrastructure (a traction of book sales on Amazon, an emailing list, social media ads, etc.). In that case, aiming beyond your repertoire of titles and publishing more books that entice similar readers is an excellent idea.

You can leverage all your tedious efforts in establishing your business and learning marketing to grow your brand and sell more books without needing to write them all by yourself. Yes, this comes with the added responsibility of making royalty payments to your writers.

NB: Before you start your book publishing business based at home, ensure that you research all the legal procedures and implications of running this business in your country and put them into practice.

Idea 2: Dog walking business

There are many reasons for desiring to become a dog walker. You may be driven by the passion for pooches, the desire for physical activity, or the opportunity to earn some good money.

But, starting a dog walking business is not merely a walk in the park.

There are several things you should consider before starting your dog walking business, as explained below;

Relevant qualifications and experience. Whereas you don’t require a bachelor’s degree to become a dog walker, it goes without saying that experience in handling dogs is a must before deciding to do your dog walking business.

If you don’t possess a dog at home, try asking your friends in the neighborhood or elsewhere if they can give their dog to you so that you can walk it around. If you plan to begin a dog walking business, you must enjoy being around dogs and become confident in handling them.

You may also offer to volunteer at a local animal shelter where you can learn about the different dog breeds and understand how to manage various dogs in one go. Dogs usually behave so differently when placed in a pack environment. So, it's essential that you obtain experience in managing more than one dog at a time before starting your dog walking business.

You can also enroll in pet first aid, dog handling, and animal care courses to raise your chances of attractiveness to dog owners. Feel free to undergo some basic business courses if this will be your first business venture, although this isn't mandatory.

Complying with the law.

You will need to observe several rules, laws, and regulations before setting up your dog walking business. Research about all of the legal implications of running a dog walking business in your area before entirely starting your business.

Think about the number of dogs you can walk

The number of dogs you can walk depends on where you live and the regulations stipulated regarding that. If you are uncertain of the number of dogs you can walk, try walking with more than four dogs at once.

Note that walking more dogs can limit your control over all of them, which can be a challenge to you, especially in areas where they are at a higher risk of damage, especially at crossings of busy roads or at sheep-filled paddocks.

Also, walking with more dogs limits your ability to give each one the attention they deserve. For example, if one dog begins chasing something, then most likely other dogs may follow pursuit. This is why you only need to walk a manageable number of dogs.

It would be best if you spent time studying every dog's temperament to know how to manage them collectively.

Besides thinking about the number of dogs, you can walk at a go, begin thinking about how many dogs you can walk in one week. You need to meet your clients' expectations and avoid taking more dogs than you can manage.

Remember, every dog is someone's baby, and those dog owners are entrusting you with their lovelies so that you give them proper care, attention, and exercise.

Calculate all the costs of starting and running your dog walking business

Doing this will help you know how much money you will need to start and operate a thriving dog walking business in your area. Don't forget about the marketing and promotional costs, such as printing out professional-looking flyers or advertising in your local newspaper or community magazine. Social media advertising is also an excellent medium for advertising your dog walking business.

Lay out your terms of service

You will want to lay out all your terms of service as you conduct your dog walking business. You can start by answering the following queries; What days of the week will you operate in? Are there any dog breeds you won't walk? How long is each dog walk going to take? How much will you charge per hour as you dog walk?

As you begin, you may want to offer affordable prices compared to other dog walking businesses around to attract more clients to you. As your dog walking business expands, you may also want to think about different kinds of support you can offer, including dog sitting services. You can also obtain qualifications as a dog groomer.

You will assess whether you will need assistance from temporary or full-time staff members to support you as your business grows.

You need to formulate your terms of service or contract that you can share with all your clients, which stipulates your dog walking services and what will be involved.

Establish your brand

After working through all the serious stuff, now is the time to start thinking about your brand. What offerings do you have that make you stand out from the crowd? You need to conduct some thorough market research, study the SWOT analysis and see how best you can serve the market needs in a particular segment.

Create your business first as you establish your brand. Many individuals use their personal names if they intend to start as solopreneurs. However, if you want to begin a more significant business, you need to look for an appropriate brand name.

First, cross-check whether the business name you intend to use isn't already in use by another business and if website domains related to your business name are still available. Before forming your brand name, you must do some thorough research or go to experts in branding to help you out here.

You can also decide to create branded jackets, hats, or dog toys with your business logo marked on them to help increase awareness of your brand in the presence of dog owners who are out for walks with their dogs. This will help boost the professionalism of your brand.

Promote your business

You must think and research about how best you will promote your brand to create massive awareness. The promotional means you can use include the following;

Use word of mouth. You can request your friends, family, and customers to recommend you to other dog owners in their circles. There is nothing more mighty than personal recommendations. It's critical that you retain excellent relationships with your existing clients by providing them with excellent customer service beyond their expectations so that they find it easy to recommend you to people in their circles.

Run adverts. Based on where you live, it may help to run adverts in local magazines and newspapers and put banners of your services in local shops. After doing this, ensure that you track the outcomes of your adverts and assess whether they are worth your investment.

Use flyers. Feel free to print out flyers and place them in public places or serve them out to people in your neighborhood. Ensure that your contact details are well indicated on your flyers and outline the benefits of your service alongside your experience in the dog walking business. Keep all this information brief, clear, and concise for easy readability.

Promote your brand on social media. Use this platform to generate local awareness for your brand. You can even run some carefully targeted social media ads to people with particular interests, especially concerning dogs in your local community or nationwide, if your brand is large enough to serve the entire nation.

Get the appropriate dog walking insurance policy. Insurance for your dog walking business will help ease your mind as you will be dealing