Self Employment Ideas With Low Start-Up Costs

Stress, boredom, low-pay, or having an entrepreneurial spirit may all be causes for wanting to leave a 9 to 5 job and become self-employed. Having a goal to become self-employed starts with figuring out what it is you can do to start your own business. Not everyone who wants to work for themselves know exactly what to do and where to start. Below are some low-cost start-up ideas that may get your creative juices flowing.

Freelance Work - If you have a skill such as web programming, copywriting, or other technical skill, then freelance work will be an easy transition. You can simply market yourself and as you get more clients, word of mouth will soon work in your favor. Sooner or later, you will have more work than you can handle - this of course depends on the level of service you provide and the quality of your work. Start-up costs should remain low as you will need at the most: business cards, a web site, software (depending on your skills), hardware (computer), and office supplies.

Drop shipping - I'm sure you have heard of drop shipping before. If not, it is a very low-cost way of selling physical goods without having to buy a ton of stock up front. Most people who use drop shipping have online stores, collect payments from customers, and forward on the orders to the drop ship company which fulfills and ships the products directly to the customer. Most businesses utilize eBay to take advantage of their huge customer base. The costs for this remain relatively low since there is no up front stock to buy. You may have to purchase shopping cart software for your web site, a merchant account, or pay fees if you go with eBay.

Self Employment Ideas With Low Start-Up Costs

Self-publishing on the Internet - Do you have a love for writing? Do you have a skill or talent that you can turn into a how-to guide? You can begin self-publishing your own information products and market them over the internet. What makes this low-cost is because the most you would need to purchase is a web site, web hosting, and possibly some advertising. You could begin this business around 0 or so.

Out of the above examples of low-cost self-employment ideas, my favorite remains self-publishing. Information will never run dry and as long as you are able to help solve someone's problems, there will be a customer base ready to purchase your products.

Self Employment Ideas With Low Start-Up Costs
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How To Create An Effective Business Development Strategy

The Business Development Strategy is used to underpin your main Business Plan and essentially it sets out a standard approach for developing new opportunities, either from within existing accounts or by proactively targeting brand new potential accounts and then working to close them.

This document highlights the key issues you should consider prior to compiling your own plan and will hopefully guide you logically through a proven framework.

The key word is 'Strategy', because you are creating a workable and achievable set of objectives in order to exceed your annual target.

How To Create An Effective Business Development Strategy

Your Starting Point:

The key words are Who? What? Where? When? Which? Why? How?

For example:

Who - are you going to target?

What - do you want to sell them?

Where - are they located?

When - will you approach them?

Which - are the appropriate target personnel?

Why - would they want to meet with you?

How - will you reach them?

If you have conducted regular account reviews with your key accounts during the previous twelve months, you should be aware of any new opportunities that will surface during the next twelve months. You will also, when assessing what percentage of your annual target usually comes from existing accounts, need to review data over the last two or three years. (It is likely that you can apply Pareto i.e. 80% of your business will probably come from existing accounts and in fact 80% of your total revenue will come from just 20% of your customers/clients)

You will be left with a balance - i.e. "20% of my business next year will come from new opportunities" - therefore you can then begin to allocate your selling time accordingly.

Ideal Customer Profiling:

Pro-active business development demands that we create an ideal target at the front end - i.e. an "Ideal Customer Profile." The essential characteristics you will need to consider are:

- Industrial Sector

- Geographical Location (Demographics)

- Size of organizations (Turnover, number of employees etc)

- Financial Trends

- Psychographics - i.e. Philosophical compatibility

Many strategic sales professionals merely profile their best existing clients and try to replicate them - there's nothing wrong with doing this but we should always remember that we are seeking an IDEAL and we can always improve on what we already have.

'New' Opportunities From Within 'Old' Accounts:

Because it costs approximately ten times as much, to first locate and then sell to a new customer as it does an existing one (although these costs are rarely reflected in the cost of sales), it is essential that we fully develop our existing accounts working upwards, downwards and sideways, thus making the most of the (hopefully) excellent reputation we have developed already.

Most corporate accounts have several divisions, departments, sites, even country offices and you must satisfy yourself that you have exhausted every possible avenue. Don't be afraid to ask the question "Who else should I be talking to in your organization"?

This is an extract from my FREE eBook - "How to Construct an Effective Business Development Strategy" which is available for download - please see details below.

Copyright © 2012 Jonathan Farrington. All rights reserved

How To Create An Effective Business Development Strategy
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To download my new revised FREE eBook "How to Construct an Achievable Business Development Strategy" please visit my personal site The JF Consultancy, - www.jonathanfarrington.com

Copywriting - The Power of a Story

Every good story has a beginning, a middle and an end. Producing sales writing follows exactly the same pattern and this article will show you how.

