Once you have done your research and know the kind of business you want to create as well as why you have chosen it and what it can do for customers, it is time to move into the testing phase. This is Beta Research, double assurance you are on the right track, or possibly the flip side could turn out to be true. That maybe you should reconsider this particular business venture?
Which Path is the Path?
Something can look good on paper, but in reality might be that it is not your best choice. But how do you know which way to go if you have never had a business before? This is not an easy question to answer, because there are no absolutes. There are different aspects that need to be clarified in order for you to decide which direction to go.
How are You Different from the Competition?
There are a couple of things to think about. First off, what is your relationship, in terms of knowledge and experience, with the category of business you want to start? Also, do you have something special about how you are approaching this category that will help you have an edge on others?
It is all About Timing
Do you have an exciting perk to your wares that your competition does not? Are you clear on who your customer is and where to find this kind of person? Have you figured out the METHOD HOW to locate your ideal customer so you can offer to them your products/services? What is the METHOD HOW to reach them at the moment when they want to buy?
DIGITAL: Do You Really Need Digital Marketing? This Will Help You Decide!
Some of you might be wondering why we have deemed this a “controversial” post. The answer is really quite easy. You see, the word “Digital” in the realm of online business and marketing is the term “Digital Marketing.” What it generally means is that any business promoting done online is Digital Marketing. And there are two primary marketing categories that factor in the specifics for most people in the business. Social Media and Ads. These two marketing methods are probably the most important components in the mind of a Digital Marketer. That said, the controversy in this article is that it has nothing in it about Social Media, nor is it recommending that you buy expensive ads on Social and Search.
Want A Thriving Business? Focus On DIGITAL! A Certain Kind that is
A thriving business is the goal of most Home Business Achievers. Because, after all, if not that why bother even starting a Home Business? But the next question the many Home Business Achievers out there tend to think next is, what is the best way to get traffic to your site? And the answer for most people is, yes, you got it…Digital Marketing and Social Media. But therein lies the problem and controversy. The reality is that most Home Business Achievers, especially those just getting started, do not have the hundreds or even thousands or more in their budget for Digital Marketing. to spend for promotion and marketing. And since most emerging entrepreneurs who want to be able to promote what they do, tend to bank on social media to be a free way to get started. “Free” as a concept is open to interpretation. If you think of Social Media as free marketing, it is important to simultaneously look at how many hours you put into building it. Are you making enough with your new Home Business to justify the hours you are putting into social? One of the biggest reasons that many have to say “No” to that question, is because they are aware that as time goes on, it gets harder and harder to enter new territory with campaigns because the social sites would rather you buy their ads instead of giving you good reach to, well, reach potential. So what is a rising Home Business Achiever to do?
Have You Heard? Organic DIGITAL Is Your Best Bet To Grow
But wait, you might be thinking, why is the above title title saying “Organic Digital” is a good solution. Did we not just talk about the lack of reach that social can have, unless you buy ads? Indeed we did. But the moral of the story is that if all you can afford is organic marketing and not the paid kind, there still are other ways for you to succeed. And now, please do not judge us, we must go to prepare for an info strategy that we are doing with 9 other websites of the 57 blogs of the Blog Coalition. Our marketing collaboration will be available at not cost for those Home Businesses Achievers are a fit with the “U.S. in Need” profile. What is the “Method How” to be sure you know when the limited run of info strategies will be made available, either check back here, or, see if “Method How” has become a reality yet. “Method How,” although without a hub here online, is the force behind that subject matter we are communicating about.
If You are Comfortable with it, Pick the Side that Needs Your Solution the Most
Home Business Digital “Success” can Come from Analyzing the 4th of July
A lot of people think that the 4th of July only symbolizes the “Independence” of “Independence Day” and the content of the “Declaration of Independence.”
Yes, it does have to do with those things, as well as our time to be grateful for the freedoms we do have, rather than worrying about what we do not have. But instead of focusing on the “negative” we should be focusing on the “positive,” right? Not necessarily! If you have been following along on this journey then you know that negative is a great thing, filled with opportunity.
Some people think that they should write a learning based digital product entitled something along the lines of “Method How to Be Happy in 3 Easy Steps” when they really should be writing “Method How to Stop Being so Dang Negative.”
