Are You Treating Your Home-Based Business Like a Hobby?

Here’s a pop quiz: What is the key difference between running a business and pursuing a hobby?  The answer is: You run a business to make money, while  a hobby is something fun that you do in your spare time.

So, do you have a home-based business or a glorified hobby?

Here are 5 Questions to Ask Yourself:

1.  Do you have a clear set of financial goals for your business? In order for your goals to be effective, they should be date certain (meaning completed by a particular time), measurable, and attainable…with some work.

2.  Is there a market for your product or service? To answer that question you must do some formal or informal market research to see if there’s a REAL need or demand for what you’re offering. Market research is especially critical if your business is restricted to a particular geographic area.

3.  If there’s a market for you product or service, can they afford to pay for it? For your business to be financially viable your pricing has to be what your market is willing to bear–if it’s too  high you won’t have many customers. (Also, if you are charging significantly more than your competitors, what is the added benefit for customers to buy from you?)

4.  If your market can afford to pay for your product or service, do you have a promotion and marketing plan to reach them? If your target audience doesn’t know that your product or service exists there’s no way that they can purchase it from you…even if the price is right.

5. Do you outsource work that doesn’t directly generate income for your business? The time that you are spending filing papers, going to the post office or getting supplies from Staples is time that you aren’t making any money.  You can use virtual assistants (who often work on an hourly rate) or college interns as inexpensive ways to get your “support” work done.

Tagged as: goals, hobby, home-based business, market research, marketing and promotion, outsourcing

{Add Comment Here}