October 21st, 2009 by Teri
A network is a connection of people whom you can tap for help, and those you would help without hesitation.
It’s a support system and they’re an asset; they’re your community.
Building a network is easy in theory but hard in practice. If you’ve done something to earn the trust of another, if you’ve kept a promise, or delivered as requested, you’re networking.
Don’t confuse this with making “friendlies” – people who share your “friendship” online but have no real or tangible relationship to you.
I have a network of the most fantastic hair suppliers in the world. From the start we were in the same industry.
Not too long ago I needed some Amphigory wigs. I couldn’t get them, because Amphigory does not ship to Canada, where I am.
But Sarah, of ikickshins.net does. And I pinged her one day, out of the blue, and asked for for a huge favour – if she could buy the wigs for me and ship them out.
I told her I’d pay her a finder’s fee for the hassle. She wouldn’t take a cent more.
This is the power of a network. From afar, it may look like Sarah and I are competition – we’re in the same industry selling similar products. But competitors don’t refer work to each other, don’t link each other and certainly don’t support each other in public forums.
No – we’re allies. And that’s the power of a network.
October 15th, 2009 by Teri
As home-based business owners, we wear many hats. We’re the CEOs, the CFO, the VP of Marketing, the labour and the janitor.
Moreover, we’re take pride in what we’ve accomplished and as a result tend to also be somewhat control freaks.
But there’s something that are just worth paying for – at least once. Bringing in a new perspective and a new approach helps keep things fresh.
Work in trade or pay cash outright, it’s worth doing for each of these sections at least once.
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October 13th, 2009 by Teri
I’ve written a few business plans in my time.
Business plans, in my opinion, are relics of times past. Back when running a business required external capital from either a loan or investors, these external sources would work their due diligence to make sure their money was safe.
Nowadays, anyone can start their own business and not require external capital. Small is the new big in business, especially online.
So full business plans seem rather pointless – asking for financial information, projections, and repetitive information.
With all that said, I also recognize that in writing my business plans, I was forced to answer questions I would have never asked myself otherwise. So instead of making you write an entire business plan to learn for yourself, here are the best parts of the business plan (with no part being the financial disclosure.)
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October 9th, 2009 by Teri
I started my business on auction sites. There’s tons of reasons to try your hand at them – I was able to start a customer base with auctions, network with sellers of other products and services and most importantly, have very clear feedback about my products posted by other people that I could point to when selling elsewhere.
With that said, there’s a few things you should know about auctions.
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October 6th, 2009 by Teri
Howdy ho all!
If you’ve been following me for a bit, you’ll realize that I missed posting last week.
Turns out the flu doesn’t care how busy I am, and while I would be able to post sick, I didn’t exactly have as much time when tending to my flu-ridden family.
Next Thursday you’ll see my post about Auctions. I promise. 
September 29th, 2009 by Teri
So a lot of folks when starting out have a hard time finding a customer base. Here’s 7 tricks I’ve used in the past to shore up my customer base.
1. Post a fantastic show-off of your products with amazing photos
If you’re a part of an online community, create something remarkable and post pictures of it. The key is being remarkable – don’t invest the time in creating a product just like everyone else’s. Being remarkable will set you apart and elevate your work. If you’re just posting photos of how much your product is like everyone else’s, you’re competing with more established sellers and the only place where you can compete with them is price. That’s just a game where you lose in the end.
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September 24th, 2009 by Teri
Everyone struggles with how to price their products. People compare their prices with others, pull numbers out of the air and generally just feel strange asking for money for something they made.
But pricing is easy. Just follow this simple equation:
Cost of materials + (Number of hours worked x hourly wage)
The part people stumble on is how much to pay themselves. By this time, you’re not learning to perfect your craft (at least, not if you’re intending to sell it as a business). You already know how to do it, you’re established in skill. So it’s not an issue about how fast or slow you work.
Moreover, you deserve to pay yourself at -least- minimum wage.
Setting prices isn’t hard – it’s just difficult because we tied emotionally to what we create and we have a hard time putting a price on it.
Now if you’re working in trade for portfolio photos, other products or services, it’s obviously different, but that’s another post for another day.
Next Tuesday’s post: Attracting new customers, especially when you’re starting up
September 22nd, 2009 by Teri
Being young has a lot of advantages. Wrinkle-free skin, the ability to drive at night and the ability to bounce back after an all-hours party.
With all that said, youth isn’t taken as seriously in business.
This post is part two of an ongoing series with a focus on why being young is a real advantage to you in business. This post wlll talk about you, your network of friends online, and how that’s a huge advantage when you’re starting up your own little business.
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September 17th, 2009 by Teri
Free is a dangerous thing, particularly to young entrepreneurs.
Our society has made young people feel as though their skills aren’t developed enough and that they don’t have enough experience, thus what they offer is somehow less valuable. So, in order do to things we love, we feel compelled to do them for free – to offer our services for free.
In this post, I’m going to talk specifically about how offering free services actually hurts sales (in terms of finding takers) and in what situation free is actually a very good thing to encourage future sales.
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September 15th, 2009 by Teri
Working a lame job that wastes your skills and talents may get you money, but does it develop skills for you for the future? Will it impress future employers? Does it empower you with a flexible schedule to do what you want, when you want? Probably not.
I understand the appeal. These days, you can walk into most fast-food joints with a resume and walk out with a job. Despite what you may think, however, it’s not all that much harder to start an online business. The beauty of the internet is that it’s demolished barriers to entry. You can start a business with virtually no money, you don’t need to pay rent for a sales space, and you don’t need to have a ton (or much of any) stock.
Moreover, if you’re under 30, you’re probably built for it. As a generation, we all are. In this post I’m going to talk about why it is that those of us under 30 (born after 1980) are perfectly suited to being entrepreneurs.
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