Why? As you likely know, people take action based on fear of something. Stopping that fear is paramount to them. Whereas the path to happiness, is less interesting to people. Do not focus on happy. Focus on fear and how to get rid of it. Feeling nervous and afraid can lead to action, such as acquiring a learning-based product, faster.
Don’t Worry There Will Always be more Fear to Write About
The process of being alive is a treasure trove of negativity. Even so-called “happy people” are not actually happy all of the time. It is unlikely there will ever be a complete happiness state of being for any human.
The real secret is to enjoy the bounty of problems because there will always be people lining up to have them solved for them. And if you have a solution to a problem, and nobody else has the antidote, you have hit paydirt.
In other words, the person who has a solution that other purveyors of learning-based products do not, then you are lucky. Because if you are the only source, then customers will come to you. This only works of course if you have a “Method How” to get the message out regarding the solution to the people who need it.
The “Good News,” at least in terms of business is that once you solve the problem of getting rid of one fear, there are other problems popping up in the wings, ready for the curtain to open so they can step onto the stage of your website to purchase from you
Everything You Need to Know Can be Found in the United States of America
If you look at our fine country as of late, there is a lot of division. Guess what. Not a new thing. No. Not by a longshot. Both “sides” if you will, have proclaimed that they have the answer.
One side is selling the notion that you should “Just be happy.” While the other “side” claims that the truth is to “Just be negative.” Do you know which side is which?
It is a trick question actually, because both sides are both things. Hence, you cannot go wrong. Being happy about negative is a winner. Being negative about happy gets the award too.
Either way, if promoted carefully, both sides will purchase from you. Or, if walking the tightrope is not your thing you can always pick the side that is the hungriest for your solution and then go for it. Just be sure to digitally preserve it and fire up your eCommerce solution.
I do volunteer work on community blogs, a few of them specific to my Northern Manhattan neighborhood in NYC.
I create and do upkeep of approximately 60 online publications, such as those I worked on this week that include Digi Refer, DIY DIgi, Home Business Achievers, Home Business Awards and Home Business Digital.
II have been interested in technology and its impact on how human beings interact with each other, literally for decades.
In fact, have been using technology as a multipurposed tool, going all the way back to age 8 starting in 1970, moving forward through the 70’s, ’80s,’90s, 2000s, 2010s and now the 2020s.
A theme that has come up along the way is “repurposing.”
The following 7 steps are all about repurposing, which is terrific as both a time saver and project multiplier. There is nothing new in the following 7 steps, nor am I currently using them myself, but they are all based on things I have done with technology myself over the decades.
ONLINE LIVE: Imagine this. You have just sent your email newsletter out to subscribers, whereupon you begin to plan the one coming up in a week by staging a live and video event in any form you want available for free is so very many venues (recording the event of course). The content is on, let us say, 5 different topics that are really subheadings of an industry of some kind.
VIDEO PODCAST: Next you take the recording and put up an audio/video podcast version of it.
AUDIO PODCAST: This is followed by doing an audio-only version as well in other ways.
BLOGS. Next the audio is converted (if it has not already been done so) into as starter-text for 5 blogs that are of the same 5 subtopics you did in your first event live.
NEWSLETTER: The blog content is accessed by the newsletter occurring a week from the live event.
EDUCATION: The 5 topics of subheadings, are fused into an educational format such as an eBook or course, done for free for the good of the people who want to learn more about the header industry.
LEARNERS of all ages go over the the free educational eBook or course, giving their feedback on what they learned, as well as maybe making suggestions of what is missing and in a report from their personal blogs, give feedback. The feedback is then integrated into educational content to further enhance it.
Unfortunately, More Than Just Having a Passion is Needed Today to Succeed as a Home Business Owner
The reason that a large portion of those who start a passion industry business fail is quite simple. You see, you can become blinded about what will sell because if you like something a lot of others will like these things as well. Therefore, supporting your community per the suggestion of sites like USA Make a Differencecan be a great asset to your business. If you know your community well, whether it be online or in-person, you have a terrific gateway into better understanding what your customers really want.
