Winter 2019 Home Business

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Home-Based Business & Opportunity Magazine

Winter 2019

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ANGEL INVESTORS Fund Your Start-Up EMAIL MARKETING Build a Subscriber Base

Yo r 7-Day Plan to Getting a You Home Ho Business Launched!

CASH FLOW Keeping It Positive GET FIT! Home Office Gym SOFTWARE TOOLS for Start-Ups NETWORKING EVENTS Don’t Make These Mistakes!

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INTERVIEW: DEBRA MESSING Dealing with Social Media — Pg. 16

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Home-Based Business & Opportunity Magazine

Magazine

Contents

Winter 2019 FEATURES

Home Business in Seven Days: Become a full-fledged entrepreneur.

10 16

Interview with Debra Messing. On Her Role in the New Thriller SEARCHING, How to Deal with Social Media, and the Influence of the Dwelling Place on the Upbringing of a Child.

18

20+ Lucrative Small Businesses. Launch a Startup This Winter.

Dive into Startup Funding.

Tips on how to get started as an angel investor.

Debra Messing: “Social media is a Pandora’s box. It is complicated, and you don’t know where you are going when you are searching.”

WORK-FROM-HOME SUCCESS STORIES

BUSINESSES & OPPORTUNITIES

24

16

Startup Success in Seven Days! How to Launch a Home Business in a Week.

Courtesy of ©Reuters/The Interview People

10

24

22

Man Writes to Son.

22

Must-Have Summer Gadget.

28

From Handcuffs to Cufflinks.

40

Small Biz Ad Marketplace.

32

No Need for Tech Savvy.

41

Classified Ads.

35

Three-in-one Creative Solution.

36

Ingenuity with Essential Oils.

Angel Investing: Evaluate startups with four criteria.

Publishing Success: Man turns book into income stream.

MARKETING & SALES

26

27

Win Back Emails.

26

10 steps to re-engage your subscribers with key messages.

32

Product Reviews.

Valuable home office products for the entrepreneur.

34

Fitness Tips for the At-Home Worker.

Turn your home office into your home gym for increased productivity.

Networking Know-how. What not to do at an event.

Email Create a wellE il Marketing: M k i C ll planned re-engagement campaign.

MONEY CORNER

30

HOME OFFICE

Cash Flow Consistency. Strategies

30

34

Home Gym: Exercise during H G E i d i a lunch break.

to get organized and improve the payment process.

31

Manage Finances.

Take control of your accounting.

Cash Spend time C h Flow: Fl S d less l ti chasing payments.

Winter 2019 | Home Business

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Magazine M i Volume 26 Issue 1 Winter 2019 www.homebusinessmag.com

The Home Business Team ®

Publisher Richard Henderson United Marketing & Research Company, Inc. Editor-in-Chief Stacy Ann Henderson Managing Editor Sherilyn Colleen Publicity Editor Shannah Carol Graphic Services Slice, Inc. Production Manager Jon Crossley, Ultra Graphics Digital Ad Production Angel Macias, Ultra Graphics Art Direction Richard Rabil Advertising advertise@homebusinessmag.com Phone: 800-734-7042 Shayla Christine homebusinessmag.com/magazine-advertising

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Fax: 714-226-9733 Email: homebusinessmag@pfsmag.com Print Manager Keith Oelke, Quad Graphics Mark Quartaroli, Quad Graphics Reprints Betsy White, The Reprint Outsource, bwhite@reprintoutsource.com Mailing Lists www.homebusinessmag.com (Click on “Mailing Lists” to order) Mailing List Manager Danny Grubert, Danny.Grubert@lakegroupmedia.com List File Manager Travis McMillian, Lee Coats Newton Digital Media Manager Jim Clark, GTxcel E-Readers Bob Mehta, Supremus Group Rachel Unclebach, Libre Digital Internet Manager Sam, Fixrunner SEO Janice Johnson Social Media Shelby Cara At Your Service Portal Lisa Schneegans, Buzz 360 IT/Computer Operations Jim Easton, letmefixyourpc.com Virtual Operations Mike Davidson, VDI Networks Customer Service customerservice@homebusinessmag.com Phone: (800) 734-7042 Fax: 714-388-3883

Editorial Lee Murphy, Keith Coppersmith, eSputnik, Swaraj Mohanty, Akshay Ahooja, and others.

Distribution Curtis Circulation Company 730 River Road New Milford, NJ 07646 Tel: (201) 634-7400 Fax: (201) 634-7499

Home Business® Magazine Home Business Magazine (ISSN 1092-4779) is published by United Marketing and Research Company, Inc., 20664 Jutland Place, Lakeville, MN 55044.

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For Subscriptions: 714-693-1866, M–F Periodicals Postage Paid at Lakeville, Minnesota, and at additional mailing offices.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Home Business® Magazine, 20664 Jutland Place, Lakeville, MN 55044.

LETTER FROM PUBLISHER

®

Finding a Startup & Finding the Time!

Better Time Management Will be Critical to Startup Success No other business sector has such an emphasis on “startup” as “home business”. As such, we devote an issue each year to the important subject of starting a business.

This focus is not meant just for the new entrepreneur. Those with existing businesses should diversify their existing businesses.

Sometimes that process can be as easy as adding on a related new product, but oftentimes it requires a whole new startup.

“ Here’s a 60-second refresher course on time management.

Use this issue’s startup guide to help guide you down your business path. We outline major areas to focus on. We can’t cover all the details. Rather, use this year’s Startup Cover Story as your initial reference point. For example, read the article on business planning, and then research more articles on planning. The Business Startup page at HomeBusinessMag.com is a great resource for more startup guidance.

Part of a startup guide is selecting a business to start! One competitive advantage of the home-based business sector is the large number of available business opportunity packages and home-based franchises. By purchasing a business opportunity or franchise, you reduce the risks inherent with starting a business. Franchises have higher startup fees but come with the most reduction in business risk.

You can also consider other options for a home business startup, such as launching a business from scratch, or partnering with other entrepreneurs. Joint venturing is more prevalent in the home business sector, because linking together online is so easy today.

Most home businesses can also be started part-time, a huge competitive advantage. You can minimize risk by starting out part-time and growing, as you work out bugs and develop positive cash flow.

Whatever your startup choice, the most important success factor is freeing up enough time do it right. Entrepreneurs need more time! Here’s a 60-second refresher course on time management: • Create a master task list, which identifies everything you need to accomplish.

Continually add or remove tasks, including personal ones, from the list. Use the master list as a tool for long-term planning.

• Start each day with 10 minutes of planning. Review your master task list and select items to accomplish that day. Carry forward items from your previous day’s list.

Don’t overbook your schedule; account for normal interruptions and distractions.

• Rank tasks in order of A’s, B’s, and C’s. Work on your A’s today; B’s are important and will soon become A’s; and C’s are not yet time-critical. Schedule in your personal items to help maintain balance between work and play.

• Assign due dates to help prioritize your A, B and C tasks.

• Break large projects into small projects: All task lists contain items that are too big to be performed as individual tasks. Break these larger projects down into smaller ones. Keep breaking them down until you have isolated specific tasks you are able to complete. You’ll reduce procrastination when you break big items down into manageable tasks.

• Handle every incoming email only once!

• Document things on the spot: Take notes on items as they occur.

• Get it done now! For any new tasks, see if you can complete them immediately before adding to your A, B and C lists.

• Set aside weekly time for long-term and strategic planning.

Now that you’ve found the time — good luck with your startup!

Printed in the United States

Publisher, Home Business® Magazine 8 Home Business | Winter 2019 ®

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Startup Success in Seven Days How to Launch a Home Business in a Week

By Home Business Magazine Team

A F E AT U R E

re you looking to start your own homebased business? You are about to make one of the best decisions of your life. It can provide a large number of advantages to you in the long run in supporting your livelihood.

There are a few steps which you need to follow in order to start your own business. We detail the most prominent items for your startup todo list. We have divided those steps into seven days of the week for clarity. Launching a business takes sweat, grit and tears. With this quide, you should have an easier time at becoming a full-fledged entrepreneur.

DAY ONE — Personal Assessment On the first day, you need to do a personal assessment. Dedicate the entire morning to this self-analysis. By giving honest consideration to the person you are, you can determine whether you are good enough to go ahead and start a business or not.

When enacting the personal assessment, you can do a SWOT analysis on yourself. With this analysis, you will be analyzing your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Are you a self-motivated individual? Driven people can face challenges with bravery and guide the business in the right direction. That would, of course, be a strength. If you are afraid of failure, note this as a potential weakness (if it inhibits you from taking action). If your strengths overcome your weaknesses, hold strong to the belief that you can launch a successful home-based business. Assess the viable opportunities available in your locale and any cultural or environmental threats that may impede growth for your company. By completing the SWOT analysis, you should have confidence in your decision as to whether to move forward on the entrepreneurial path.

After deciding you are a good fit for this way of life, it's time to select a business idea. If you had the urge to launch a new business, chances are you have a pull toward a certain type of product or service. Endless home-based business ideas are available for you to consider (you can reference our list of businesses in this issue). If you don’t have a clear understanding on what to choose, you can do a simple research on the internet. HomeBusinessExpo.com has many lists of profitable businesses people can start.

Start a crowdfunding campaign to raise startup funding.

Follow your passions—success figures all share a common sentiment, that a love for what they do lead to their companies becoming household names. Challenges won't seem so arduous when the foundation of the venture is built on love.

This passion will keep you moving forward with grit every step of the journey.

their needs better than the previous product.

Use market research tools to assess fruitful opportunities. Here are a couple of tools that will serve you well: 1.

American FactFinder — If you are planning to launch a home-based business in America, this is a resourceful tool. Check and evaluate accurate census data. Filter the data based on location, race, age and income, to better understand the demographics you will be marketing to. Develop a clear picture of your target customers’ attributes and use the data to gauge the demand for your home-based business.

2.

Pew Research Center — This great tool can be used to find suitable opportunities in the market. It provides users the chance to conduct a variety of research, including on social media usage, political attitudes and economic conditions. The top feature about Pew Research Center is that all information is presented in an interactive way. You'll receive granular data so it's very specific.

DAY TWO — Conduct Market Research and Determine Target Audience Dedicate the first few hours of the second day toward market analysis. You have your chosen business idea. It's time to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the local market and peoples' preferences.

Choose tasks you “can outsource on sites like Freelancer. com or Fiverr.com.

”

Before you begin, note that human beings are creatures of habit. When you want to buy something, you'll tend to follow habits. When going to the store, we know where our favorite products are located. Studies note that people tend to purchase the same items for their household year after year. People generally don't like change, unless it's incredibly innovative or helpful and serves

During the evening of Day 2, draft a business plan. Download a business plan from a website like LivePlan or Bizplan. The U.S. Small Business Administration (sba.gov) has loads of helpful information about the correct format and details needed to create a standout plan. Choose a three-year timeline and set reasonable goals for each new year.

Continued on page 12

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F E AT U R E

Startup Success in Seven Days Continued from page 10

Take note of sales and internal business goals.

Consider how much revenue you wish to generate at the end of the first year and steps you can take to increase it in increments in the years following. Will you have plans for expansion? New office spaces in cities across the nation? Decide how many employees you want to begin with on your team. Choose tasks you can outsource on sites like Freelancer.com or Fiverr.com. Start corresponding with members to weed out bad candidates and find suitable long-term freelance “employees”. You can potentially save hundreds to thousands of dollars per year outsourcing tasks like social media work, updating blogs, content writing or graphic design.

