Passion is Great, but is it Profitable?

Starting a Business Takes More than Love for Your Job

Can your passion become profitable?

Passion is a word that is thrown around a lot in the business world – everyone is telling us to “do what we love” and “be passionate about what we do every day.” Although doing what you love and making a living is a dream for many business owners, the reality is that passion alone is not enough to run a successful business. They key to having success in a business is providing a product or service that consumers want to buy, and even though you are passionate about something, consumers may not be.

Evaluate Your Passions

Evaluating and assessing your passion is the first step in figuring out whether doing what you love is going to pay your bills. A great starting point is to make a list of all the things you love to do and start crossing out the things that will definitely NOT make a good business model. For example, if you love watching reality TV, that can quickly be crossed out as a business concept. Other ideas, like caring for animals, working on vehicles, cooking, or baking are all good ideas that can be then reviewed further.

After you have narrowed down the list to a few solid ideas, start thinking about whether or not it is profitable in your geographical area. Will consumers want to buy your products or services? Are they something that people need or want? If you want to design and manufacture bathing suits, but live in Minnesota, there is probably not a huge market for you to take advantage of (unless you consider opening up an online store). It is important to really think through whether or not a business model with your concept will be sustainable long term.

Figure Out is Your Passion is Sustainable

After settling on one or two ideas that may work, it is time to really dig into the financials and see if the profit is there. Calculate how much it will cost to start the business, how much it will cost to produce a single unit of your product, and what margin or how much you will sell that unit for. Also, use market data to predict how much you may sell each month or in a year. Finally, compare costs and expenses to your projected profit – if the numbers do not work, you may want to go back to the drawing board.

Will Your Passion Fit into Your Life?

Let’s go back to the bathing suit example. Let’s say you are living in an area where this business model will work - if you are spending 60 hours a week designing and producing your offering, does that leave you enough time to meet other goals in your life? Will you have enough time to spend with family and friends, take a vacation, or go back to school to get your business degree? Goals are much more than what you want to achieve in your business but also what you want to achieve for your life.

Passion is great and it drives a lot of the best owners to see success in their business. But, before they jumped in with their business model, chances are they went through all the steps to see if their passion was profitable and got very lucky that it was. Doing what you love is important, but being able to sustain your business and yourself while still being able to meet your personal goals is really what matters.

Are you still looking for that perfect work at home opportunity? Have you ever heard of Stacy O'Quinn? Stacy started out much like you and then found Dani Johnson training. He used  and uses her techniques in a travel business that has enabled him to work from home and make six figures every year. Stacy can help you do the same and all you need to do is give him a call! For more information about Stacy and his opportunity, click here. 

*Photo Courtesy of Anthony Easton via Creative Commons License

Learn from Others to Make Your Work at Home Business a Success

Finding Reliable Information to Cultivate Work at Home Business Achievements

In business, just like many other aspects of life, it takes learning from others’ experiences to be successful. Professionals working from a home based business do not have the luxury of walking to a coworker’s desk and asking for advice. Because of this, it is important to look for reliable information from other professionals in the home based business field.

Search for Legitimate Home Based Business Blogs

One way to get advice from other home based professionals is by reading their blogs. Many of these professionals maintain these sites to keep customers up to date on what they are doing or provide information that is relevant to their products or services. Seeking out this information is a great way to see what other professionals are doing and how their customers perceive it. It is also a way to gather ideas to use in one’s own business.

It is important to be cautious by making sure the information that is being found is from legitimate home business owners. Anyone can go online, create a blog, and fill it with content for the public to see. When looking for authentic blogs, try researching the company the blogger claims to own or work for and the individual themselves. If the business does not appear to be legitimate, chances are the company and the owners of the blog are not legitimate either.

Find a Work at Home Business Mentor

Another great way to learn best practices is to get in touch with another professional who has seen success in their business. It is amazing the things that can be learned when sitting down with someone who is experienced and picking their brain. If a great at home business or professional’s blog is found, why not reach out to them and ask for a meeting or phone call? This will be a great opportunity to learn firsthand the things that work and the things that do not in at home businesses.

Successful business practices do not come naturally for everyone – it is a normal occurrence in almost every industry for professionals to seek out other professionals for advice. Although this may be a challenge for those who own a work at home business a little research and making a connection with a mentor can create a huge difference.

Are you interested in learning more about a work at home mentor so start your own home business? Visit Stacy O'Quinn's business blog today to learn more. Click here.

Maintaining Balance When Working from Home

How to Be Both a Productive Work at Home Professional and Family Member

Working from home seems like a luxury to most people – sleeping in, working in pajamas and having an office on the couch sounds like bliss. But in reality, working in a home office takes a lot of discipline both as a professional and family member. Maintaining a work-life balance can be difficult for anyone, and even more so for those who work at home. Here are some tips to help home office professionals make the most out of their personal and working lives.

