Business Information for Entrepreneurs by an Entrepreneur

To be successful, a small business must have a clear plan and well-defined goals. Even if you are running your business from home, you need to set goals and work to achieve them.

Below are a few tips for setting goals for your home business:

Separate Your Home and Office Life

Once your children and your spouse understand the importance of your business, you should establish a routine that works for you – and them – so that you aren't distracted by chores and family demands on your time while you are working. Your office and home should be seen as two distinct components, even if they are under the same roof.

Make it clear that you are not to be disturbed during certain times of the day, by anyone. It may be necessary to have a separate entrance for your home and office, so that there are no interruptions when you are with a client
or on the phone.

Write Down Your Goals and Match With Your Plan Accordingly

Put your thoughts in writing. If you are working to purchase a company car or a new home, then write these goals down along with a concrete plan as to how you plan to achieve them. Match all your goals up with real statistics
from your business, so they will be accurate and reliable.

Profit margins, expenses, and savings should be included in your goal-setting. This will give you an idea as to when you will be able to achieve them.

Put Your Plans into Action

If you have a goal of increasing your sales by 10% in the current year, then try different methods of marketing and see which one works for you. Go the extra mile to achieve your goals if necessary. Simply writing your goals down on paper is not enough. They will only happen if you make them happen.

Running a small business from home has obvious advantages and disadvantages. However, if you concentrate on achieving your goals, then you will achieve them faster than you had imagined.

Direct mailing is an efficient, albeit somewhat cumbersome, method of advertising. However, it can be effective in increasing your presence in your neighborhood and it can give a more personal touch to your business than other kinds of advertising.

Here are some helpful tips to get the most out of your direct mailers:

• Giving freebies always works, so give out a free product to anyone who responds and brings one of your
  flyers along. This method will also help you measure the effectiveness of your campaign.
• Hire professional designers and copywriters to create your mailers. A professional touch increases response. In addition, professionally-designed materials are usually easier to understand and have a better track record of responses.
• Conduct market research on your target neighborhood and plan your mailer accordingly. Also, send out mailers with special offers and discounts ahead of holidays so more people will read them and respond.
• Cite regular and satisfied customers as references (with their permission, of course) along with their names and titles to improve response.
• Print more flyers and target a wider area. You should also conduct market research of areas where you are getting better response, as well as areas where you getting poorer response. You can then use that information to make the necessary changes to your approach.
• Test different themes, fonts, and styles. Get feedback from customers as to which mailer was the most eye-catching – and use that information in future direct mail planning.
• Make special offers and highlight any product or service guarantees in your mailer. You can also cluster products and make package offers to prospective customers.
• Last but not least, try sending mailers over the Internet. It's free, so any additional business generated is a bonus.

Don't be afraid to try different approaches to gain insight into what works for your small business. Maintain a regular schedule of mailers to sustain your results.

Small businesses need a constant amount of cash flow to pay off day-to-day expenses. Therefore, you need stringent billing practices in place to ensure that more money keeps flowing in than out.

Use the following billing practices to keep your small business healthy:

Ask For a Deposit

This method normally works if you are making something exclusive for customers, like an industrial product or clothes. You could ask for 50% to 60% as an advance, so that if the customer backs off after placing an order, you don't end up with dead inventory.

However, this strategy will not work if you are offering off the shelf products or if you are in a high competition market.

Shorten Credit Periods

If a high credit period is leaving you cash-strapped, then reduce the credit period so that you free up much-needed income.

For new customers, quote lower credit periods. Over a period of time, slowly lower credit periods for existing customers so as to reduce the chances of bad debt.

Get Your Invoices Factored

Invoice factoring is where factoring companies buy off your invoices and collect the invoice amount from you for a nominal fee. They will pay you almost the entire amount immediately, thereby immediately improving your cash flow.

Research a good factoring company's services to find out if this financial tool is suitable for your business.

Use Good Accounting Software

Nowadays, a variety of reasonably-priced software is available to help you in keeping track of your receivables once you have sent out an invoice. Use them to keep track of your customer's payments, and nip any late paying customers in the bud. These software applications can also useful in sending out billing reminders.

Use the above billing practices to maintain a constant cash flow – and watch your small business flourish.