Look up local entrepreneurship groups in your area.

companies. Typical venture capitalists include investment banks, seasoned investment companies and other financial entities.

Chunks of company ownership are sold to the venture capitalist groups through independent limited partnerships. It’s beneficial for both parties as the founders will have the funding to really grow their business, and the VC investors have a stake in the company, which could potentially lead to massive income in the future.

DAY THREE — Raise Startup Capital and Launch a Website It's time to raise capital for your new venture! If you are not in the position to spend your own savings to launch the home-based business, here are a few ways to gain funding for your venture.

1.

Venture Capital — Certain niches draw venture capitalists more than others, especially tech startups which have high potential for growth and long-term staying power. This financing is granted by firms to promising

2.

Crowdfunding — Start a campaign on Indiegogo or Kickstarter to raise money for your startup. You will need a decent

amount of money to film and edit a video with high-quality production value, that showcases your product in a creative way.

Users of the website will front money toward the campaign with the promise of receiving a discounted product should the project reach its financial goal. It's a win-win because you'll receive the funding for your business, yet also have an instant group of customers to spread the word about the product.

3.

Angel Investors — These investors are wealthy individuals looking to invest their own money in small-scale businesses. Oftentimes, these investors take a liking for a startup

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and are inspired to see it become established. You'll need a detailed business plan and polished “elevator pitch” to present to investors on why your business deserves a chance. Angel investors can include friends and family members, and they are often a source of advice along the way.

4.

5.

Dedicate time in the afternoon to set up a website. Firstly, you'll need to choose a domain name related to your business. The most ideal extension choice is .com but many others are prominent like .org, .net and .co. Make sure to set it up as HTTPS for secure communication and to signal heightened security for visitors. You can use website-building tools like Wix, Duda, Squarespace and GoDaddy GoCentral; they are inexpensive and some are even free depending on how in-depth of a design you want.

Startup Competitions — Apply to be in a competition to present your idea in front of a group of investors. Well-known competitions include Shark Tank and Y Combinator Demo Day. You'll need self-confidence and a level of comfortability in front of the camera.

There are smaller competitions as well that you can pursue in your local city which may make you a bigger fish in a small pond, with a greater chance for success.

Loans — This route is not ideal for people without a secure income stream. Avoid taking out a loan unless in a stable financial place. You can approach local banks and present your idea, but banks will often consider small businesses to be too risky. You may have more success with acquiring a business loan from reliable organizations such as the U.S. Small Business Administration, Kabbage, and OnDeck Capital.

It's never ideal to do it all on your own. Search

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Choose a unique domain name.

online on sites like LinkedIn or Twitter and reach out to professionals for tips and advice. Look up local entrepreneurship groups in your area that you can join to meet like-minded people.

Join Meetup.com groups to connect with new individuals in your industry or even to just expand your network. Become a presence in the city by engaging with the community. You may be able to raise your startup capital by meeting interested business opportunists.

Make sure to choose a trustworthy hosting provider like Hostgator, Bluehost or SiteGround.

Set up a cloud storage system to store your important business data, invest in various hard drives and purchase a firewall security program for your internet server. Great free choices are ZoneAlarm Free Firewall and Comodo Free Firewall. If your website is primarily a blog, you should set it up on the WordPress content management platform, which is easy to maneuver and offers many ready-made themes to choose from.

If you wish to outsource this entire step and lack any understanding of web development or design, ask an expert to get the job done. Refer, as mentioned above, to sites like Freelancer.com or Continued on page 14

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Startup Success in Seven Days Continued from page 13

F E AT U R E

Upwork.com. Make sure to read through their reviews and clearly explain your requirements before purchasing the job.

DAY FOUR — Zoning, Legal, and Insurance Considerations This step will protect your business from encountering legal trouble. Before researching zoning ordinances, determine whether you can run a business from home. Different cities and counties have limited zoning ordinances. Assess what kinds of commercial activities are permitted in your neighborhood. Visit the zoning office of your city to acquire relevant info.

Your home-based business will most likely have an office space, vehicles on site and expensive equipment such as printers, scanners and manufacturing machines, depending on the business. Acquiring insurance is an essential step for the responsible business owner.

Various insurance policies are significant for the business founder(s), partners and key employees. These include life insurance, disability insurance, critical illness insurance, partnership insurance and key person insurance. In times of crises, having insurance will protect

all members of the business in order to keep it running smoothly.

Next, figure out insurance policies you specifically will need as the owner. These include property insurance, contents insurance, business

Apply to be in “ a competition to present your idea in front of a group of investors.

”

interruption insurance, and vehicle insurance.

It may seem expensive purchasing so many coverage plans, but it will pay off in the event of a burglary, car accident, natural disaster, etc.

Should your assets become affected, the insurance company will step up and support you.

Obtain a liability insurance plan for the homebased business. When engaged in business operations, mistakes can happen that hurt customers or employees. Liability insurance, depending on the situation, will protect your business from financial ruin. Types available include product liability, general liability, professional liability

and cyber liability insurance.

Once you obtain insurance, purchase office supplies and furniture; it's time to set up your home office! No need to be perfect here—start with the basics and continue decorating and expanding as you progress. Key tip: have a water cooler nearby so you can stay hydrated throughout the day, and invest in an ergonomic chair and sit-stand desk. These furnishings are important for maintaining physical health in a small space.

DAY FIVE — Pricing Items and Marketing Plan 1. Price It Right! — Now that you know your target audience, have set up your business space, and have a website in production, focus on pricing your products and services. Try to set a very competitive price at the outset. You'll get the attention of bargain hunters and start trickling in business. Market it as an open-for-business promotion, and offer steep discounts.

Once building up a solid clientele, raise the prices to a rate that matches competitors in the local area. It's not smart to undervalue your product, as people may view your business as a low-quality enterprise. Initial discounts are fine, but raise once you have visibility.

To determine the prices you should set, note the costs you will bear when providing the product or service. Add a markup on top of the costs to define your selling price. Keep the markup small at first, and increase based on spikes in demand.

Pricing will increase and decrease based on market demand, so keep a close watch on what other businesses in your city are charging. Try to check online each week and keep prices related to what similar companies have.

2. Market Like a Boss! — Many programs have sprung to fruition in the past decade that streamline marketing processes. Here are some useful tools you can use to organize, track and produce effective marketing campaigns.

• Hootsuite — Social media platforms are the places to be for businesses of all sizes. Advertising on these mediums is relatively cheap. Hootsuite can be used to schedule posts / tweets and sync all social media profiles so you can have your business visible and connected on different platforms. Manage your Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest and Tumblr profiles all on one dashboard.

• Due — This tool can be used to track the money spent on marketing campaigns.

You can analyze outbound payments made each month, assess whether the campaigns

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You can draft stylistic sales proposals and other marketing materials. The designers behind Canva did the heavy legwork and provide sensational templates that help businesses present a professional and successful venture.

• Constant Contact or MailChimp — Set up a weekly newsletter to send out to your audience. Include product updates, events information, or future promotional deals. Offer a percentage discount for new subscribers and periodic sales. Include personal videos to give a human aspect to the newsletter, and link to articles on your blog. Offer a birthday deal for all subscribers as well.

Send out a weekly newsletter.

were effective, and cut where necessary.

This payment processing platform is also beneficial for all of your overall transactions made with vendors, customers and suppliers.

• Canva — Create promotional materials with this helpful website. It's remarkably cheap and stock-full of templates for brochures, fliers, posters, presentations, etc.

Liability insurance, “depending on the situation, will protect your business from financial ruin.

”

Continued on page 38

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Interview with Debra Messing

Debra Messing, well-loved actress from WILL & GRACE, talks about her role in the recent thriller SEARCHING, how to deal with social media, and the influence of the dwelling place on the upbringing of a child.

Question (Q): Was this role very different for you?

Debra Messing (DM): It peaked my interest. I had never read a script like this. It immediately threw me. So much of it was not dialogue. It was unchartered territory for me.

Then I got into the story, into the thriller. I am a parent, so I put myself in his shoes. By the end I was surprised because there was a twist.

I put the script down and thought, this person is a visionary. This had never been done before.

I just knew I had to be part of this.

Q: Is the process the same for you as when doing a TV show?

DM: It’s the same as doing any other film. It’s

By Suzy Maloy / The Interview Feed the same set of questions I always ask myself, “Who am I, what do I want, what do I need?

What are my relationships to all these people and these events?” There were so many more questions this time because of my character’s journey. It is so moment-to-moment for my character. I sent him five pages — singlespaced. I never had that many questions for a director before.

Q: When you are on set without facing another actor, does it make the job harder or easier?

DM: It’s much harder, because you are acting so much with the screen. The thing I love about acting is the magical thing that happens between actors. And when you don’t have that interaction, it makes it so much harder. All you have is your voice in your ear. You have to imagine that you see that person. It was so precise, and the character was going on in her head. It challenged me like it never did before.

“Social media is a Pandora’s box. It is complicated, and you don’t know where you are going when you are searching. And that brings up interesting questions.” — Debra Messing

Courtesy of Reuters/The Interview People.

F E AT U R E

On Her Role in the New Thriller SEARCHING, How to Deal with Social Media, and the Influence of the Dwelling Place on the Upbringing of a Child

Q: Social media is omnipresent in today’s society. As a mother, are you more careful about what you post and how you post it?

DM: I was not at all up-to-date with social media until five years ago. I was doing SMASH, and NBC asked me to get a Twitter and an Instagram account. That’s

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landscape as a woman in your workplace?

”

— Debra Messing

“Most parents would do anything to protect their child; they would jump in front of a bus. It was from that starting place; that’s the place I always return to.” — Debra Messing

when we started marketing shows. Now I feel comfortable on social media. Every parent has been concerned about children and screen times. It just means something different now because it’s interactive. Now kids can interact with potential strangers. This film is so of the moment and so relatable not only to parents but to kids as well. Kids nowadays never had a telephone that was connected to a wall. For them, this is their language. My kid has just become a teenager; I get this. I felt like this is built in suspense. Social media is a Pandora’s box. It is complicated, and you don’t know where you are going when you are searching.

And that brings up interesting questions.

Q: Did you understand her actions?

DM: I did. Reading it, I just really keyed into the fact that she was a single mom with a son that had issues, but she was protective of him.

Most parents would do anything to protect their child; they would jump in front of a bus.

It was from that starting place; that’s the place I always return to.

Q: Do you personally see the change in the

ON YOUR APP’S!

Courtesy of Reuters/The Interview People.

“

It’s the same set of questions I always ask myself, “Who am I, what do I want, what do I need?

What are my relationships to all these people and these events?”

DM: I do see the changes happening.

The conversation has begun. Things have automatically changed because of that. People are being held accountable now. There are consequences to people’s actions that weren’t there before. It has made me feel empowered to speak my mind and to share my personal experience and to speak out against things I perceive not to be right.

Q: You are a single mom of a teenage son. Living in New York, does that have an impact on his upbringing?

DM: Absolutely that’s why I moved back to New York. It’s a very diverse and dense city.

