idea for your business

Making an opening checklist is a great way to start your venture of putting up your own home internet marketing business that will succeed. The checklist will serve as your guide and will also help make sure that everything that should have been done have really been done. Listed below are different items that generally should be included in a home internet marketing business checklist. More items can be added depending on the nature, function and needs of the business you have in mind.

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General Home Internet Marketing Business Checklist

ü  Have I focused on a particular product or service?

Generally, specially with startup businesses, specialist firms do better and have a larger chance of becoming fully established businesses that those firms who offer a variety of services. Your first task as a new business is getting yourself known in your niche. Putting all our focus on one specific product or service will make it easier for you to make a name and an identity as the better or even the best in what you offer.

ü  Have I made my product or service as specialized as possible?

The more narrowed down or particular your product or service, the better.

ü  Have I considered the limitations imposed by my competitors?

It may prove to be too hard at your current stage to compete head on with the leaders of your niche. Aim to be at the top, but plan to do it step by step. Make only a small group as your target audience so you can focus on them more. Then gradually widen your reach as your business grows.

ü  Have I decided on whether to find a unique market niche or just go with the common niche?

You may decide to offer the same kind of product or service that the other businesses in your niche offer. You may also, on the other hand, opt to come up with a something different. It may be something totally new or an old product or service offered with a twist.

ü  Have I prepared a one-year cash flow projection?

The cash flow projection will be your estimate or expectations of the cash inflows and outflows your business will be experiencing in its first year of operations. It will help make sure your will be able to maintain the liquidity of your enterprise.

ü  Have I got all the necessary e-commerce tools in place?

ü  Have I taken all necessary insurance policies?

ü  In case I plan on selling on credit terms, have I decided on my credit rating policy?

All businesses that allow credit purchases from their customers should implement a credit rating policy to avoid transactions with consumers with poor credit ratings. With this you will earn the respect of good paying customers while at the same time keeping customers who do not pay on time away.

ü  Have I completed my written business plan?

A formal business plan in hard copy is essential to the proper management of any business. It should cover pre-opening, first year and long-term plans. The business plan will not only provide you with something to follow but will also aid you discover any weaknesses in your planning process which in turn will help you learn and improve. It will also help attract investors as it will give them the impression that you are a well-organized business.

ü  Have I taken time to learn and gain practical experience about the basics of my business?

Knowledge is never harmful. Learn as much as you can about your businesses and niche in which it belongs to. You may get practical experience by first working for someone else’s business that is similar to the one you are planning to put up. It will also allow you to tell whether you will get to enjoy the business you have chosen.

ü  Have I accounted for prototypes, research, sampling and trials in my budget?

ü  Have I conducted market tests on my product or service and were the test results satisfactory?

ü  Have I decided to sell a great product at a fair price or a fair product at a great price?

You have to decide whether you prefer selling a few but with high profit per item sold or selling a lot but with a little profit with each item sold. A great product is one with superior quality but high price while a fair product is one with moderate quality and moderate to low price.

ü  Have I prepared all the required communication, computer, and other business tools as well as the skills to use them?

ü  Have I learned all I need to learn about the difference between hiring independent contractors and employing people as well as the related IRS rules and the importance of compliance with these rules?

If hiring and employing is likely to yield similar results select the more cost-effective option. You must also know how to appropriately report and withhold regarding your chosen alternative.

ü  Have I put all the elements of my business structure in place?

Accounting and bookkeeping systems as well as the accountant Premises Permits and licenses Registered business name Operational computers, telephones, cell phones, fax and utilities Graphics for advertising and promotional materials Registered domain name and online website E-commerce ready infrastructure Security systems

ü  Have I selected and trained the needed number of employees?

ü  Have I finished my personal work schedule?

It will greatly help if you maintain both daily and long term to-do lists as well as an appointment book so as to never forget scheduled meetings.

ü  Have I included my requirements for managers, consultants, independent contractors, agents and sales representatives?

Home Internet Marketing Business How to Buy Checklist

Every business has a particular marketing strategy that works best for it and has already been proven by your competitors who adopted it and succeeded. You can best gain from the success and experience of your competitors by analyzing and dissecting their successful marketing plans, including selling methods, pricing and advertising. List down the most successful businesses in your niche and study them or even work for them. Ask questions regarding things about them that are valuable to you whenever possible. You may even come up with an improved version of their marketing strategies by analyzing the strengths and weaknesses.

Your customers are your lifeblood. Learn how to keep them satisfied by knowing what they need and what they want. It will also help if you are able to get feedback from them. Information about the real wants and needs of your target consumers is vital in making sound and fit marketing and promotional decisions. You should determine what they the value the most; whether it is pricing, quality, or service. If a particular geographical area identifies your market, low cost demographic reports based on the census can be attained that will supply information on population by race, income and home ownership.

