Just to develop the issues covered in the previous post I can’t stand the temptation not to review another article from a popular blog on Personal Development for Smart People. Steve Pavlina is the owner of the blog that is quite popular among the Internet self employed entrepreneurs.

It is a fact that most new business fail, still a certain portion survives. How to find yourself among those who succeeded to outlive most of competition ventures? I guess the right start is to research the experience of other people who have made it and learn from those who succeeded.

Below is the list of top 10 mistakes (Steve calls them ‘stupid’) that self employed people are likely to make at the start of the business career:

1. Selling to the wrong people.
2. Spending too much money.
3. Spending too little money.
4. Putting on a fake front.
5. Assuming a signed contract will be honored.
6. Going against your intuition.
7. Being too formal.
8. Sacrificing your personality quirks.
9. Failing to focus on value creation.
10. Failing to optimize.

You can read the full text and get the extended description of every point from the top 10 list. I do not think that it is universal and works in all life situations. But it is a good place to start.

[tag]be your own boss, top 10 mistakes, top 10, self-employed, job seeker, job opportunity[/tag]

Every person interested to work from home needs a list of resources where she/ he can search for open jobs. The list can be long or short, but it is definitely a must. You should add only valuable resources to the list: those that update their latest job openings and meet your requirements.

I suggest designers as well as programmers include 37 signals on their list. Unfortunately, not all posted jobs are home based (it is the case with most of other job sites also), but new openings are regular and I would check the site occasionally for my life chance.

Just have a look at their last openings – you will discover many big names (that need to get full time workers – why do not they think of cutting their operational costs and switching to outsourcing model?)

[tag]freelance designer, freelance, freelance coder, freelance programmer[/tag]

Now you have chosen what to do for home business, arranged your home office and determined the product or service to offer. What is next? Sitting and waiting for customers to trickle in and for money to start flowing is one thing. The result can be different if you try to market your product.

There are several simple marketing methods to promote your business, including:

Word of mouth. One of the cheapest, most effective and easiest ways to represent your skills and mastery is by word of mouth. You can use a certain opportunity, why not a party, to announce what you are up to to the people that you know. You can find a humorous way to do that and say that you will appreciate if they place your advertisement in a foreign country every time they chance to visit it.

Internet advertisement. Another way of getting yourself in the spotlight is through various advertising Internet sites. If you are a freelancer, go to one of freelancing resources, form a resume (they usually have some aid for it) and leave it there for a potential employer to find and contact you.

Free branded samples. One of the marketing methods that are welcome by potential customers. If you are a freelancer, you can be helpful and do your first job at a discount. Or you can use a two-week trial period for your product. Or, you put your URL on the stationary that you give out or leave in coffee shops or local day centers.

Classified ads in local titles. You should not skip this opportunity, most local newspapers and magazines have a special section reserved for ‘home-business opportunities’ where you can advertise your business. Contact the editor and tell him/her that you have a home-biz running, you can jump into a limelight of a feature article or be in ‘a guest column’.

There are other ways to market and advertise yourself and they are limited only by your imagination.

[tag]home+based+job, home+job, internet marketing, home+business[/tag]