Nobody is special in New York. And that’s awesome. Los Angeles is the opposite. It’s all about being special. It’s very isolating in LA. You have a house behind a gate, and in NY you walk outside, and you bump into all kinds of people. It feels to me like it makes virtual interaction less tempting, because you have so much stimuli everywhere. You never really get bored. I think when you are isolated in a city that’s really spread out, you seek out different things that challenge or excite you, and that’s why people turn to the Internet.

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20+ Lucrative Small Businesses You Can Start in 2019

training. Visit your local dollar store for cheap cleaning tools as they’ll be replaced often. Invest in higher-quality cleaning sprays. Offer attractive discount prices to get buzz in the neighborhood about your business. You can expand the business over time by targeting corporate companies in the future and cleaning office spaces or department stores.

1. Accessories Designer: If you have fashion knowledge and have the patience to work with small parts like beads and thread, make jewelry, greeting cards, or decorative items. Handcrafted pieces are treasured by the masses and will sell for a good price. Make a profit from your ideas; sell them in boutiques and through your personal website. Attend local artisan fairs and set up a booth showcasing your handmade goods.

2. Antiques Refurbisher: Do you adore antiques and have studied how to spruce up your own amazing finds? Set up an antique refurbishment shop in your home. Have examples strewn around the room to show interested customers.

Offer to take people’s worn antiques and mould them into something more beautiful, based on your customers’ visions. You can also fix up antiques then sell them on antique sites or in local thrift shops.

3. Auto Repair Specialist: Begin an auto repair shop from your home’s garage. You’ll need the required experience in fixing vehicles and the necessary tools. If you don’t have a space available, then simply go mobile and visit the clients’ locations to repair their cars. Specializing in a specific type of car will make your business very valuable. Advertise around town by dispersing business cards and fliers at dealerships and local restaurants.

4. Babysitter: Acquire the essential certifications like CPR, AED, and First Aid. Get experience working as a babysitter by helping out family members’ and friends’ children. Always request the medical history of the children as well as have various family member’s contact information on hand. People often search for a reliable person to take care of their children with patience and kindness. Charge a higher amount per hour for multiple children and earn handsomely.

5. Bakery Owner: If you know the basics of baking, create healthy baking recipes which are low in carbs and sugar. Make gluten-free or

whole-wheat flour cookies, cakes, and cupcakes with delicious flavors from natural ingredients.

Make your recipes healthier by using honey instead of sugar, replace butter with coconut oil or bananas, etc. Sell them at local farmers’ markets and request bakeries in your area to sell them in a split profit partnership.

6. Car Rental Provider: If you have an extra car which is not in use, then earn from your car by renting it out to a taxi service or directly to customers. You can charge on a per-hour basis with extra charges for the night-time. There are platforms such as HyreCar and Turo which facilitate these transactions. It is smarter to go through a reputable company so as to document all steps of the deal.

9. Companion for Senior Citizens: Senior citizens require additional help to perform their daily activities. Accompany them to the grocery store and doctor appointments, and go on simple walks around the retirement communities. Many are lonely due to a lack of visits from family members or losing their significant other. By being a companion, you can hear about their life experiences, share stories, and be the listening ear they need while also providing care.

10. Daycare Owner: Acquire the necessary licenses and permits to start your own daycare center. If you have experience working with kids and you adore them as well, start this cherished business out of your home. You can earn good money while enjoying your day with the kids. Make sure to properly childproof your space, have healthy snack options, and establish educational activities to make it an ideal option for parents.

7. Childproofing Specialist: Families with an infant or little kids need to provide a sheltered home for them. There are many parts of a home that can be unsafe, from sharp corners to stairs. Learn how to childproof furniture.

Keep cabinets and desks secured to the walls to prevent them from falling. A childproofing business is exceptionally easy to start up. You might be required to meet certain state rules, contingent upon your particular location.

11. Ecommerce Store Owner: If you have great products sitting on your shelves or you are an artist who designs and customizes items (like clothes or jewellery), you should start your own ecommerce store. Market your brand through Facebook, Instagram and other social media sites. Consider working with a fulfillment company. Make sure to set different shipping costs based on locations of customers.

The potential clientele is endless; you’ll be able to sell globally.

8. Cleaning and Washing Specialist: Start a cleaning and/or washing company from your place without any huge investment or special

12. Interior Designer: Most of us have a creative side we have yet to tap into. Nowadays, people will tend to hire professionals Continued on page 20

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11/28/18 11:18 PM

AAJudgment JudgmentRecovery Recovery Business Business isis Hot and andininDemand.

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ave aveyou youever everwatched watchedJudge JudgeJudy Judy or or any any of of those those mid-afternoon mid-afternoon court courtTV TVshows showswhere wherepeople people sue sue each each other other for for unpaid unpaid rent rent or services? services?InInmany manycases, cases,Judge JudgeJudy Judyslams slamsdown down her her gavel gavel and and barks barks orders ordersatatthe thedefendant defendanttotopay payup, up, but but here's here's aa little little known known fact: fact: the the court courtdoes doesnot notenforce enforcethat thatjudgment. judgment.And And that that goes goes for for non-televised non-televised court courtcases casestoo. too.

That's That'sright, right,just justbecause because aa judge judge orders orders someone someone to to pay pay aa debt debt doesn't doesn'tmean meanthat thatperson personisisgoing goingtoto do do it.it. Imagine Imagine ifif someone someone owed owed you youa afew fewthousand thousanddollars dollarsand anddecided decided not not to to pay pay you, you, regardless regardless of what whata acourt courtofoflaw lawordered. ordered.Would Wouldyou youknow knowwhat what to to do? do? Most Most people people don't, don't,sosothey theywait waitininfrustration frustrationfor forthe thedebt debtto tobe bepaid. paid.

Christina ChristinaSmiley, Smiley,founder founder ofof Sierra Sierra Judgment Judgment Recovery Recovery and and selfselfproclaimed proclaimedopportunity opportunity junkie, junkie, learned learned how how to to profit profit from from this this little little known knownmarket marketofofunpaid unpaiddebt debtby byhelping helpingjudgment judgment holders holders collect. collect. She She explained explainedthere therewas wasvirtually virtuallyno no one one who who was was providing providing this this service. service.

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They Theyhad hadthree threesmall smallchildren childrenand and thought thoughtthat thatbybyowning owningaastore storethey'd they'd have havemore moremoney moneyand andtime timefor fortheir their family. family.Initially Initiallyit itwas wasan anexciting excitingtime time forfor them, them, but but that that dream dream quickly quickly turned turnedinto intoa anightmare nightmareofofdebt debt and and endless endlesshours hoursatatwork, work,as as Christina Christina remembers, remembers, "We "We accumulated accumulated monstrous monstrousdebt. debt.We Wewere weretruly trulyonly onlyaa few few paychecks paychecks away away from from being being homeless." homeless."

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Another Anotherattractive attractive aspect aspect ofof this this

service service isis there's there's no no up-front up-front cost to her her customers. customers. Any Any filing filing fees or costs costs incurred incurred by

by Christina Christina are reimbursed reimbursed to to her her out out of the judgment judgment once once it's it's collected. collected. The customers customers don't don't have have to pay anything anythingout out of of their their own own pocket. pocket.

From From what what she she says, says, this is primarily primarily behind-the-scenes behind-the-scenes work, which which makes makes itit an an entirely entirely nonconfrontational confrontational business. business. She She does everything everything through through the the court court system from from seizing seizing debtor debtor bank bank accounts, accounts, garnishing garnishing wages wages and and other other income, to toplacing placingliens liens on on property. property.

One One year year after after starting starting the judgment judgment recovery recovery business, business, Christina Christina and and Terry Terry closed closed the carpet carpet store. store. Finally Finally they they could could work at at home home and and have have money money left over at at the the end end of of the the month. month. They've been been running running Sierra Sierra Judgment Judgment Recovery Recovery for for over over 10 10 years years and are bringing bringing in in aa five-figure five-figure paycheck paycheck each eachmonth. month. And And the the most most important important aspect aspect isis they've they've got got more more time for their their kids. kids. “I“I can can attend attend their their events and and my my husband husband gets gets to to go go on field trips trips now now -- he's he's usually usually the the only dad on onthem.” them.”

But But the the story story doesn't doesn't end end there.

Christina Christina wants wants to to share share her knowledge knowledge with with others others across across the country country as as aa home-based home-based business opportunity. opportunity.

She She has has put put together together aa judgment judgment recovery recoverytraining training course. course. In In addition, students students have have access access to to aa National Network, Network, which which can can be be extremely extremely helpful helpful in in cases cases where where the the debtor has has moved moved out out of of state. state. Christina also alsoincludes includes unlimited unlimited support. support.

The The training training course course is is on a home-study home-study basis basis and and itit teaches

Christina Smiley Smiley

contact judgment judgment holders holders how to contact their business, business, the the steps steps to to to get their down aa debtor debtor and andsorting sorting tracking down the paperwork paperwork from from the the through the court.

Christina's motivation for Christina's motivation for this business business opportunity opportunity sharing this others isn’t isn’t to to get get money moneyfrom from with others the course course (a (a one-time one-time sales of the of $185.00, $185.00, she she only only flat fee of enough to to cover cover the thecost costof of makes enough producing course course materials): materials): she she producing continue to to develop develop the the wants to continue Network of of judgment judgment National Network specialists. recovery specialists.

Anyone interested interested in in aa homehomeAnyone business who who really really likes likesto to based business research could could benefit benefit from from do research training course, course, according according to to this training Christina. "This "This business business isisfilling fillingaa Christina. niche. ItIt provides provides steady, steady, true niche. predictable home-based home-based income income predictable $5,000 -- $8,000 $8,000 per per month month on on of $5,000 There is is no no lack lack of of average. There customers and and no no foreseeable foreseeable customers decrease at at any any time time in in the the decrease says Christina.

Christina. future," says you’d like like information information on on If you’d your own own home-based home-based starting your judgment recovery recovery business, business, judgment for their their free free guide guide at at register for www.recoverycourse.com. You You www.recoverycourse.com. also contact Sierra Sierra may also contact Judgment Recovery Recovery directly directly by by Judgment them at at (912) (912) 882-8190 882-8190 calling them email Customer Customer Support Support at at or email Support@recoverycourse.com.

Support@recoverycourse.com.

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20+ Lucrative Small Businesses You Can Start in 2019 Continued from page 18

to decorate the interiors of their homes. Start an interior design business if you have a solid understanding of how to properly establish a living space. Browse department stores in your area and note the quality and types of decorative pieces available, so you can make good recommendations to your clients.

13. Makeup Artist / Hairdresser: If you have experience working as a makeup artist or hairdresser, then start a salon from your kitchen. Ensure that you meet all your state’s legal requirements to run a salon at your home. Offer discounted prices for combination purchases (haircut + style + full makeup) and personal home visits to clients for events like weddings. Connect with other artists on sites like Model Mayhem and get potential photoshoot bookings.

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and partner with them to sell your produce.

Purchase a food truck and sell your goods directly to crowds of people at events like music festivals, where hungry attendees will crave a healthy snack. Set up shop at farmers’ markets every week.

17. Organic Soaps and Makeup Maker: People these days are quite conscious about their health. It’s well-known that many products contain harmful ingredients that can age you or cause sickness. If you know the value of natural elements for the skin, then start making soaps, makeup and spa products which are all-natural, completely pure handmade items.

Market your products through local beauty shops, gift shops, and websites to sell your unique products.