Sometimes You Can Look Through Rose Colored Glasses and Miss the Big Picture
If you are aligned with having access to others who are in your niche and have the same interests as you do, this can be a good combination for business success. But it does not always work out like that, plus there is the added pressure that there are a lot of other people out there who are doing what you are doing, some even at lower rates than yours, so what do you do as a Home Business Achiever?
Enter Technology
For the most part being aware of emerging technological breakthroughs inside and outside of your industry is a good thing. If you find the technology websites in your areas of interest and sign up for their newsletter, you will frequently receive news of what is coming next. When new information triggers ideas for you in your industry, this is indeed a good thing. It means you can continue to be one step ahead of your competition.
But Do Not Forget to “Make a Difference”
Making a difference with your business is also important, because studies have shown that if you are helping a demographic that is related to your field, future customers when hearing about how you are helping others, can inspire them to action to work with you. Of course, it is also important to really believe in the causes you get behind. This is primarily how the Home Business Awards decide on their recipients.
Research, “Learning as You Go,” and Being Flexible are Key Aspects
I learn something new every day, and most days, several things, just as I am certain you do too, during this information age we live in.
The Challenge that Technological Evolutions Sometimes Create for Your Business
The challenge though is that if the need of the customer gets filled through a technological disruption of some kind due to which they can do what you do for them on their own because now there is a technology that does it for them a lot less expense than what you charge, you only have two options. The first is to throw in the towel and shut down your business. While the other is to pivot and see new opportunities.
Come Up with Something New and Different
It is imperative that you come up with something new that (for the moment) your competition does not possess. If you have created a product/service that your niche perceives as having unique value, you can then forge forward until you must do the process all over again.
Reinvent Your Business
Reinvent what you had done in the past and now fulfill what could be a slightly different need, either for your existing customers, or your reinvention strategy could require opening up to new kinds of customers. You then need to analyze if your existing customers will be motivated in a positive way to stay with you. If you decide to bring in new customers while regaining your existing ones you will find yourself in a juggling act! And as a literal former juggler of up to 4 objects at once, this is Yianni Stamas signing out and reminding you how it important it is to learn how to Juggle your passion, the digital domain and customer insight!
We here at Home Business Digital work hard to provide you with useful insights and resources. For example, in a recent blog article posted on January 12, 2021, there was an article featured that looked at a strategy to finding out ideas for creating products that fill a need of your audience:
Realize Your Dreams
“It is always about going back to the core idea of your business which is to solve a problem that your audience has. One of the easiest ways to achieve this is by thinking about your own business challenges and get crystal clear on what your obstacles are. Next you come up with an innovative idea to move the challenges aside and let you begin to realize your dream.”
Your Ecommerce Activity
We get asked sometimes what is the best home business to start? The answer to this of course is the recommendation that it be in an industry for which you already have knowledge or the passion for and therefore the motivation to learn. But these days that is just the beginning. Sure, if you already have a storefront and are a mom-and-pop business, you can just sell your items online.
Digital Transformation
But, for some home businesses this is not easy to do, especially if you provide a service that must be done in-person with the customer or client. You might consider selling a variation drawn from your own industry that can be ordered online and then sent to the buyer.
Getting Help from a Fulfillment Company
But wonder if you do not want to have to deal with the hassle of taking orders and then packing and sending items? An alternative would be to find a business that will do the fulfillment for you. This means they will ship your items to your customers. In some cases, you will supply the fulfillment company with an inventory of your products and then as orders come in, you notify them, and they will send them out for you.
Print on Demand
There is yet another way you can work with a fulfillment business. If you sell things like t-shirts or hard copy books that you wrote, there are businesses that will not only send out your orders for you, but will custom create the items for you. In other words, they will do the printing on demand of your books, or t-shirts etc.
Digital Goods
But probably one of the easiest businesses to run online (once set up) is one that specializes in digital goods. Digital goods include things like eBooks, software, and videos. All these things just need to be made as digital files first. Then when your customer puts in an order on your website, they are instantly and automatically taken to an area where they can then download your digital product.
Benefits of Digital
The exciting thing about this is that once you have created your digital product as a file, it can be downloaded as many times as you want. This does away with the challenges required for sending out physical goods inventory. The digital goods strategy works best with “How To” nonfiction topics that have information regarding solutions to problems that your customers really need right away.