What and How to Buy

Inventory obsolescence has become more and more common due to the rapid changing and improvement of products. Keeping a large volume of inventory has therefore become very risky. Some products especially high tech gadgets like cell phones can become obsolete the very same day they are purchased.

Minimization of inventories is the best way to mitigate losses form obsolescence. Rapid delivery firms and just-in-time assembly systems are the most commonly used means of reducing the quantity of inventories. Minimized inventories free up cash which can then be put to more productive use and it also reduces or eliminates the need for warehousing.

Most startup firms do not have the luxury or capability to manufacture their own products. Having such products manufactured by an outside manufacturing firm is therefore the best alternative. Delegating your manufacturing process also allows you to focus more on marketing and promotions. Always remember to take enough time in selecting your manufacturer as there are usually those willing to provide products at cheaper costs.

How to Buy Merchandise Checklist

ü  Buy only what you think you can sell.

ü  Never place an order without knowing price and terms.

ü  Purchase orders must be in writing.

ü  Have complete specifications.

ü  Buy subject to your contingencies.

ü  Have backup sources.

ü  Be loyal to good suppliers.

ü  Have promises and extras verified in writing.

ü  Get price protection.

ü  Try to award to the lowest bidder.

ü  Don’t be hesitant to repeatedly contact suppliers to expedite needed merchandise.

ü  Communicate complaints.

ü  Use internal controls for ordering and receiving.

ü  Count and inspect everything as received.

ü  Use an inventory control system

ü  Ask for and take term discounts.

ü  Pay on time.

ü  Pay only after verification.

ü  Watch your cash flow.

ü  Consider suppliers as a source of financing.

ü  It is better to pull suppliers your way, not push them. Be nice.

How to Buy Property, Plant and Equipment Checklist

ü  Make suppliers within your community your priority.

Transactions are easier when parties are from the same area, delivery is also faster and delivery costs in case of FOB shipping point arrangements. Take advantage of the local feature of search engines for fast searching. Utilizing search engines is much faster than turning to ads in yellow page directories. Just enter whatever it is you are seeking followed by your zip code.

ü  Clearly define in writing all the details of what you are seeking and be as specific as possible.

ü  Let potential suppliers that they will be taking part in bids to determine who can offer the lowest price of good quality PPE.

ü  Take advantage of suppliers willing to be a source of financing like in the case of electrical signs, furniture and fixtures, or equipment purchases.

Home Internet Marketing Business Marketing Tools

Business Name

The name of your business will represent what your business is and what it stands for. A memorable logo will also greatly supplement your identity and marketability as it will establish your name and promote brand recognition. The logo will be the key in imposing in your target consumers’ minds the image you want to portray. Your logo may appear in many forms like in stationery, business cards, brochures, Web site, gift boxes and shipping containers.

Home Internet Marketing Business Name Checklist

ü  Easy to remember

ü  Simple to spell and pronounce

ü  Clearly says what you do

ü  Stirs customer interest

ü  Doesn’t confuse you with a similar business

ü  Has a positive ring to it

ü  Evokes a visual image

ü  Doesn’t limit you to a geographical location or to a product

E-Commerce

The Internet will help a lot so make sure to make it an integral part of your Marketing Plan.

Home Internet Marketing Business Promotion and Advertising

Your business advertising plan will be the blueprint that will pave the way on your crusade towards success and growth. The plan should be comprehensive and include everything you need and want for your advertising campaign such as your objectives, budget, media plan and creative approach. There is a high chance you will not be able to do the planning alone. In this case, do what you do best and hire for what you do not do best.

Once the advertising plan is complete take time to open and discuss it to your vendors. They may even supply you co-op money provided that you adhere to their rules and make proper applications for the money. Even the smallest advertiser can get up to half of their advertising costs reimbursed, the rest they will get back once your advertising efforts succeed and you start ordering more from them due to increased demands for your products.

Home Internet Marketing Business Media Checklist

ü  Print (newspapers, magazines and newsletters)

ü  Radio

ü  Television, including cable

ü  Internet

ü  Yellow Pages

ü  Direct mail

ü  Trade shows

Learn from your competitors to further avoid the risk of making mistakes and losing money. A startup business usually cannot afford trial and error because every penny is needed. Research the advertising campaigns of our competitors. Learn from the mistakes of those who failed and learn from the success of those who made it big.

One of the biggest struggles I had in starting my business was actually coming up with the idea.  I wanted something that was scalable as well as needed in our society.  I combed through hundreds of ideas before settling on my current venture.  Through this discovery period, I uncovered what I believe are the five most important concepts in determining what makes the perfect business idea. 

So, what is a perfect idea?  Each individual entrepreneur has their concept of the perfect business.  While Google is a great business for the founders of that company – it may not be a great business for others that are non-tech savvy or who do not want to run such a large organization.  

