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A Home-Based Business Online
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Practical home business ideas, opportunities
and solutions for the work-from-home
entrepreneur
Issue 139 : July 1, 2002
Sent to 12,437 Opt-In Subscribers
Editor: Elena Fawkner
Publisher: Fawkner Publishing
http://www.ahbbo.com
Contact By Email
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IN THIS ISSUE
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1. Welcome and Update from Elena
2. Home Business Idea of the Week
3. Feature Article - The Isolation Monster and How To
Slay It
4. Surveys and Trends
5. Success Quote of the Week
6. Advertise with AHBBO
7. Subscription Management
8. Caveat Emptor
9. Contact Information
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1. Welcome and Update from Elena
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Hello again and a warm welcome to all the new subscribers
who have joined us since the last issue.
This week's article is all about one of the dark sides of working
from home - the isolation monster. By being ready for it with
strategies for coping, you can work your way through the
transition from busy corporate office to too quiet home alone.
"The Isolation Monster and How to Slay It" is at segment 3.
As always, thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy this
week's issue.
Remember, AHBBO is for YOU! If you have comments or
suggestions for topics you would like to see addressed, or
would just like to share your experiences with other
subscribers, I want to hear from you. Please send
comments, questions and stories to Contact By Email .
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2. Home Business Idea of the Week - Menu Planner
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Have you ever tried to lose weight? If so, you know that
one of the greatest challenges is adhering to a calorie-
controlled program while still enjoying the good things in life.
A good imagination goes a long way also. Why not put your
experience to good use by creating menu plans for people
seeking to reduce their weight?
This is an ideal business to run on the internet. Do your
research and put together a few basic menu plans for
different daily calorie levels. You may consider 1,000, 1,500,
2,000, 2,500 and so on. Also include variations to cater for
special dietary requirements such as vegetarianism, non-dairy
etc.
You could set up your website to work like this. Offer a free
initial "consultation". Create a form for your prospect to
complete online. Using your research as your guide, include
such variables as height, current weight, sex, activity level
etc. Based on this information, your research will teach you
what range your prospect's weight should fall within and how
much he or she has to lose. If you figure that a safe weight
loss occurs at the rate of 1lb per week, you will be able to
calculate how few calories your prospect needs to consume
to be able to shed weight at that rate. Once you have
identified that calorie level, forward a menu plan for that
calorie level.
How you structure access to your service is something you
will need to decide upon. For example, you may decide on a
monthly fee for access to your weekly menu plans. You could
also offer an add-on services such as workout routines and
the like.
By publishing a regular newsletter you will be able to keep in
touch with your existing and prospective clients and attract
paid sponsorship.
And there is no need to restrict yourself to the weight-loss
market. How about people who struggle for ideas for everyday
menu planning or dinner parties?
-----
This is just one of over 130 ideas from the new "Practical
Home Business Ideas From AHBBO" e-book. Find out more at
http://www.ahbbo.com/ideasbook.html .
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3. Feature Article: The Isolation Monster and How to
Slay It
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© 2002 Elena Fawkner
Like most people, when you think about what it would be like
to work from home, you probably think of the obvious
benefits such as working your own hours, not having to face
a stressful, tedious commute every day, actually seeing what
your garden looks like in daylight hours, not having to
answer to a boss, being home when your children are, working
in a comfortable environment and so on. These are, of
course, some of only many wonderful benefits of working from
home.
Before long, though, you may begin to think back to your
previous life and realize you actually miss those umpteen
visitors who were constantly interrupting you when you were
trying to work, the walk in the park at lunchtime with your
best work-friend, drinks on Friday night after work, and
being able to run an idea past a colleague for instant,
valuable feedback.
Now, everything is just, well, quiet. And there's no-one
down the hall to go visit who's over age four. You find
yourself checking your email constantly, wanting to connect
to someone. You find yourself wishing the phone would ring.
You! The person who, when you worked in a job, cursed
constant telephone interruptions and thought voice- and
e-mail was the greatest invention since sliced bread.
Welcome to another reality of home-based business ... home
alone.
Here are some ways to avoid the isolation trap when running
a business out of your home:
1. Establish a Structure
Nothing is surer to reinforce feelings of isolation as time
that stretches as far as the eye can see like a straight,
one lane highway through a flat, barren landscape. Don't
start each day without a plan of what you intend to do. You
need to structure your time so that it is not some endlessly
vast terrain you must traverse alone. So write a to-do list,
preferably at the end of the day before, so that when your
work day starts you get productive straight away, before the
isolation blues have a chance to take hold.
2. Reach Out
When writing your to-do list, make sure you include at least
two things every day that require you to interact with
another person. Networking is a vital skill, whether you
work for someone else or for yourself. So make contacts
with people who can add value to your business, as well as
connecting you with the outside world.
Joining a professional group or club, attending seminars and
trade shows relevant to your business are all great ways to
meet new people who have similar interests and challenges.
Participate in the activities organized by these groups and
take a good supply of business cards with you.
3. Establish Joint Ventures
Another way to keep the isolation blues at bay is to joint
venture with other home-based business owners. Team up with
other businesses that offer complementary services to your
business. Not only will you send additional business each
other's way in the form of referrals, you're establishing
professional relationships with your joint venture partners.
