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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 148 : September 2, 2002
Sent to 13,194 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 - Running Your Own Race
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.
All the doom and gloom about the so-called crash of the
Internet economy got you down? Maybe even got you
thinking you may have to give up your dream of self-
employment and resign yourself to your J.O.B.? Well, think
again. The so-called great Internet shake-out was
nothing more than a much-needed 'correction' (to use
stock market parlance). This week's article shows you
why you should ignore what your mega competition is
doing (or, more likely, not doing) and just focus on your
own little slice of the pie. "Running Your Own Race" 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 - Contractor Referral
Service
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I've been putting up with a leaking shower head for weeks now
because I just can't seem to find the time to get someone in to
fix it. Every time I decide to do something about it I open up
the Yellow Pages to find a local plumber but am confronted by
so many choices I really don't know where to start. So I put it
aside until I "get around to it". If truth be told, I can't be
bothered with the hassle of finding a contractor who can come
out and fix my problem at a time that actually suits ME!
I don't want to hire some expensive plumbing company that
requires appointments days in advance and have to hang around
the house for half a day because they can't give me an exact
time of arrival. All I really want is a local handyman who can call
around on Saturday morning before I head out to do my grocery
shopping. And there are plenty of people like me out there.
Just think about the kinds of services the typical household needs
from time to time. There's plumbers, electricians, gardeners,
glaziers, carpet/furniture cleaners, appliance repairs, cleaning
services, painters and babysitters to name just a few.
At the same time, local tradespeople are wanting the local work
that's currently going to the big companies. Many of these
tradespeople would be prepared to pay you a commission or a
booking fee for referring customers. You may even offer an
attendance service where you attend at the customer's house
while the work is done to avoid the customer having to take time
off work or lose a Saturday morning.
So line up a group of reference-checked tradespeople and then
start advertising your referral service in the classified ads of your
local newspaper, by letterbox drop, flyers in the local supermarket,
even a Yellow Pages listing of your own.
-----
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: Running Your Own Race
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© 2002 Elena Fawkner
There was an article on the front page of the Los Angeles Times
a while back that caught my eye. The headline was "Small Dot-
Coms Thrive While Industry Giants Melt Down". Here are the
opening paragraphs ...
"Beneath the chaotic dot-com busts of the last half-year, an
overlooked breed of Internet companies - mostly small and
nimble - is thriving.
"They have no public stock, no Super Bowl commercials,
no million-dollar product launch parties, and no naming
contracts with professional sports stadiums. Their small
size has allowed many to weather a storm that has quickly
taken down hugely stupid, profligate and unlucky internet
firms.
"This year's grim portrait of the Internet economy has largely
been painted by big-money Wall Street nose dives such as
those by Priceline.com, Drkoop.com and Etoys.
"By contrast, the mundane dot-com survivors are small
operations with few employees that have trudged along, slowly
but steadily, in a parallel universe that more closely resembles
the so-called Old Economy."
Well, gee, no kidding. Finally the dust begins to settle and
the resulting landscape resembles, well, something suspiciously
like the real world. And WE, the "mundane dot-com survivors"
are the ones trudging along in a parallel universe? I think not.
We've always been firmly rooted in the real world. It's the "hugely
stupid, profligate and unlucky [and what's "luck" got to do with
it?] internet firms" that were always living in a parallel universe of
their own imaginations.
So what's the lesson for those of us still around after the great
internet shakeout of 2000? It's this: just run your own race.
Forget about what the so-called mega dot-coms are doing.
They're not operating in the real world, they're in some la la
land where venture capital is (or, more accurately, was) a
bottomless pit and the bottom line doesn't seem to matter.
Yet. What's the future for such businesses? They're destined
to bite the dust! I don't care how much money they have at
their disposal, sooner or later they have to pay the piper.
There is NO successful business model on earth that doesn't,
at some point, require black ink on the all-important bottom
line.
So, don't stress out over what your mega-competition is doing.
Look to your niche and focus on that. Ever tried emailing one
of those mega sites? I have. You get auto-generated
responses. No such thing as personal service. And how could
there be? They're in a parallel universe, after all, where such
things as basic customer service are delivered by autoresponders,
not real humans.
For you and me, the "mundane dot-com survivors", the trick
is to focus on *business* and not get caught up in the hype and
swirl of The Internet. We understand that the internet is but a
tool at our disposal, not some mystical plane where you can
afford to throw out antiquated "old economy" principles such as
the fact that revenues must exceed expenses in order to make
a profit.
The LA Times article profiled a small dot-commer who is
thriving despite the so called "melt-down". A sole-employee
business, this entrepreneur "turned her idea for a coupon-clipping
Web site into a profitable business by keeping expenses low".
Fancy that. Keeping expenses low. What an epiphany. The
business took a year and a half to turn a profit with expenses of
around $800 a month. It has remained in profit ever since,
generating a salary of between $75,000 and $125,000 a year for
its owner.
Even more startling is the fact that "the vast majority of Internet
companies have never seen a drop of venture capital or had a
public stock offering. Of the about 10,000 dot-coms in the United
States, fewer than 500 have publicly traded stock. Only a
quarter have received venture-capital money, depending instead
on money from more patient private investors, their own
checkbooks and credit cards or - remarkably - company revenues."
Fancy that.
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** Reprinting of this article is welcome! **
This article may be freely reproduced provided that: (1) you
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Here's the resource box to use if reprinting this article:
------
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
Larry Wack is still on vacation this week. Surveys and Trends
will return next issue.
------
SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION
Subscribe to "Surveys and Trends" with an email to:
and say 'survey' in the
subject line.
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5. Success Quote of the Week
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Those who are fired with an enthusiastic idea and who allow
it to take hold and dominate their thoughts find that new
worlds open for them. As long as enthusiasm holds out, so
will new opportunities.
-- Norman Vincent Peale
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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
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Elena Fawkner, Editor
A Home-Based Business Online
Contact By Email
http://www.ahbbo.com
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