Weigh Benefits and Downsides of Working from Home

For those professionals who are considering moving to a home office, it is important to evaluate both the advantages and disadvantages. Some benefits of working from a home office include less money and time spent on daily commutes, business attire not required and flexibility with family time. Although all of these advantages may seem great, it is also important to take into consideration some of the downsides home office professionals may face.

One of the biggest disadvantages of being a home office professional is less interaction with colleagues – this can bring about an “out of sight, out of mind” mentality for some coworkers making communicating with them difficult. Another great disadvantage is that work will always be there. Because of this, it is easy to worker longer hours than in a traditional office setting, blurring the lines between working time and family time.  

Maintaining the Work at Home – Life Balance

There are a few key strategies that can help maintain a great work-life balance for at home professionals. The most important is prioritizing and organizing. Whether working from home or in an office, things still need to be accomplished! This applies to family time as well –dedicate family time to family and work time to work. Accessibility is also important in a great work-life balance. Being available to coworkers and loved ones equally helps maintain stability.

Working from home can have both advantages and disadvantages for many professionals. Although avoiding the “daily grind” may seem appealing, it is important to take the downfalls into consideration as well, such as colleague interaction and holding “normal” working hours. Maintaining the work-life balance can be difficult and being an at-home professional can add additional challenges.  By prioritizing and separating family time and work time, any at home professional can be successful!

*Photo Courtesy of Bob194156 via Creative Commons License

Good Service Always Shines

As consumers, we pay attention to how we are treated by those providing goods and services to us. As employees and work at home business owners, we should use those experiences to improve our customer service approaches. When it comes to earning money, good service is the key to success. Consumers remember the companies and people who treat them well and they pay repeat visits and make recommendations to their friends. You want to be one of the people they are recommending to others.

Customer service is important whether you are a business owner or work for others. As an entrepreneur, you are the face of the company and as an employee, you represent the values of the organization. Keep this in mind during every encounter with customers and use it to guide words and actions. It can take a long time to recover from just one bad customer service experience so avoid making any mistakes.

Good service makes customers feel like family and makes them want to return. It involves going the extra mile to ensure that customers are completely satisfied. People who provide good service are never rude or unhelpful and they never offer excuses. They see each service encounter through to the end, doing everything possible to address a need or issue. When appropriate, people providing good service empathize with those they are serving so customers do not feel like they are alone.

These may seem like small behaviors but they make a huge difference. Think about the last time you received excellent service. Would you do business with that individual or the company again? There is a strong chance that you would. In fact, you may already have become a loyal customer and may have referred others to this business. Customer satisfaction is not easy to find so when it is experienced, everyone should know.

On other side of this lie the benefits reaped by the provider. Excellent service leads to increased visibility for the business and the individuals representing it. It builds a positive reputation and this paves the way for additional business for the company and promotions for the individuals who provide outstanding service. Promotions mean more money and an increased level of responsibility, eventually thrusting many people into leadership roles. Being a leader is an enviable position.

Making good customer service a top priority yields many benefits over the short and long-terms. Serving others should become a way of life. If it does not come naturally, get training from the experts. Find a mentor, participate in a seminar, or purchase a self-study program. Do whatever it takes to achieve the skills and attitudes required to be the best service provider.

A satisfied customer is not difficult to spot. This individual leaves a service encounter with a smile, offers thanks, and promises to return. Make this the outcome of every service experience and your professional life will be fulfilling. Get started today to make your business and yourself shine in the eyes of every customer.

Keep Cozy Working From Home During Winter

While snow falls and winter winds whip, people who work from home are nestled comfortably in their office, working away. By eliminating commuting from their daily routine, they can work longer hours each day. No matter what Mother Nature holds, they remain productive. While other companies are closed following a snowstorm, home based professionals are busy earning the dough.

An online job is the easiest work to perform from home because all you need is a computer with an Internet connection. Tools like Skype have eliminated the need for a dedicated business telephone line. Other business professionals use a cell phone with an unlimited minute plan for both business and personal reasons.

Working from home has other benefits, including the large number of tax deductions. A portion of the mortgage and utility payments can be deducted from income taxes. Depending on the percentage they are used for business purposes, computer, phone, fax, printer, and Internet costs may also be deducted. Even expenses for office supplies can be tax deductions if they are used for business reasons.

When lunchtime comes, there is no need to drive to a local takeout joint or dine in a loud corporate cafeteria. Simply head to the kitchen and prepare a quick meal. Take a lunch break or work through lunch at your desk--the choice is yours. If the room becomes too cold, turn on a space heater or throw on a blanket.

There is no need to pay for expensive day care for the children or dog--just set them up in a corner of the room and get to work. By the time the day is over, you will have accomplished more than was possible when working in a corporate office. The large number of home-based opportunities makes this work arrangement possible for nearly anyone.