Therefore, each perfect business is defined by the business owners.  Keeping this in mind, let’s start on my five concepts of finding the perfect business: 

Number One – Understanding your customer:  This might seem strange to start here as how do you know your customers before you have a business idea in place.  The answer is simple – your customers make the business, therefore without customers there is no business.  If you have a business idea don’t try to develop the idea around what YOU think potential customers will like or need, but find out what your customers actually desire.  Too often business owners get an idea in their head and jump right in with both feet.  However, they soon find out that their target market does not want what they are offering.  Spending both time and money on a project just to see it languish is not the perfect business idea. 

Moreover, let’s say you don’t already have an idea – getting out and understand consumers (those who will eventually become your customers) may lead you to the perfect idea.  Knowing what potential consumers need and building products to meets those needs will get customers beating a path to your door – that is a perfect business idea. 

Number Two – Passion:  Passion here does not mean being fanatical about your product or service.  But, it does mean having some interest in what you do. More times than not, you will be spending 15 to 18 hours a day working on your business in the beginning – usually for the first 12 to 18 months (more like 2 years in this economy).  You have to constantly be thinking about ways to improve and grow your business as well as be out talking about it to everyone, everywhere. If you end up starting a venture that you don’t have passion for, something that does not make you jump out of bed each morning, it will be very hard to put in the hours and energy to make it successful – thus not a perfect business idea. 

Number Three – Understand Your Competition:  Every business has competition – either direct or indirect.  Think about movie theaters.  They have direct competition from video rental stores or at home television.  They also have indirect competition from any other activity that consumers spend their disposable income on like bowling, paint ball, golf, etc.  Anything that people do in their spare time. 

Further, some competitors are ruthless.  Meaning that if you promote and offer a product that is similar to theirs but at a lower price, these competitors will just lower their price to match or beat you.  If they are already established businesses – they may be able to undercut your price enough to drive you out of business.  

If you don’t know your competition – what they are willing to do to keep you out of their market – you may be spending more of your time in a pricing war then growing your business – not the perfect business idea. 

Number Four – Cash Flow:  Lots of entrepreneurs enter the business world with great ideas but very poor understanding of the capital it will take to get their venture off the ground.  Most will prototype their product or service and understand what it takes to make the product or provide the service but they don’t understand the capital it takes to manage the rest of the organization – including marketing (very expensive but extremely necessary), employees (more than just salaries or wages), insurance or supplies and all the little miscellaneous expenses that add up very quickly like phone, internet, computer services, etc.  Knowing your total cash flow will help ensure that all of your costs (variable and fixed) can be covered by the business – the perfect business idea.  I have seen way too many businesses with great products fail because they could not cover simple expenses like rent or utilities. 

Number Five – You:  Know who you are.  Know your strengths and weaknesses.  Know that you are ready, willing and able to do what it takes to make your venture a success.  I have worked with many business owners in the past that think all they have to do is hang out their shingle and they have it made.  Thus, when it comes down to actually running the business day-to-day – they are unwilling to invest the time, energy or money necessary for success.  Thus, know how hard you are willing to work. 

Moreover, know your personal financial situation and what you need the business to generate to cover your lifestyle.  If you think your business will pay you a great salary from day one – it will not.  And, if you need it to, it is not the perfect business idea for you. Take away outside distractions like your personal financial situation – get those in order – thus, when your business concept does materialize – you will be able to solely focus on its conception and growth.  In the end providing you the financial security you are seeking – it will be the perfect business idea. 

Regardless of the level of your desire for your business – a lifestyle mom and pop operation or a multi-national conglomerate – if you develop a business idea with these five concepts in mind – your idea will be the perfect business idea for you.

In the midst of the global economic crisis, many small businesses are on the brink of closing down if not enough capital infusion is found. It is now even more difficult to get small business loans from banks, though. Ironically, the exact reasons why small businesses need such small business loans – the fact that business has slowed down and profitability has plummeted – are the same reasons why banks turn them down for loans.

Small businesses now have to be more resourceful in finding alternatives to small business loans.

Government Grants and Contracts Instead of Small Business Loans

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act signed by President Obama in February 2009 caused the pumping of billions of dollars for the revitalization of the economy. Because of it, there are plenty of government grants and contracts available to small businesses. These can be alternatives to small business loans.

But how can small businesses avail of the stimulus program?

The Association of Procurement Technical Assistance Centers (APTAC) has the responsibility for helping small businesses obtain and perform federal, state and local government contracts. It has Procurement Technical Assistance Centers (PTAC) throughout the country, ready to help small business owners to get registered and find opportunities in the area of government grants and contracts. Counselors assist small businesses in filling out bids, proposals and quotations.

The PTAC holds seminars teaching small business owners all the ins and outs of government legalese, including acronyms and registries. A one-day seminar with PTAC covers what small business owners may take months to learn on their own.