14. Music Teacher: Your love for piano or guitar can lead to a viable income. Start teaching aspiring artists the craft of playing a musical instrument. Instruct them in proper etiquette, how to read music and count rhythms. Host a show a couple times a year and have all of your students present a song they learned. If you successfully train people, business will start pouring in based on referrals.

18. Space Lessor: If you have an extra space in your home, then make money from it and rent it out at a reasonable rate. Find clients by advertising your room on websites like Airbnb.

Make extra bucks by offering additional services such as breakfast and coffee/tea, a personal chauffeur service, tour assistance and more. Request reviews from the customers after their stay to improve your small business’s rating and gain buzz.

15. Online Currency Trader: If you have a sound technical knowledge of the currency market and have a smartphone and laptop, then you can start your own online currency trading business from the comfort of your house. As a currency trader, you will be responsible for setting prices and executing trades in the foreign exchange market on behalf of your clients, which may be banks, financial institutions, wealthy investors, etc.

19. Taxi Driver: This is a particularly simple business to begin if you are a qualified driver and love meeting new people. Become a taxi driver by attaining a well-maintained car, good driving record and driver’s license. Offer mints and water bottles to passengers. Work at your own pace and earn decent money. Enroll your car with Uber or Lyft for an increased number of daily rides and the protection of a reputable company.

16. Organic Farmer: You have land suitable for agriculture and a green thumb. Develop an organic farming business and start growing 100% fresh fruits and vegetables (chemical and pesticide-free). Connect with local stores

20. Tour Guide: If you live near tourist destinations and are knowledgeable about the highlights of the area, then become a tour guide and show tourists the best places to dine and socialize. Enlighten them on the history of

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each popular attraction. Make it enjoyable by telling funny stories that happened over the years. Sell packages based on the number of places tourists which to see, and the duration of each tour.

21. Video Blogger: Video has rapidly turned into a vital source of online communication.

On platforms like Facebook Live, Instagram videos, Snapchat Stories, or YouTube videos, you can earn based on the number of views you have. A higher number of views leads to advertisements and profit. Create informative videos on trending topics which people are interested in knowing more about. Broadcast live or tape a video each week to maintain your followers’ interests.

22. Wedding Celebrant: If you have good people skills as well as confidence in public speaking, this can be an enjoyable job for you.

Research your state’s regulations and get ordained online; you can earn substantial money depending on the number of weddings you officiate each month. If you want extra training, join a community acting class to develop your voice and become comfortable saying rehearsed lines for a crowd.

Working on your own terms in the small business market will be a rewarding experience. Take control of your future plans and become your own boss. Work when you want and where you want. Consider these 22 small business ideas that require little startup investment and launch a new career in 2019.

For additional information on starting and growing a home-based business, visit https://homebusinessmag.com and http://www.homebusinessexpo.com.

Writer: Swaraj Das Mohanty is a Content Marketer at PagePotato. A graduate in Journalism from Bangalore University and an ex-Radio Jockey, he helps brands put their best content out there. Beyond work, he is a bookworm who knows how to cook and enjoys driving in search of lip-smacking street food. Visit http://pagepotato.com/ and follow him on Instagram: @BoredBelly.

www.homebusinessmag.com

11/28/18 9:50 PM

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SUCCESS STORIES

Man Writes to Son Creative Dad Turns Self-Improvement Book into Successful Income Stream

By Alicia McCarthy

W

hen Adam Mient's son Matthew turned eighteen, it inspired this creative dad to write a very special book for him. Mient would spend the next two years researching and writing what is best described as the most thorough and complete life-improvement book of its kind. With its wonderfully streamlined and to-the-point approach, Mient’s book offers the reader only the best information and methods which have been proven to work and have stood the test of time in the areas of wellness and success

publisher and made available to the public.

With his background in writing and media production, Mient creates his own high-quality book promos and videos. He then uses targeted sponsored ad campaigns, and runs them on multiple social media platforms. By doing this, along with constantly posting relevant and valuable content on social media, and by interacting with his online fanbase frequently, Mient has increased his internet presence. This has helped build his brand Adam Mient, and as a result he has sold more books.

The book is basically a blueprint to living the best life possible and succeeding at all that you do. Mient presented his book, How to Be a Better You — The Ultimate Playbook to Life, to his son Matthew as a gift on his twentieth birthday. The book has indeed helped Matthew to become successful, and he has recently graduated from college with his bachelors in Health Science and works as a personal trainer.

Excellent reviews are pouring in; the book is really for anyone at any age who wishes to maximize their potential in life or within their business. Mient has many more future books lined up and has been featured on podcasts and interviewed on Facebook Live talk shows.

but that his book is actually helping people to better themselves, and most importantly, that it has strengthened the bond between himself and his son Matthew.

According to Mient, the biggest success this book has created for him is not just the extra income stream which has allowed him the freedom to focus more on writing his next book,

How to Be a Better You —The Ultimate Playbook to Life is available at Barnes & Noble bookstores as well as on Amazon and online bookstores.

Visit adammient.com.

The book would later be picked up by a major

Adam Mient, Author of How to Be a Better You

Must-Have Summer Gadget Entrepreneur Makes Washing Off After Visiting the Beach Easy

By Erin Calhoun-Dulaney

W

ith three children under the age of 5 at the time, Strand Boards founder Hansni Thadhani wanted a place for her family to wash off after a day at the beach.

She didn’t want something dull or boring and she couldn’t find anything she liked anywhere online. She went to a local surf shop and had a surfboard made. She figured out how to integrate the plumbing inside of the surfboard.

When friends of hers saw the surfboard shower in the backyard, they would say, “that is awesome, I need one!” Strand Boards was born!

During that same time, Thadhani was decorating their newly remodeled home, and she visited a cute home goods boutique in downtown Manhattan Beach. Checking out at the counter, she struck up a conversation with the manager. She brought up Strand Boards and the manager said they'd never seen anything like it and that she would love to carry it in their store. Thadhani was flattered; she put a Strand Boards surfboard

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shower display in their store and they had a sale that first week!

After the first few months of official launch, it really became about spreading the word. They did PR both in-house and hired the help of a small firm. Strand Boards made it onto the Today show as a "must-have summer gadget."

Social media and constantly promoting the brand locally and nationally were key for them in the beginning and today. They developed other versions of the showers and started offering stainless steel as well as marine grade steel options.

Strand Boards’ social media and press efforts paid off and the brand caught the eye of a major hotel chain that went on to buy several showers for their newest property. Since then, they have been in development with other hotels nationwide. The customization they offer on each surfboard product they make is such a great added feature. Whether it be for

Hansni Thadhani, Founder of Strand Boards

a residence or a hotel, it's definitely something people appreciate and love.

Fulfilling her dreams and using her business sense, the love of the ocean, her sales background, and design experience all gave her the perfect platform to take Strand Boards global! The brand has grown to include surfboard chandeliers, tables and benches.

Visit https://strandboards.com/ and follow them on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/ StrandBoards. www.homebusinessmag.com

11/28/18 9:51 PM

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11/30/18 4:36 PM

BUSINESSES & OPPORTUNITIES

Dive into Startup Funding Tips on How to Get Started as an Angel Investor

By Bianca Cabán, Director of Partnerships and Business Development at Republic

A

recent poll by Gallup found that 54% percent of Americans invest in the stock market, either through individual stocks, mutual funds, pensions or retirement plans like a 401(k). But less than 1% have made an angel investment, according to Angel Capital Association. Why is that?

Because not many people know they can. Investment platforms like Republic are new, and we provide everyone — regardless of accreditation status — the chance to invest in highly vetted, private companies with as little as $50. Angel investing is risky, but to achieve a balanced portfolio it makes sense to allocate a small percentage to this asset class.

Diving into startup investing can also just be overwhelming. At Republic (republic.co), we’ve put together an investor education series in the form of webinars and blog posts called “How to Hack Angel Investing,” to share some tips and best practices to get you thinking like an angel investor.

We’ve also created a helpful acronym to remember important criteria for evaluating startups. We call them “The 4 Ts”: Team, Traction, Tech, and Terms, which I’ll go through in this article. It’s not an exhaustive list of criteria, but hopefully it guides your diligence process as a budding startup investor.

Team: The Expertise and Passion Needed to Solve the Problem Founders are critical to a startup’s success — or failure. Their prior career and industry experience should add up to a set of skills and expertise that helps them execute their idea, build a team, and inspire others. Ask yourself: Do the founders understand the market better than anyone else? Are they intensely passionate about the problem they’re solving? Can they clearly articulate the need for their company?

Do they demonstrate leadership qualities, like the ability to inspire people? Do they have the resilience to overcome the many obstacles that entrepreneurs face?

Traction: Signs of Growth and Market Demand For consumer-focused startups, a passionate and engaged user base is evidence of traction.

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For enterprise companies, a robust client pipeline and actual revenue is the name of the game. Keep in mind that traction alone doesn’t indicate financial health or wise financial management. Ask yourself: How many users are there and what percentage of them are coming back every month? How much revenue has the startup earned? Is it increasing each month?

Each year? What’s their sales and marketing strategy? How do they plan to acquire clients?

Do they have any name-brand clients?

Technology: Innovation Meets Execution Startups should leverage technology to create valuable and innovative solutions to realworld problems. Once you’re convinced of this, you can start evaluating the solution by understanding their strategy to build a solid product. This includes their product roadmap, design, and UX. Their product should also have a leg up on the competition. Ask yourself: What is the problem, and is it worth solving?

Is the product 10x better than existing alternatives? What is their secret sauce or unique technological solution to the problem and can it be patented?

Terms: Making Sense of Investment Instruments and Deal Terms Central to evaluating terms is understanding which instrument you’re using to invest, the company’s valuation, and how your investment — or equity ownership — could make you a cash return in the future. When startups IPO (like Facebook in 2012) or get acquired (like when Amazon bought Zappos in 2009), there’s often the chance for investors to make a return for their equity ownership — in cash or common stock.

It’s common for established angel investors to get equity (i.e. preferred shares) in a startup at the time of investment. Most angels use investment instruments such as the SAFE, Crowd Safe (created by Republic), or a convertible note, which all convert into equity at a later date. These instruments save time, eliminate most legal fees, and allow early investors to postpone agreeing on a valuation by converting to equity only after there’s a priced equity round. Regardless of the investment instrument, ask yourself: What’s the valuation of the

Evaluate startups with the 4 T’s. company now, and what is the valuation cap, or the max valuation that your investment will convert to equity at the next financing round?

What is the discount at which your investment will convert to equity in the next financing round? Are there pro-rata rights in the agreement (the right to invest in the following round to maintain your ownership percentage)?

To learn more about angel investing, visit republic.co/blog and to check out companies raising on our platform visit republic.co/ companies.

About Republic Republic is an investment platform where startups and blockchain projects can raise capital from retail investors. In May 2016, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission enacted Title III of the JOBS Act, allowing non-accredited investors — most of the US population — to invest in startups. But the complicated legal requirements demanded for a founder and investor-friendly, easy-to-use platform to make startup investing truly accessible.

We built Republic to democratize investing and level out the fundraising landscape for founders and investors alike. We’re SECregistered, FINRA-licensed, and if you’re at all interested in startups, you’ve heard of our past work: Republic is part of a family of startup platforms together with AngelList, Product Hunt, and CoinList — one of the most trusted online startup ecosystems in the world.

