Five Things NOT to do When Starting a Home Business

I know what your thinking but this is not another “marketing
errors people make” article. I’m not going to tell you how
ugly and annoying your website is or that even your own
mother wouldn’t buy from you with that horrible sales letter.

What I’m going to help you with may be common sense to some
but it may be eye-opening for others. I have learned from my
mistakes (hopefully) and I’m going to pass on my new found
knowledge.

1. Don’t put an ad on an FFA site with your business e-mail
address (or your personal address or your e-zine subscription
address or any other address that you read regularly).

You will wade through a gazillion e-mails. Now that I have
that basement full of Viagra, I have my 12 credit cards, 3rd
and 4th mortgages, and all the businesses going that I can
(and sometimes can’t) handle, I don’t need to read all of the
“conformation of posting to my FFA site” messages. Now don’t
get me wrong, they do have a great use. I do scan them to catch
the headlines that grab me, and if I’m looking for a certain
thing, I may scan for that too. But do yourself a favor, get
a free junkmail address so you won’t be looking for customers
e-mails, or urgent mail.

2. Don’t sign up for every free program out there.

In order to be successful in an online business, you must know
your business, inside and out. How can you possibly spend
enough time learning about 10 different programs so that you
can promote, answer questions and be loyal enough to stand
behind them? Spread yourself too thin and you will start to
forget things, skip important training, not reply to messages
in a timely manner. I don’t know how many times I have said
that I have too many irons in the fire. I have narrowed down
the programs I am involved in. I stuck with the cream of the
crop. I stay much nicer that way.

3. Don’t believe everything you read.

I love the line from the Billy Crystal movie I just saw called
61*. Micky Mantel says “Well, they said so on TV so it must
be true.” There are some unscrupulous marketers out there,
promising all kinds of impossible dreams, schemes, and riches.
Use your common sense. No one can make a million dollars
doing nothing, you can’t eat, shop and advertise and get paid
enough to do it to make a living. You must sell something,
either your knowledge, services, or products. And you might
be able to eventually start receiving residuals for doing
nothing, but my guess is that you started doing SOMETHING first.

4. Never talk bad about your competitors.

Instead, talk up your business. You can point out what you
have, do or guarantee that your competitors don’t without
naming names. Pointing fingers will only make you look
unprofessional and trivial. Benefits sell, not negative
comments and bashing others.

5. Don’t give up.

Now this doesn’t mean that you should forgo paying for your
mortgage so that you can buy advertising. If you think that
because you have placed your 10 ads, you have put up a website
and you have made your banner and still didn’t become rich,
you should quit, your mistaken. Anything worth doing is worth
doing well. You might need to continue working at your J.O.B.
until you start bringing in enough with your own business to
reach your inner income goals. That’s ok, you’re working towards
your goals and that’s positive. Regardless of what the hype
says, you can’t become wealthy overnight and by doing nothing.

I hope my opinions have at the very least, given you something
to think about.