4. Organize Your Own Functions
Once you've joined various associations and formed joint
venture partnerships, take the initiative and organize
functions that bring you all together. These could be
business-oriented networking sessions or purely social
get-togethers such as a barbeque in the local park. Either
way, you're forging a relationship with people in your new
arena, just as you did when you were working in a corporate
office. The only difference is that now you must take the
initiative to forge these relationships. These are not
people you are going to be seeing every day at the office.
5. Join a Gym
You are, of course, health conscious and physically active,
right? Of course you are! So, why not kill two birds with
one stone ... stay fit and meet new people. If you
establish a routine that allows you to be at the gym at the
same time every day, you will run into many of the same
people and get to know them.
6. Use the Internet
Making online friends is another way of staying connected
with the outside world. Be very disciplined here though.
It's way too easy to spend a lot of work time on social
email exchanges and in chat rooms. Don't fritter away your
time, but do seek out and maintain internet friendships.
7. Background Noise
Sometimes, it's only silence that reminds you you're alone.
If you come from a corporate environment, your workday was
punctuated by the constant background noise of telephones
ringing, other people's conversations, hysterical laughter
from the other end of the office and lunch trolley pages
over the intercom system. If you find absolute quiet
irksome, turn on the radio and have it playing in the
background while you work. Talk stations are good because
it's like having other people in the next room, but if you
find yourself becoming so engrossed with the talk topics
that you stop working and start listening, switch to a
music station.
There's no avoiding the fact that making the transition
from a corporate environment to a home-based business is
just that ... a transition. Most people will have to
grapple with the isolation monster in the early days of
their work-from-home career. But, as you can see, there
are many ways of keeping isolation and loneliness at bay
just by reaching out and forming new associations. Remember,
just because you work alone doesn't mean you have to go it
alone.
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** Reprinting of this article is welcome! **
This article may be freely reproduced provided that: (1) you
include the following resource box; and (2) you only mail to
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Here's the resource box to use if reprinting this article:
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Elena Fawkner is editor of A Home-Based Business Online ...
practical business ideas, opportunities and solutions for the
work-from-home entrepreneur.
http://www.ahbbo.com
_______________________________________________________________
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4. Surveys and Trends
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© 2002 Ryanna's Hope
PRIORITIES AND REALITIES OF SELLING!
People are more likely to log on to the Internet than they are to
call you or request info by mail. So make your Web site URL
stand out in a large font style. Most advertisers bury their URL
in tiny print, making it practically impossible to read. While your
telephone number, address and company name are all important,
your URL should get equal consideration if not a bigger type
size.
Consumers voiced concerns about the blurring lines between
online advertising and content on sites. More than half of users
(59%) say it is very important for news and information sites to
label their advertising as such and distinguish it from news and
information on the site. In addition, most respondents (60%)
had no idea some of the most popular search engines accept
fees in exchange for listing some sites more prominently than
others. A majority of users (80%) demand that search engines
disclose such business deals in their search results or in an
easy-to-find page on the site.
(source: consumer webwatch)
"NO PHONE, NO BUSINESS"
Modalis Research surveyed 1,000 US consumers between April
and May 2001 and found that 98% of respondents have used
the internet for some form of customer service help. The most
popular customer service element consumers desired on a
company's website was the general telephone number -- 86%
sought the number online.
INTERJECTING YOURSELF PERSONALLY
WorldCom Research says that US businesses should integrate
different forms of communication between customer and
company into their already existing structures. It notes that
56% of respondents think that the internet provides most
answers, but it is sometimes necesssary to talk to an actual
person.
THE "MUST HAVE" OF TOLL FREE NUMBERS
Findings in eMarketer's eCommerce: B2C Report support the
trends noted by WorldCom/Modalis. Cyber Dialog determined
in 2000 that 55% of US online shoppers thought toll-free calls
to a customer service representative were "extremely helpful,"
and 23% felt the same about an FAQ section on a company's
site. An Indiana University/KPMG study reported that in 2000,
79% of US online shoppers considered toll-free telephone
access a "must have" customer service feature.
ARE YOU ADVERTISING OUTSIDE THE NET?
In a study done by America Research regarding how many
read "Sunday newspaper inserts" the results revealed 39% were
reading them -- however, after supermarkets began using the
double coupon programs, that number immediately rose to .....
79%!
Check with your Sunday paper to see what they'll accept in the
line of flyers or postcards from you with your product or service
advertised. You just may get some startling results depending on
what you're selling!
AND... THE "NUMBER ONE REASON"....
eMarketer reported that in the beginning of 2001, the number
one reason US internet users did not buy online was because
customer service options were slow, poor or non-existent.
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5. Success Quote of the Week
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Learn to depend upon yourself by doing things in accordance
with your own way of thinking.
-- Grenville Kleiser
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8. Caveat Emptor
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Although all of the information presented in AHBBO is
published in good faith, I accept no responsibility as to the
accuracy or otherwise of the information presented. By making
use of the information contained in AHBBO the reader assumes
all risk that certain information may prove to be incorrect.
**I do not endorse any advertisements unless stated to the
contrary. Your money, your decision, your responsibility.**
All advertisements are accepted in good faith. However,
advertisers are solely responsible for the content and
accuracy of their classified advertisements and I give no
warranties, nor accept any responsibility, in relation to any
classified advertisement appearing in this publication. ALWAYS
carry out your own due diligence! Remember, if it sounds too
good to be true, it probably is.
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9. Contact Information
_______________________________________________________________
Elena Fawkner, Editor
A Home-Based Business Online
Contact By Email
http://www.ahbbo.com
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All Rights Reserved