Bianca Cabán is Director of Partnerships and Business Development at Republic, a fintech platform that runs investment campaigns for tech startups and blockchain projects to raise capital from retail investors.

Before Republic, she worked on Wall Street for 5 years, including at Credit Suisse, BlackRock, and Atlas Merchant Capital, where she conducted business in Africa, the Middle East, and Europe.

www.homebusinessmag.com

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MARKETING & SALES

Win Back Emails 10 Steps to Re-Engage Your Subscribers with Key Messages By eSputnik

A

contact list where every subscriber is an engaged reader and an active buyer is something email marketers can only dream about. Let’s face the truth; your email list will always include both active and passive subscribers.

At the very beginning, when visitors opt in to receive your emails, they are usually really interested in what you have to offer. New subscribers read your emails, click your links and make purchases, but as time goes by they become less and less likely to open your messages.

Keeping your customers engaged in the ever-changing, always competitive marketing world is a tough challenge. Eventually, some of the email recipients will no longer engage with your regular content.

Sending emails to these inactive subscribers not only costs you money, but it can also harm your overall email deliverability. Email campaigns with low open rates can be flagged as spam and may result in you losing your sender reputation.

That’s where you’re left with two options: either try to activate these subscribers or delete them from your email list. And if there’s even a tiny chance to rekindle the subscribers’ interests in your messages, you’d better not miss it.

That’s why it’s best that you identify the subscribers who’ve lost interest in your emails and include them in your win-back campaigns as early as possible. The subscribers who you’ll manage to reactivate may even become the most loyal brand advocates in the long run.

Here are the main steps to creating a wellplanned re-engagement campaign, one that takes into account the nature of your business, runs automatically and drives results.

1. Identify Your Inactive Subscribers There are two common ways to identify an inactive subscriber: by the number of subsequent emails ignored recently or by the time since the last email open. For example, you can launch your re-engagement campaign for those who haven’t opened the latest 7 emails or haven’t opened any emails for the last 3-6 months. The actual numbers vary for different types of businesses. You’ll have to figure out what applies to yours.

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2. Consider Your Current Sending Frequency Your subscribers may prefer to receive emails from you on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis.

Some of them may want to receive all types of emails, while others care only about your special offers. In your emails, provide your customers with a link to an email preference center — a webpage where they can choose their desirable email frequency and topics.

If your subscribers stop reading your emails, you’ll know it’s not because you’re over-emailing them. And by knowing each subscriber’s expectations about email frequency, you’ll be able to start your win-back campaigns at the right moment. If your subscribers choose to receive your emails daily, it might be a good idea to send a win-back email after a week since their last open. However, if someone chooses to receive emails weekly, they would take it as yet another regular email.

Spare no effort in making the content of your win-back emails as catchy, emotional and useful as possible.”

“

3. Find Out Why Your Subscribers Lose Interest in Your Emails Email Monks say the four main reasons why subscribers disengage from emails are: over-emailing, subject lines showing no value, boring and unresponsive design, repetitive or irrelevant content. Analyze your subject lines, email design and content to make sure you’re sending emails you’d like to receive yourself.

4. Segment Your Inactive Subscribers Considering Previous Interactions Keep in mind that your subscribers can stop reading your emails at any stage of their customer journey. Make sure to keep track of your subscribers’ actions, such as website visits, purchases and email opens. As you collect data,

Sending emails to inactive subscribers drains money. use it to segment your inactive subscribers’ list into groups by their previous activity, such as: those who’ve never read your emails and never purchased, those who used to read emails but never purchased, those who used to read emails and used to purchase, and so on. This will let you sort out your priorities and target your re-engagement efforts at the most valuable subscribers.

5. Grab Your Subscribers’ Attention and Prove the Value of Your Emails Spare no effort in making the content of your win-back emails as catchy, emotional and useful as possible. Try to answer the three main questions your subscribers may ask, “Why do I want to get emails from this brand?” “What do I lose by ignoring these emails?” and “How do I benefit if I continue receiving them?”

6. Try Different Ideas for Customer Re-engagement Remember that you are not bound to send the cliché ‘we miss you’ message. In your re-engagement emails, you can ask for feedback, update your subscribers on new products and features, offer gifts or discounts, and so on. Try to figure out what kind of message and offer would be the best fit for each particular group of your inactive customers. Instead, it’s best that you send emails that don’t make your re-engagement efforts obvious to the recipients.

7. Test Your Re-engagement Emails Split-test different ideas for your re-engagement campaigns to find out what works best.

Although testing takes time and effort, it will help you refine your email design, improve your www.homebusinessmag.com

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Remember that “ inactive subscribers are the most troublesome and risky part of your list.

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8. Decide What to Do with the Subscribers That Remain Inactive Even a super effective re-engagement campaign won’t give a 100% result. It’s inevitable that some subscribers won’t take any action after receiving your win-back emails. As the last step in your re-engagement campaign, send a breakup email. In the email, give the disengaged subscribers the last option to confirm that they want to continue receiving emails from you. If the subscribers don’t react, stop emailing them.

This will help you reduce your email marketing costs and improve the KPIs for your regular campaigns.

9. Avoid Sending One-offs to All Your Inactive Customers Sending large numbers of re-engagement emails at once is risky. Remember that inactive subscribers are the most troublesome and risky part of your list. A large one-off campaign targeted to all your inactive subscribers may result in a large number of unsubscribes, complaints or errors. This may harm your sender reputation and the deliverability of your future emails.

10. Automate Your Re-engagement Email Campaigns It’s difficult to follow the above recommendations if you manage your re-engagement email campaigns manually. The introduction of email automation can make it simple for you to launch and stop your win-back campaigns at the right moment, send triggered re-engagement emails instead of one-offs, and avoid www.homebusinessmag.com

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MARKETING & SALES

copy and tailor your offers. If your email list is large enough, consider creating test groups with a couple of hundreds or thousands of randomly selected emails in each — this way, you’ll get more accurate and trustworthy test results. Test one thing at a time, starting with the subject line. And after you find the subject line that drives maximum opens, proceed with testing different elements of your email content.

WHAT NOT TO DO AT A NETWORKING EVENT Don’t talk about yourself. We frequently opt to talk relentlessly about ourselves, especially if we are stressed, desperately trying to convey what we do and share successes and proof points. When all we need to do is throw a few words in to grab attention. My partner is a master at this: He shares snippets of info, exciting enough to get the listener to ask for more and serves it in bite-size chunks whilst engaging in a lot of listening. Giving room for the other person to talk and then adding and building rapport on their experience is crucial to making a positive, confident impression.

Don’t overwork the room. We are all told again and again not to stick at one place during a networking event, to make sure we meet many people. However, we should also be told not to look past the person we are talking to, frantically searching for who to talk to next! Focus on making two or three good connections instead of trying to talk to everyone. If there is no rapport with one person, politely excuse yourself to move to someone else.

Don’t go with friends. To be perfectly honest, this is an exaggeration to make a point. I do prefer to go to networking events with friends as it gives me an anchor, a safe harbour to go to before and after venturing out in the storm of cold networking! However, it can also be a trap, and I often find myself staying comfortably put and then wondering why I didn’t just stay home!

Don’t be a stalker. I’ve lost count of the

sending the same re-engagement campaign to one subscriber twice.

Bottom Line Subscriber inactivity is something every business faces sooner or later, but that’s life. It’s how you cope with the challenge that makes all the difference.

Remember there’s no magic formula that fits everyone all the time. Consider your inactive

number of times I’ve gone to an event, only to spend the next day answering phone calls, emails and LinkedIn requests for a service and product I never showed interest in. If you build rapport, follow up after the event but be subtle and don’t go for a hard sell.

Don’t obsess over cards. Here I am with my newly printed stack of cards ready to fill up the room. Well, I soon figured out that it’s not a numbers game. A card given out without building initial rapport is as good as a cold email; it’s spam! Exchange business cards with someone you feel you should be in contact with and make sure you follow up. I use Covve (disclaimer: I am the founder) to scan business cards, send back my digital one, and get automatic reminders and news alerts affecting my new contact’s company and industry, so I can follow up with something relevant.

Don’t go unprepared. Check the dress code, arrive on time, research who will attend, don’t eat smelly food, and prepare your own pitfall list!

Yiannis Gavrielides is the CEO of Covve, a sophisticated contact and relationship management platform disguised as a simple address book app! Visit https://covve.com/ and https://www.linkedin.com/in/ygavrielides.

subscribers as an opportunity to work through new ideas and adjust your re-engagement strategy. Be patient and realistic, and your reactivation efforts will pay off many times over. You’ll be able to bring back your old customers and get new sales. eSputnik is an award-winning omnichannel marketing automation software that helps businesses engage customers and grow sales through timely and relevant communications through email, text messaging, and push notifications. Visit https://esputnik.com/en or contact the eSputnik team directly at info@esputnik.com and see how they can help you with your business needs.

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SUCCESS STORIES

From Handcuffs to Cufflinks Reformed Businessman Launches Riveting Online Magazine on Female Empowerment

By Katherine Fleischman

F

ollowing the release of a documentary titled The Red Pill, created by a feminist filmmaker who set out to document the mysterious and polarizing world of the Men’s Rights Movement, women around the globe began to question their own beliefs as well as the current rights and voice of men.

The Red Pill chronicles Cassie Jaye’s journey exploring an alternate perspective on gender equality, power and privilege. So, it makes one wonder, who are the men currently supporting women’s rights?

lead by example, so she can design her own future, become her own boss, and the girl of her dreams. Cottrell states, “Women need to stick together and reach out to men, to be a part of today’s conversations, levelling gender diversification and inequality.”

Introducing Surpaul Cottrell, a motivated black author passionate about giving back, and promoting women’s empowerment and equality. Cottrell is a visionary, a published author, and a motivational speaker, with his latest movement titled From Handcuffs to Cufflinks, developed behind prison walls.

Cottrell began this cause in order to make a difference in the world after feeling exasperated with loved ones, mainly women, complaining about how they suffer, hate their jobs, and are being unhealthy. Cottrell felt he could add value to this area on behalf of women, and thus, his brainchild From Handcuffs to Cufflinks was born.

He says, “You don’t have to be a felon or in prison to support this movement. You could be homeless or a drug addict. You could have been an office assistant for years, and now you are your own boss. Everybody has a different definition of success. Some people had to struggle to get where they are. Some people didn’t. This is a platform designed to get some insight on the pros and cons of being a woman or a man in business, shedding a light on individuals dealing with wellness, criminal justice reform, business, female empowerment and life. The purpose of the online magazine is to build a community where we can learn from one another, network, and extend our hands to help the next individual slipping. This isn’t just my platform. This is our platform.”

The online magazine is also about second chances and learning from mistakes. Cottrell has been in prison for over a decade and has transformed the overarching mistakes in his own life. He turned negative into positive.

When Surpaul Cottrell is released from prison, his goal is to help inspire more female entrepreneurs and offer men and women a second chance. The ezine also centers on how Surpaul Cottrell recreates his life, from ex-drug trafficker to a connector and an entrepreneur.

Since he could remember, Surpaul Cottrell had aspirations to become an entrepreneur.

In 2005, he was a deejay turned journalist.

Cottrell has interviewed experts and top talent in entertainment, fashion, CEOs and more.

Cottrell educated himself by asking questions that could help others globally, to learn how to navigate various industries.