Headline

This is where it all starts. Your headline has to capture your readers' imagination and therefore should contain or be lead by a benefit:

Copywriting - The Power of a Story

"Miracle White gets stains out first time - and that's a promise!"

When starting a piece like this, it is essential that the beginning of your copy continues the same theme as your heading:

"Tired of washing and re-washing clothes because of stubborn stains? Well, now's the time to take action..."

That is a very cheesy example, but I think it gets the point across.

Beginning

The beginning is where you'll state a problem that needs solving. It will highlight the topic of the writing and gives it purpose. You can also start with something pleasurable - this works well when selling a product that has a desirable effect on the user (i.e. makes them more attractive etc.)

Middle

This is where you have to convince your reader your product is right for them.

You will introduce the product which will solve the problem you highlighted at the beginning of your copy. So continuing the washing power theme, it could go something like:

"Now you can remove all stains first time with Miracle White. Re-washed and extra products will be a thing of the past. Now you just need one product for incredibly clean washing every time."

End

Up to now, we've just been talking about the product and the problem it will solve. Now you can bring in your reader. This section is the call to action - where you tell your reader what to do next:

"Get your free sample now by calling xxxxxxxxx"

So, as you can see, being a copywriter is like being a story teller. Just follow the traditional format for a story and you'll create great copy.

Copywriting - The Power of a Story
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Sally Ormond, Briar Copywriting, is a professional freelance copywriter, SEO website copywriter and advertising copywriting with extensive experience in both B2B and B2C markets.

To have a chat about how she can help you send an email to sally@briarcopywriting.com or call +44(0)1449 779605.

Copywriting - Make Money When You're a Brand New Copywriter

Do you know that it's a strength, not a weakness, to be new to copywriting? As a new copywriter, you'll charge less, and this makes you appealing to clients with a low budget.

Here's how to make money when you're a brand new copywriter.

1. Glory in Your Inexperience - You Can Be More Creative Than the Pros

Copywriting - Make Money When You're a Brand New Copywriter

Copywriting is salesmanship in words, but it's also a creative art. As their experience grows, copywriters struggle to maintain "beginner's mind" because their experience gets in the way.

As a newcomer, you've got beginner's mind built-in. You'll find that not only do clients with low budgets want to hire you, large companies with big marketing budgets want you too - you've got freshness the old pros lack.

However, your beginner's mind is only a plus if you realize that it is. This means, that when you're new, promote yourself that way.

2. Promote Yourself As a Newcomer

"I haven't got any experience!" is the #1 complaint I hear from my copywriting students. Here's what I tell them. Your lack of experience is a plus. You need to promote yourself as a newcomer; don't fudge and claim experience you don't have.

Many clients will want to work with you, not only because your fees are lower, but also because you can focus on their projects. You don't have a huge stable of clients, and you're not juggling ten projects at a time, so you can give your clients your undivided attention.

3. Keep Studying: Get a Mentor

Copywriting is a huge field. As you gain experience, you'll specialize. You may specialize in direct response, audio visual copywriting, or copywriting for the Web - or something else entirely.

When you're new, it's vital that you keep studying, and also that you have a mentor. A mentor will gauge your strengths, encourage you, and will help you to build your client list.

A mentor is gold; get one any way you can.

4. Testimonials Are Worth Money

In your first year as a copywriter, focus on getting testimonials from your clients. Ask for them. Most clients will happily comply - they're business people, so they know what it's like to be starting a new business.

5. Focus on Marketing Yourself

Get into the habit of doing at least one marketing task every day, even when you're booked solid with projects. Marketing yourself is vital. These days, copywriters are in huge demand, so if you're not turning away clients the only possible reason is that you're not marketing yourself.

Keep marketing. This means: get a Web site and blog. Send out news releases. Network. Marketing is fun, once you get into the swing of it. The better you get at marketing, the higher your income.

I hope I've convinced you that being a fresh, new copywriter is a great thing to be - start your career with confidence.

Copywriting - Make Money When You're a Brand New Copywriter
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Want guidance as you learn copywriting? Angela's "Copywriting Master Class - Ten Weeks to Copywriting Genius" at http://angelaswritingclasses.com/Class/copywriting.html helps you to start and run your own copywriting services business under the guidance of a top copywriter.

Angela Booth's ebook "Seven Days To Easy Money: Copywriting Success" at http://abmagic.com/Copywriting/copywriting.html takes you from novice to pro copywriter in just seven days. Packed with information, the ebook includes exercises which become your copywriter's marketing processes and portfolio. You could be writing your own copy, and signing up your first copywriting clients within two days.