3 things you should do if you want to start a successful home business
November 13, 2017
There are lots of advantages to starting your own home business; you can be your own boss, you can set your own hours and you can decide on the direction of the company.
These benefits are part of the reason why so many people are leaving their full time jobs to become self-employed; every year over half a million Canadians become self-employed, with many of them choosing to run websites and home businesses. But how do you actually build a successful home business? From buying a domain name and setting up a website to learning marketing skills, there are a few essential things that you should do if you want to start a home business that will succeed.
Use surveys to learn more about your business
If you want to start a home business it is likely that you already have an idea; maybe you’ve already built a website for potential customers to check out – but either way it can be useful to use online paid surveys to find out more about what your target audience think about your services or website. This is because it will give you an insight into the mind of your customers, making it easier for you to alter and improve your website so that clients find them more appealing.
It is worth noting that there are a few illegitimate survey websites online, so you should make sure to use an online paid survey comparison site for reliable results.
Set up a quality website
One of the main reasons small businesses fail is due to poor marketing – and it is very difficult to have an effective marketing campaign if you don’t have a website. Millions of people use the internet as their main tool to find businesses and companies, so if you don’t have a website you could be missing out on thousands of customers.
However, a standard website probably won’t be enough; there are over 1 billion websites online, so you will need a high quality website if you want yours to stand out among the others.
How to make your website stand out
If you want to make sure that your website stands out it needs to be easy for users to use. This means it should be optimized for all devices, including mobile, and it should have clear and simple navigation links, as well as quick loading times. Today, most websites are ultra fast and slick, so a slow, clunky website will be very off-putting to users. It is also important to have a solid web design that is visually appealing and uncluttered.
Set up social media pages and a social media strategy
Social media is another vital marketing tool for businesses, and it can be a great way to build up extra revenue, so if you haven’t already you should set up business pages on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn. After all, checking social media is in the top three online activities for Canadians!
However, that isn’t all; you also need a strong social media strategy to help you reach new audiences and engage with customers. Try to aim to post on each website at least a few times a week, and it can be useful to vary your content if you have different target audiences using different platforms. Anyone can build a home business if they put the time and effort in. It is also important to embrace the internet as a marketing tool, as this is the one of the best ways for you to reach new customers without spending too much money.
By: Lucy Wyndham