In his ezine, he champions beliefs on the current definition of “true equality”, feeling that women are not treated equally to men in the world of business. His inspiration comes from his eleven-year-old daughter, and he wants to 28

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The multifaceted entrepreneur has written a book called Lessons to ignite the spirit of motivation in people with amazing ideas, who lack the proper platform to bring them into existence and polish them to perfection.

As the name suggests, the book takes lessons

Surpaul Cottrell, Founder of From Handcuffs to Cufflinks

from the lives of people who were in similar conditions, but were able to rise above, despite the obstacles they had to overcome. The book also asks a few thought-provoking questions that will undoubtedly cause people to reevaluate their lives and think boldly about the future.

Surpaul Cottrell wrote Lessons while behind bars and he has firsthand experience relating to what it feels like to lose everything, but manage to come back in full force. Lessons is a book that deviates from the typical self-help genre and instead elaborates on the personal stories and accomplishments of people suffering from obstacles in life. Cottrell also released fiction novel Jaws of Death. Based in the mean streets of Boston and the infamous street crime gangs, a life of crime is fueled by a never-ending thirst for money and power. Jaws of Death is Surpaul Cottrell’s first novel, from which he drew inspiration from surrounding experiences growing up in Boston as a young, ambitious African American man.

Cottrell is from Cambridge, MA., and he lived in Boston, Brooklyn, New York, New Jersey and Atlanta. He earned an associate’s degree while incarcerated from Ashworth College in Business Management. Visit http://www. fromhandcuffstocufflinks.com/, https://www. amazon.com/Books-Surpaul-Cottrell/s?ie=U TF8&page=1&rh=i%3Abooks%2Cp_27%3AS urpaul%20Cottrell and https://www.patreon. com/surpaulcottrell.

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11/30/18 4:48 PM

Cash Flow Consistency Strategies to Get Organized and Improve the Payment Process with Clients

MONEY

By Lee Murphy

I

t is one of the biggest headaches home workers can face — after having provided a client with a great service or product, you are left waiting to get paid while your own bills begin to mount up.

Chasing down late payers can seem like a major chore, but it is essential if you are going to make your business a success. If you are waiting months on end for a client to settle an invoice and are simply hoping that one day the money will come in, small problems can very quickly become big ones.

There are many reasons for late payments, not all of them cynical, and the last thing you want is to rail a valuable relationship by having an unnecessary row over how and when you should have been paid.

But similarly, you do not want to be taken advantage of and used as a free line of credit! The more organized you are the more likely you are to get paid on time and spend less time chasing payments.

Take Control and Be the Boss The biggest favor you can do for yourself when dealing with getting payments for your invoices is to be professional and remember you’re in charge. Be confident: you’re a dab hand at doing this in every other area of your business, and this is no different.

You need to be organized about keeping track of who owes you what, and when they were supposed to pay you.

n l

Get a diary and be methodical; for instance, have a set time each week or month for doing your banking and making sure payments have arrived. Having a system in place that you stick to will make your life easier and mean you don’t get in the habit of chasing only when you realize that an invoice is really overdue and you need the money quickly to pay a big bill of your own.

Much of this can be done automatically if you use online bookkeeping software, some of which is even free. For instance, Pandle can automatically send chase emails to late payers.

Get a good diary and reminder system in place, and you’re almost there. In our experience, the majority of invoices aren’t paid on time due to disorganization and a slippery mind, 30

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rather than a desire to deprive you of your hardearned cash.

Create a Payment Policy Creating a transparent payment policy will ensure your clients are aware of how and when to pay you for your services. If you have a late payment policy in place, then you have the authority to enforce the rules.

Asking clients to sign a payment policy at the start of a contract will ensure that they are aware of your terms and conditions. Include specific payments dates — these may vary depending on what business you are in — as well as details of charges and interest for late payments.

Set up a reminder system for payments.

Asking clients to sign “a payment policy at the start of a contract will ensure that they are aware of your terms and conditions.

”

How long you might wait to get paid can depend on the sector you are working in.

Manufacturing companies, for instance, will generally pay after they have received a customer order, delaying payments to small businesses. Other sectors can be much quicker to pay — it’s important to check.

As well as including details of charges for late payments, you may want to highlight discounts available to early payers; this could mean a 2% discount for paying in 14 days instead of 28.

Offering a discount for fast payment might be beneficial to both parties; the client gets a discount and you get paid on time.

Your payments policy should also include basic home business details, such as your address and details of how and where you want to get paid. It’s essential to include a pay date in the policy so clients are aware of how much time they have to pay you.

Make sure your clients have a copy of and understand your payment policy. Be clear about

your terms and conditions; ask your client to sign the policy before you get to work.

Net Days Smaller businesses should consider the number of net days they are using — that is how long they wait to get paid by the client. Many home business owners automatically opt for the 28day option but it might be worth reducing that to 14 days or even 7.

Remember, the longer you wait to get paid the less likely the money will come in.

Deposits If you are working on a project that may span months and you have to reserve time in the future to work on it, get a deposit up front so if it falls through you won’t be left out of pocket.

Asking for a deposit will ensure your time is not completely wasted.

Likewise, you get phased payments with clients, particularly if you are working on a long-term project or if it starts to drift. If lots of work starts getting added, make sure you agree on terms straight away for the extra work rather than have the conversation at the end: some firms will be reasonable, but others will see your demands as an unnecessary cost.

Get Your Facts Right There is nothing worse than calling a client to www.homebusinessmag.com

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demand payment only to find you have the invoice details wrong, or that it never reached the client in the first place. Be clear of your facts before you begin sending reminders and demanding payment.

Make sure the invoice is accurate when you send it in. Many will, perhaps rightly, refuse to pay an invoice with wrong or incorrect details. The best way to avoid this is to get it right the first time.

Chasing Down Late Payers The first order of business when a client has missed a payment is to politely nudge them and point them in the direction of your invoice.

Sending a polite reminder email will help you get noticed; following up with a quick call should your email go unanswered will also help your cause.

Remember to stay professional and courteous. Being abrasive and rude will work against you with most people.

Of course, there are those who simply don’t pay on time, no matter how efficient your reminders are. Unfortunately, these are the tricky customers who need a tougher line and it is time to think hard about whether you want them as a client in the future.

There are a few different options you can take. Firstly, if they want more work done, then you can insist that they settle their debts first. You can also insist on a different payment approach going forward so you get paid up front to avoid future hassle.

Other options include selling your invoices and getting someone else to do the chasing for you, known as invoice factoring (an important option if you need the cash, but you won’t get anything like what you’re owed), or pursuing a claim for payment legally, perhaps through the small claims court.

It is worth noting that many businesses suddenly pay attention when their bad behavior is called out on social media.

Accept It’s Part of the Job Whilst you may see being the late payments manager as your role, in reality it’s an essential role that you need to embrace as a business owner! You need to adapt your mindset to accept this and depersonalize the process. By using your bookkeeping software www.homebusinessmag.com

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Financial Management Tips for Home Businesses

A

That can mean bankruptcy, even if you're generating good revenue.

Separate Accounts Running a business from home means you must separate your business accounts from personal ones.

That way, you'll be able to manage your business finances and keep records of both income and expenses, without your personal finances interfering in the process. It will also help you calculate taxes, as well as help you understand your business's financial health.

Track Your Invoices Sending invoices doesn't mean you're getting paid right away. Invoices can take anywhere between 14 and 120 days before they're due. That means that during that time, you still have expenses to take care of. That's why it's important to track invoice payments and ensure there are no late or missed payments. If you have difficulties tracking invoices on your own, you can always leverage software to automate the process for you.

ccounting is a major responsibility.

If you don't manage your books properly, your home business will get into financial trouble. Here are some tips to successfully manage finances.

Get Some Help If you don't know how to do your own accounting, then it’s better you leave it to professionals. You can outsource bookkeeping to an accountant or attend an online accounting course if you want to manage your own books. There's even accounting software available that can help you out. Just make sure you know what you're doing to avoid any financial mistakes that can lead to even more problems.

Track Your Expenses It's important to have a record of each expense your business makes. That way, you avoid getting into unnecessary debt.

It also helps you track your company's cash flow, which is the main factor in your business's financial stability. Cash is your most liquid asset that allows you to make payments and investments. If you run out of cash, you can't pay bills, taxes, salaries and other expenses.

Understand Your Taxes Self-employed taxes are difficult to calculate, which means you must take heed when doing this on your own.

Your tax obligations depend on the business structure you've chosen, such as sole proprietorship, LLC (limited liability company), corporation and so on. Moreover, as a self-employed home-based business owner, you're entitled to specific tax deductibles, such as a percentage of home expenses, mortgage, utility and property taxes. In most cases, you'll have to file quarterly tax payments and you get an annual tax return only if you properly file income and losses for your yearly business operations. Also, don't forget to calculate your Social Security and Medicare payments.

Keith Coppersmith is a business consultant with experience in numerous small businesses and startups. A regular contributor at BizzMark Blog, he enjoys giving advice on both traditional and digital marketing. Visit Bizzmarkblog.com, contact coppersmith. keith@gmail.com.

to take out a lot of the legwork, you can maintain a healthy and professional relationship with your clients.

the success of your business. Nevertheless, if you fail to make sure you get paid on time, all that hard work would have been for nothing.

For many home business owners, the priority is the day job. Providing your client with a good product that you can be proud of is essential for

Lee Murphy is CEO and founder of Pandle the cloud accounting software for home businesses. Visit www.pandle.com.

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PRODUCT REVIEWS

Epson Streamlines Accounting Management with WorkForce® ES-300WR Wireless Document Scanner

M

The scanner enables automatic file naming and receipt recognition. Th is speeds up the process of storing documents and fi nding accounting paperwork at a later date. Epson ScanSmart Soft ware generates editable Word and Excel files. Nuance Power PDF for Windows and PDF Converter for Mac allow users to create searchable PDFs.

obile-focused solutions have transformed how entrepreneurs are able to conduct work practices. Home-based business owners may find themselves already on the way to a client meeting when realizing they had invoices they forgot to scan. Epson’s WorkForce ES-300WR wireless document scanner is an ideal choice for document management, whether in the home office or on the way to a work function.

With the fastest scan speeds on the market at 25 ppm/50 ipm, the versatile device scans 2-sided documents and has a 20page Auto Document Feeder for efficient batch scanning. Entrepreneurs can wirelessly scan important paperwork to electronic devices, including smartphones, tablets, PCs or Macs. Scanned documents can be emailed, uploaded and securely stored in cloud storage accounts on platforms such as Dropbox, Evernote and Google Drive.

Epson’s WorkForce ES-300WR provides complete portability for businesspeople, with AC, battery or ES-300WR USB power options. The product has a one-year limited warranty in the United States and Canada. Weighing only 2.9 lb and measured at 11.3" x 3.5" x 2.6", the scanner can be easily transported in a small bag. The company focuses on eco-friendly practices, demonstrated by the scanner being ENERGY STAR® qualified, RoHS compliant and a recyclable product. Further, Epson America, Inc. is a SmartWay Transport Partner.

At-home workers can use Epson’s ScanSmart Accounting Edition Software to organize and share financial documents for their business.

With the ScanSmart Accounting Edition Soft ware, you can extract crucial data from receipts and invoices and export to Quickbooks Online or Excel. The accounting software enables complete organization of important financial documents – no need for the crammed file cabinet.