The PTAC then helps small businesses with Central Contractor Registration (CCR), a requirement for doing business with the federal government. This registration can be so complicated that some companies take two days to do it when the PTAC counselor can help them get through it in 15 minutes.

Local PTACs will be of help in acquiring state and municipal contracts.

Other resources that small business owners should consult include the Small Business Administration (SBA) which also coordinates with the APTAC; the General Services Administration (GSA) which acts as the government’s purchasing department and provides information on becoming an approved vendor; the Federal Business Opportunities website (fbo.gov) where federal contract opportunities currently available are posted; and the Small Business Innovation Research website (sbir.gov) where grant and funded research opportunities for small businesses are listed.

Cash Advances from Credit Card Services Instead of Small Business Loans

Another alternative to small business loans are cash advances from credit card services. This option is much easier than winning government grants and contracts.

Most small businesses are already availing of credit card services that enable them to accept payments by credit cards or debit cards. This is practically a requirement to doing business these days, with people hardly paying cash for goods and services. Many small business owners do not know that they could avail of cash advances from these credit card services, though, and that such advances can actually equal small business loans.

The amount that a small business can borrow is based on its average monthly income from credit card sales. This is so because the cash advance does not require collateral and future sales receivables from credit cards stand as the collateral. Payment will also be done through automatic deductions from those future credit card sales. There will be no set monthly amortizations. Instead, a certain percentage of the sales will be allotted as payment. The small business owner, therefore, need not worry over where to find cash for loan payments.

Cash advances from credit card services are the best bet of small business owners as alternatives to small business loans.

What do these companies have in common, Southwest Airlines, Neiman Marcus, Marriot, Disney, and Enterprise Car Rental? They are all customer service pioneers. Each company has forged a new path through their commitment, dedication, and innovations, to become known as leaders in delivering excellent customer service. Serving the customer is more than some fancy words on their company mission statements. Customer service truly represents the very essence of each company’s’ existence.

These companies, along with hundreds more, have already done the hard work; they have laid the ground work, set the examples, and blazed the trails for other companies to follow. They have demonstrated how to achieve success by serving the customer.

Why then, don’t all companies follow this proven path to success?
Do they not know the core principles these companies follow?

To borrow a concept from the Late Show with David Letterman, this is a top ten list of principles all companies need to implement to achieve service excellence.

Number 10: Focus – The customer should always be the number one focus of any company. All decisions, services, and products should be based upon satisfying the needs and expectations of the customers.

Number 9: Take Action – The best laid plans will never come to life, without action. If you are going to talk-the-talk, then you must walk-the-walk. When companies, which brag about the importance of customer service, fail to deliver outstanding service, customers and employees lose faith and trust in them.

Number 8: Create Happy Employees – Your employees’ beliefs, attitudes and behaviors determine the quality of the customer service provided. The quality of customer service will never exceed the quality of the people who provide it. Happy employees create happy customers.

Number 7: Develop Employees – The three key words in employee development are training, training, and training. Teach your employees how to serve the customer, equip them to serve, and then empower them to serve with excellence.

Number 6: Establish Relationships – Customer loyalty is achieved by having a relationship with your customers. The stronger the relationship, the more loyal your customer becomes. Relationships are built upon trust, communication, and interaction. Every customer interaction is an opportunity to further enhance communication and improve trust.

Number 5: Measure Performance – If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it. Measuring customer satisfaction, customer feedback, and employee adherence to customer service standards is paramount in delivering exceptional customer service with any degree of consistency. Always inspect what you expect.

Number 4: Build Team Unity – To achieve optimal success everyone must be on the same page, striving for the same goal, aspiring to the same vision, and functioning as a team. Teamwork will always produce greater results, then individuals working alone.

Number 3: Formulate a Plan – Is the care your customers receive by design or by default? Without a crystal clear, well defined, universal set of customer service standards you will leave customer satisfaction up to chance. If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.

Number 2: Commit to Excellence – Customer service is the number one differentiator in today’s competitive marketplace. Having a good product or a low price does not guarantee a competitive advantage or customer loyalty anymore. Commit to installing and fostering a customer-first culture within your company. Serving with excellence is a choice.

And the Number 1 principle all companies need to implement to achieve service excellence is:

Belief – Believe in the power of customer service. Believe in necessity of customer retention. Believe in the relationship between customer loyalty and the growth of your business. Believe that becoming customer-focused not only makes good business sense but it guarantees increased revenue and profit. It has been said,” A belief is not merely an idea the mind possesses, it is an idea that possesses the mind.”

I challenge every company to not only implement these principles, but to have the faith, courage, and vision to move beyond providing excellent customer service to building a reputation as a customer service pioneer.

Some companies make things happen
Some companies watch what happens
Some companies wonder what happened