Freelancer Digital Fulfillment Team
You can also sell digital services online that when the orders come in you can then delegate the actual work to freelance online workers. This works for things like customized app creation and websites etc. You do a little interaction with the customer via email or video chat. If needed they can email or send your things like images and logos, that you then present to your freelancer digital fulfillment team worked with remotely.
You may think you know all the digital tools you need including a website and social media. These tools are just the tip of the iceberg of what is possible. Tools can also include things like free generator tools where you go online and do things like create a logo or create a book cover or even create a business idea. Finding these and other digital resources is as easy as doing a keyword search with your favorite search engine.
Realize Your Dream
It is always about going back to the core idea of your business which is to solve a problem that your audience has. One of the easiest ways to achieve this is by thinking about your own business challenges and get crystal clear on what your obstacles are. Next you come up up with an innovative idea to move the challenges aside and let you begin to realize your dream.
Test Your Business Idea
Before you sink any of your money into a new business idea, test it first. One way you can do this is to go to a question board on which users ask questions regarding businesses they want to launch or have already launched and need help making them happen. If you register as an expert for such a site, you can then begin to help folks online with their business issues. Once you find out a question that gets asked again and again, chance are you have found the key to solving a problem many members of your audience has. Now you can start using digital tools to start your digital home business!
John Yianni Stamas of USA Make a Difference talks about the role that a positive outlook of hope combined with digital is the recipe for success for America.
HOME BUSINESS DIGITAL
What is your connection to USA Make a Difference and how are you using “digital” to work toward empowering our country?
JYS
Sometimes in science fiction movies, technology is portrayed as an evil force overtaking us as human beings as the lines blurr. I’m not saying that this eventually could not happen, but for the moment digital is our friend. You know that being that you are from Home Business Digital.
HOME BUSINESS DIGITAL
How is digital our friend?
JYS
Digital is just a tool, and like any tool, the tool can’t build the house. You need to gain the knowledge about using these tools. Sites like your can help disseminate information on how to empower your career, small business, startups or solopreneur venture with the conscious use of digital.
HOME BUSINESS DIGITAL
You seem to be involved with many organizations throughout the internet. Can you tell us more about that?
JYS Yeah, I have a lot of interests so I find myself involved with many different organizations such as yours. This desire to create using many different tools can be a blessing or a curse. A curse when I over extend myself, but a blessing when the tools come together for a result.
People outside of “The City” ask me what is going on with New York. Mostly folks seem interested in whether or not Manhattan is on its way back to normal? The answer I usually give is that it is still the greatest city in the world but it definitely has some kinks.
Danger Danger
For example, I have a doctor’s appointment coming up but have to very carefully what means I should take to get there. What is the least dangerous? Taking a car service doesn’t make sense because it is al long drive and expensive. What about the subway? You have to be careful with stations. Some are dangerous.
Uber Changed New York
Then how about the bus? The regular bus, forget it. Aside from the fact it will take a very long time, buses are overcrowded, even in the Pandemic, and you can run into some surly characters spot you and follow you out of the bus. Then there is the express bus. It goes faster with fewer stops but is more expensive. You can still find yourselves in the cross hair of a person up to no good. You might notice I didn’t list cab. This is because they are few and far between these days. Uber and others have caused that.
A Solution Outside of the Box
So what then? I am going to find out if I can meet with the doctor remotely. Makes sense, right? This is after all Home Business DIGITAL!
Home Business Digital is unfolding, and like many new things that are growing, it can be painful. You see Home Business Digital is connected to a large network of participants, each with a different role to play. In the case of Home Business Digital, its part in a larger mission, is to create for you the digital tools YOU need for whatever needs you may have.
Climb the Hill
As you know, you have forces within as well as external hills to travel up. Our hope is that by giving you the physical and abstract devices you need, it will make your trip easier. And we are here to support you whatever is keeping you from crashing through the wall.
Take a Deep Breath
What are you doing with your home business? Are you early in your journey, or have you been bashing your head against the mirror for some time? You see your reflection standing in the way. Do you destroy the looking glass to make your way forward? No of course not. You set it down and out of the way, then take a deep breath and proceed!