Home-based business owners can simplify their accounting and bookkeeping with a tool that expedites the scanning and organization of critical financial documents. For more information about Epson’s WorkForce ES-300WR, visit https://epson.com/For-Home/Scanners/ Document-Scanners/WorkForce-ES-300WR-Wireless-DocumentScanner-%E2%80%95-Accounting-Edition/p/B11B242201R.

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SUCCESS STORIES

No Need for Tech Savvy How a Solopreneur Built a Language Education Platform with a Smorgasbord Approach

By Chad Reid, Director of Communications at JotForm

I

n 2016, Dr. Karyn Koven launched LanguageBird® and, accidentally, made one of the best worst decisions an entrepreneur could make. Dr. Koven wanted a tech pro to build her fully-accredited, online language learning platform. However, that tech pro pocketed $10,000 and ran.

The result: Dr. Koven was forced to test, integrate, and operate the smorgasbord of web technologies that now power her business. Dr. Koven describes herself as “not tech savvy.” If she built an online language school, sorry entrepreneurs, tech un-savviness is not an excuse for putting off your dreams.

After the theft, she relaunched LanguageBird on a homemade WordPress site and mapped what she’d need to offer live, one-on-one language lessons with teachers. The key as a solopreneur was to integrate her tools and thereby avoid manual data entry and other busywork.

Dr. Koven’s original WordPress site used

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JotForm (my company’s technology) to enroll students. She designed forms that collected each student’s language, previous experience, and availability for lessons.

Soon, Dr. Koven added Stripe for credit card processing because it integrates with JotForm, which integrates with WordPress. Enrollees could select a course package and pay online.

Now her tech stack includes 11 tools. For you home business tech junkies, they are WordPress, JotForm, Stripe, Trello, MailChimp, HubSpot, ZenDesk, Zoom, Skype, Google Hangouts and QuickBooks.

That smorgasbord stack has several advantages.

First, Dr. Koven doesn’t have to settle for a onesize-fits-all educational platform. One piece of software can feel ‘clumsier’ than 11 if it’s packed with features you don’t need or want. Second, the diversity of LanguageBird’s stack makes it reliable. Dr. Koven isn’t dependent on a single vendor. If one stops performing well, she can swap in an alternative.

Dr. Karyn Koven, Founder of LanguageBird®

Third, Dr. Koven can experiment inexpensively.

For example, one of Dr. Koven’s most time-consuming tasks is to match new students with instructors. She could automate the process, but doing so might have unintended consequences (e.g., do all students pick one teacher because his picture is cool?). With a piecemeal stack, Dr. Koven can run that experiment without breaking anything or paying gobs of money for custom code.

Dr. Koven’s smorgasbord stack is more specialized, resilient, and flexible than anything the larcenous tech pro could have made for $10,000. It was the best worst decision. Visit https://www. languagebird.com. www.homebusinessmag.com

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Fitness Tips for the At-Home Worker HOME OFFICE

Turn Your Home Office into Your Home Gym for Increased Productivity

By Akshay Ahooja

L

et’s face it. The big-box gym membership model isn't working. So many of us get memberships every year, yet most go unused for one reason or another — let it be a busy schedule, intimidation from more experienced gym goers, or simply not knowing where to begin. In fact, approximately 67% of gym memberships go unused.

An alternative to big-box gym memberships involves working out at home, but the common narrative here is that a home workout can’t really be that effective. Well that’s just not true anymore. Check out the thousands of Instagram trainers getting ripped and building mini-empires with their at-home workouts.

Technology is turning the home into a serious place to work out.

Pick the Right Technology Tools Research has shown that the single most effective way to work out consistently is to work with an expert. A real, certified personal trainer can join you on your fitness journey and

guide you through the ups and downs of getting and staying in shape. With technology, having access to that expert is no longer confined to the four walls of a corporate gym. Trainers are available anywhere through your mobile device, making your home — or wherever you are, for that matter — your gym.

Training virtually with an expert is called online personal training. Online personal training utilizes tech such as fitness apps like Trainiac, or messaging services like Skype to connect you to a real, certified personal trainer. The top platforms align people with trainers who will conduct assessments of their virtual clients’ fitness and wellness needs and then work together to develop a fitness training program that takes into account the individuals’ specific goals and constraints. The trainer can review videos to check for proper form of key movements, go back and forth about nutrition advice, and adjust the plans over time as needed.

The Benefits of Online Personal Training for Home Workers

Train virtually with an expert.

Online personal training’s one-on-one customization is ideally suited for busy, home-working individuals to accommodate their demanding, unpredictable schedules and provide them with the key benefits we are all looking for in a workout: flexibility, affordability and accountability.

Working from home allows you the flexibility to exercise at any time, without being bound to someone else’s schedule. Whether it’s in the morning to boost your energy, in the middle of your day to take a break between meetings, or in the evening to release stress after a long day of work, your trainer will be there for you on the other end, ready to go! Online training also helps keep you on track if your home business has you travelling often. Remember, with online personal training, wherever you are is your gym.

Make Your Home Your Gym So, this all sounds great, but what if you don’t have a “home gym.” Fear not, for unlike your home office, a home gym does not need to loaded with fancy equipment and machines to be effective. In fact, it doesn’t need much of anything at all. You can get a complete body workout with bodyweight exercises alone (think squats, pushups, lunges, etc.). However, if you like some variety, basic yet effective equipment such as dumbbells, resistance bands, and maybe even a foldable bench are neither difficult nor expensive to come by.

And while not necessary to succeed with an online personal trainer, fitness trackers, heart rate monitors and other similar devices can also provide home-based fitness novices and enthusiasts with a great amount of data to help themselves and their trainers gauge their progress.

Akshay Ahooja, CEO & Co-founder of Trainiac, has built a career as a Product Manager at Facebook and Microsoft, and has now founded Trainiac. Working out regularly and building healthy habits changed his life, and he won't stop until everyone has access to do the same.

Visit https://www.trainiacfit.com.

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Training and Development for Dummies

By Manley Feinberg II

According to Elaine Biech (www.ebbweb.com), an established expert on both the profession of consulting and authoring books (she has published almost 80 books, including Training and Development for Dummies (ISBN: 978-1-119-07633-9)), writing a book has become a requirement for every consultant who desires to demonstrate authority. Every consultant needs a book to demonstrate their expertise to current and potential clients. Here are five reasons:

An award-winning international keynote speaker, business leader and published outdoor adventure photographer, Manley Feinberg II (www.VerticalLessons.com) is offering his unique take on leadership in his book Reaching Your Next Summit! (ISBN: 978-1-941870-68-6).

This personal and business leadership book is an inspiring inside view of Feinberg’s extraordinary journeys that may seem out of reach to many readers but encourages them to reconsider their own perceived limits and take action to reach personal summits.

A literal cliffhanger, Feinberg relates many of his adventures in rock climbing to the struggles that people go through to reach their goals. Feinberg identifies nine vertical lessons that intertwine his love of the adventure sport of rock climbing with lessons that can be used in business and life in general.

By Elaine Biech

1. Your book is a marketing tool. A book can generate new business, close a pending deal, and remind previous clients that you are still available.

2. Your book helps you establish your expertise. A published book adds legitimacy to your career.

3. Your book can help you build your reputation and your brand. Your book can help your clients and potential clients understand what you represent, what you value, and how you will be valuable to them.

Feinberg takes readers from the question of "why climb at all?" to a place where they will be ready to leave their legacy no matter what personal or business obstacle is in front of them.

4. Your book can increase your name recognition. You will be viewed as a thought leader, and people will recognize your name and the name of your book.

Reaching Your Next Summit! contains 12 chapters divided among three sections. The opening section introduces Feinberg’s nine vertical lessons while the next two sections define the lessons and encourage readers to leave a mark in the world.

5. Your book can help you make money. Your published book gives you and your consulting practice the legitimacy to increase your rates and an entrée to attract more work with less marketing investment.

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Three-in-one Creative Solution Law Enforcement Officer Turns Lifelong Passion into New Business

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ntrepreneur John Barca has turned his lifelong passion and pursuit of creative problem-solving and ingenuity into a successful new business with a three-in-one beverage and phone holder. From a young age, Barca’s parents instilled in him the importance of hard work and developing creative solutions to improve everyday challenges while working in his family’s restaurant business. Today, he serves as a full-time local law enforcement officer. “The problem-solving lessons and business techniques instilled by my father during childhood have served me well in my life, my career in law enforcement and launching a business,” says Barca.

One day while walking the beach, Barca observed people trying to keep their drinks and cell phones sand-free and stable. He knew how hard it was to keep his own beverage and phone in his car stable. He was determined to develop a creative solution that would make life easier.

Thus, the idea for the three-in-one STAND-Bi was born.

The STAND-Bi is ideal for cars, trucks, boats,

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motorhomes, golf carts and even strollers, the beach, lake or campsites, as well as solid surfaces. Constructed of durable ABS plastic, it is dishwasher-safe, UV-protected, and just as important — made in the U.S.A. From product design/testing, to manufacturing/production, to trademark/patenting and marketing, Barca faced many challenges while starting a new business. Him and wife Caroline sought advice about every aspect of the business. They test-marked several designs, conducted focus groups and continued to improve the product. They learned as much as possible about marketing and social media, found local manufacturers, improved packaging, lowered distribution costs, and obtained federallyregistered trademarking.

“Hard work, determination and endless research have been critical to our success,” says Barca. “You need to be very structured and organized.” While harder to keep costs down, Barca is committed to keeping his product made in the U.S.A. and supporting local communities.

As a result of Barca’s ingenuity and steadfast

John and Caroline Barca, Founders of STAND-Bi

determination, hard work and research, and Caroline’s never-ending support, the STANDBi, which makes a great gift for under $20, is now sold online at STAND-Bi.com, as well as in more than a dozen hardware stores, surf shops, restaurants and other retail outlets in Florida. Barca’s work is not done. He and Caroline are currently working to expand distribution to retailers across the country. Visit https://www.stand-bi.com.

Winter 2019 | Home Business

®

SUCCESS STORIES

By Misty Stoller

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Ingenuity with Essential Oils SUCCESS STORIES

Social Mompreneur Derives Chemical-Free Bug Repellant from Home

By Devon Blaine

G

reenerways Organic is a rapidly growing national brand whose initial product was created due to a problem in Jayme Bella’s home outside Philadelphia.

That summer, during her first pregnancy in 2008, her home was damaged by a severe storm and became infested with insects. Reading the labels of traditional insect repellants and realizing they were ridden with harmful chemicals and other ingredients unknown to her, she was fearful of what effect they could have on her unborn child.

Shortly thereafter, working from home, Bella invested in a simple machine that allowed her to mix small quantities of essential oils. After much research, she wound up with a variety of oils, all of which had repellent properties to varying degrees. By dint of hard work and extensive mixing and matching, she derived a formula that actually repelled insects, was kind to skin and was safe. Sharing with family and other family members led to positive

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confirmation of her findings and Greenerways Organic Bug Repellant was born.

This was the birth of Greenerways Organic, a company devoted to bringing safe, chemical-free products to every home. Bella hoped that the success of the bug spray would allow for the production of other healthy, sustainable and affordable products and Greenerways Organic now has a line of certified USDA organic pest repellants, household cleaners and skin balms.

Today, after three successful years on QVC and this past year on Amazon.com, Greenerways Organic has not only its Bug Repellent, but also a Mosquito FreeZone pouch, on sale at stores nationwide including Costco US, CVS Pharmacy, TJ Maxx, Marshalls, HomeGoods and many more major stores.

As a social mompreneur, Bella gives one percent of Greenerways Organics gross purchase of oils back to the farmers in India from whom they purchase their essential oils: citronella, lemongrass, cedarwood and others. Social

Jayme Bella, Founder of Greenerways Organic

entrepreneurs are unique in doing well by doing good. Bella has certainly proved that point. Company-wide sales were in the multimillions in 2017.

Bella believes all families deserve to make healthy choices. Her goal is to provide affordable organic products so that everyone can enjoy the benefits of a chemical-free, organic lifestyle like the one she lives in Venice, CA with her husband, Jim, their son, Jameson, 9, and daughter, Annie, 7. Visit http://www.greenerways.com.

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11/28/18 10:00 PM

Notice to Readers

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BASIC BUSINESS FINANCING There are four main types of business financing: 1. Equity financing — Individuals or institutions invest money into your business, and in return, receive either some control over your business’ operations or are repaid through profit sharing or a company sale.

2. Debt financing — You borrow from a bank or an alternative financial institution that is repaid with interest over a specified length of time. Depending on the type of loan, you may be required to provide collateral as a form of security for the lenders.

3. Alternative financing — This can include everything from accounts receivable financing, leasing, and credit cards, to a home-equity line of credit or severance package money. It can be “creative financing” like bartering or business plan contests, and original financial avenues.

F E AT U R E

HOME BUSINESS® Magazine is sold as information only. The publisher, United Marketing and Research, Inc., considers its sources reliable and verifies as much data as possible, although reporting inaccuracies can occur; consequently, readers using this information do so at their own risk. The publisher has not done a background check on listed companies (which includes advertisers), nor does it know people at all the companies. The publisher cannot assume any responsibility in any manner for the actions of any of the listed companies, and the publisher cannot guarantee the outcome of any correspondence, arrangements, or subsequent transactions the reader may make with any of the listed companies. HOME BUSINESS® Magazine is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering medical, legal, financial, accounting, tax, or other professional service. If medical, legal, or other expert advice and assistance are required, the services of a competent qualified professional person should be sought.

The publisher, United Marketing and Research Company, Inc., assumes no responsibility for any changes of offers, nor for any companies/advertisers that may go out of business. All correspondence regarding questions or problems on a company’s (including advertisers) program, products, or services should be directed to the company, not to the publisher. Advertisers and advertising agencies assume liability for all contents of advertising and for any claims arising therefrom. It is up to the user of this publication to investigate the product or service offered, and to make sure the company is reliable and that the product or service meets the user’s requirements. United Marketing and Research Company, Inc., is not responsible for the delivery of merchandise, starter kits, supplies, or other products and services ordered from advertisers. ©1993-2018. Reg. # 4180563 and 4145799. TRADEMARKS: Home Business, Serial Number 74/713646 and Home Business Magazine, Serial Number 75-086596, issued by the United States Department of Commerce, Assistant Commissioner for Trademarks. Mark Type(s): TRADEMARKS: Conform to the minimum requirements set forth in 37 C.F.R. Sec. 2.76 (e); and formal requirements set forth in 37 C.F.R. Sec. 2.76(b) and (c). All rights reserved. No part of HOME BUSINESS® Magazine may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transcribed, in any form or by any means, photocopying, electronic, mechanical recording or otherwise, without prior permission in writing of the publisher, United Marketing and Research Company, Inc., Lakeville, MN 55044.

Articles appearing in this publication express the opinions, experience, and research of its authors and not necessarily the opinion of HOME BUSINESS® Magazine.

4. Crowdfunding — This is the newest type of business financing.

Use online fundraising portals to promote your business or business concept to online and social media channels. Investors then use the portal to submit funding with the promise that should the campaign be successful, they will receive a discounted product.

Winter 2019 | Home Business

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F E AT U R E

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Startup Success in Seven Days Continued from page 15

• Stock Photo Sites — Websites like 123rf and Depositphotos offer top-quality images at a low price per photo. There are also a vast number of sites offering free pictures for users to download. Some of our favorites include Pixabay, Unsplash, Pexels, PikWizard and StockSnap. Decorate your marketing materials with free images that don’t require attribution.

DAY SIX — Registration, Taxes, Accounting Spend the morning of this day focusing on paperwork. You'll need to register your business with your city. Check out SBA’s article “How to Register Your Small Business in Four Steps” for more information.

An essential step is getting an Employer Identification Number, also known as the Taxpayer Identification Number. If you employ people, it's a requirement to have one. It's free of charge to get one; file IRS Form SS-4 or file online. The IRS doesn’t charge a filing fee. Once you have it, you'll be able to use it when you are signing business-related paperwork.

Register for a sales tax permit for your business. To do that, visit your state's Department

Top Software Tools for New Startups Using the right software can help you run your newfound startup easier than ever.

Without further ado, here are the top software tools that will save you both time and money.

Project Management Nothing in this world will ever go as planned, so by organizing all that chaos you are sure to avoid a potential disaster. Project management tools can help you visualize your business plan and ensure that you don’t fall behind. Most popular of these tools are Trello, Asana, and Basecamp. All three are great choices, and any one will help you organize your business in a consistent way.

Communication and Collaboration A fast communication channel is crucial for your business success. Instant messaging platform Slack is the go-to choice for small businesses. It provides integration with Google Documents, a part of GSuite which is also an important online tool for your business. GSuite is free and easy to use. With its GoogleDrive it gives you access to your documents, presentations, and spreadsheets from anywhere in the world. If you prefer hearing a human voice, Skype is a great and popular solution for both private and conference calls.

Marketing Solutions Since the business world has moved online, using computer software makes sense more than ever. Direct mail has been replaced with email marketing, so using a tool such 38

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as MailChimp provides amazing results.

Don’t forget to utilize social networks!

Social media management tools such as Hootsuite or Buffer will help you get your social media campaign off the ground. And of course, optimizing your business website for search engines is the most important thing to do. Track your website analytics using GoogleAnalytics and don’t be shy to expand your influence outside of your own website.

Build online omnipresence using prospecting tools like Dibz to be heard far and wide.

Sales and Finances Your ability to sell is what will make or break your business. Customer-relationship management software helps you maximize your sales efforts and build a standardized sales process. With Salesforce, Zoho CRM, or Hubspot CRM you can find leads, maintain customer loyalty, and ultimately drive your sales growth. Accounting software will help you stay clear of financial troubles.

Software solutions that will help you track your expenses and invoices such as Intuit QuickBooks or Zoho Books are the most popular solutions. A strong contender for small business is Wave Accounting, which is free. Financial analytics software such as PlanGuru can help you make confident financial decisions.

Keith Coppersmith is a business consultant with experience in numerous small businesses and startups. Visit Bizzmarkblog.com, contact coppersmith.keith@gmail.com

of Revenue website. Follow the directions to register your business. Once you have this permit, you will be able to pay sales taxes.

Acquire a dedicated bank account for your business as well. The IRS does not want to see your business and personal funds joined together, and it will also be easier for you when filing during tax season. Link up with an accountant who will guide you on all necessary documents you'll need to keep on hand for April's filing deadline.

On the accounting side, make it easy! Programs like QuickBooks, FreshBooks, or Quicken make tracking income, expenses, invoices and budgets for different departments very straightforward.

Having everything clearly recorded will be extremely helpful when it’s time to file taxes. You'll be able to automate payment reminders for clients and have an almost hands-off yet functional management of your business's bookkeeping.

In the past, small businesses would need to have an accountant on retainer or take on the arduous task themselves. The multitude of accounting software programs present today help home-based business owners everywhere.

Pricing will “increase and decrease based on market demand, so keep a close watch on what other businesses in your city are charging.

”

DAY SEVEN — Growth Plans and Personal Well-being Now that the more technical details have been drawn out, programs are downloaded and the business plan is written, look at the bigger picture.

Maintaining a work-life balance is crucial at every step of the entrepreneurial journey. To be able to nurture and grow your business, you need to maintain health. Exercise daily, whether by riding your bike, going for a jog, or doing a simple 30-minute walk. Drink plenty of water, focus on having good posture, and take small breaks throughout the workday. Sacrificing sleep will www.homebusinessmag.com

11/28/18 10:04 PM

3.

Download an accounting software to track finances.

up a casual convo with people working nearby. A simple short conversation can lead to a strong business network.

inevitably lead to burnout and business failure, so get your Z's.

Here are some straightforward ways to nurture your business: 1.

Connect with One New Person Daily — Home-based business owners often struggle with making organic connections when working from home. Log on to your LinkedIn account or visit a local café and strike

2.

Have an Attitude of Gratitude — Positive energy will draw good vibes and opportunities.

Be grateful towards all people you connect with in the business world, including vendors, suppliers, freelancers you outsource work to and competitors. People will notice a business with a good heart at its core.

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Stick to Your Plan — Create daily to-do lists, quarterly goals and yearly milestones.

Follow a strict roadmap. Entrepreneurs can be creative, and certainly do utilize this beneficial trait, but keep your business structured and on a smooth track.

F E AT U R E

for a sales “taxRegister permit for your business. ”

As you proceed on your journey as an entrepreneur, take personal self-development classes to improve upon skills you wish to master.

Take a Toastmasters course if you fear public speaking, a computer applications class to better understand the basics, and even language courses to become multilingual, which is a rarity and advantage in the business arena. Good luck and follow the career path that will bring you the most happiness.

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The days and weeks after employees start at your company represent a time of unique opportunity.

Can you teach them new systems and skills? Of course you can. But have you also stopped to consider all the other important goals you can reach during the onboarding period? To name just a few, you can: ■ Grow and encourage adoption of your culture

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I wouldn’t have these issues if I was allowed to hire my own people!

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Belief Systems That Hurt High Achievers As an Organizational Psychologist and with 28 years working with the top three levels in Fortune 100 companies, I’ve noticed some common themes with some of the most successful people in the world. See if you can identify with any of these:

We appreciate your feedback and work-from-home success stories for review and consideration. Please send both via e-mail to: editor@homebusinessmag.com, or via postal mail to: HOME BUSINESS® Magazine, 20664 Jutland Place, Lakeville, MN 55044.

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At first glance, these belief systems seem rational and logical, and part of the success formula for the high achiever...or are they? I call them “BS” Belief Systems that hurt leaders because of their unintended consequences in their relationships at work and at home.

Dr. Marissa Pei Consulting Psychologist Author of 8 Ways to Happiness from Wherever You Are www.8WaysToHappiness.com.

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Winter 2019 | Home Business

®

41

12/4/18 10:45 AM

Home Business Podcast/TV Show

WITH YOUR HOSTS:

RICHARD HENDERSON Publisher, Home Business Magazine

SHERILYN COLLEEN Managing Editor

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11/30/18 5:01 PM

Start a Local Business Directory & Coupon Website We provide a turn-key website business and everything you need to be successful in your community. ile Site Mob ded!

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50

100

200

400

1,000

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$1,250

$2,500

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$10,000

$20,000

$50,000

Your Annual Income

$15,000

$30,000

$60,000

$120,000

$240,000

$600,000

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12/3/18 11:45 AM

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12/3/18 11:46 AM