Start a Home Based Freelance Writing Business

January 31, 2012

Do you enjoy writing and want to explore a freelance writing business?  Freelance writing is an excellent choice for a home business.  If you enjoy writing and research, this post provides resources and suggestions to start your search.  An additional plus to a freelance writing business is the low-cost startup money needed.  A computer, Internet connection, and word processing software are the basic requirements.

Requirements:

* Writing Skills
* Computer
* Internet Connection
* PayPal/Bank Account/ Credit Card
* Phone/Mobile
* Writing Skills
* Time

Types of Freelance Writers

Many different types of freelance writing work are available in the marketplace; some are given below:

Web Content Writing –There are unlimited numbers of topics available for web witting. Thousands of websites are launched each day. Sites need good content, providing a wonderful opportunity.

Technical Writing – Writers with technical knowledge or expertise in fields like computer hardware, software, or programming can provide technical content for various client needs.

Advertising Writing – An ability to write eye-opening product review/service offers that attract users and subsequent purchases could make an excellent candidate for this position.

Medical Writing – Pharmaceutical companies need technical writers familiar with medical terms and FDA requirements.

Blogging – Similar to web content writing, many topics are available in this field.  Blogs are dynamic and require more frequent content than websites.

Resume Writer – Many job seekers don’t understand current resume techniques and terms.  At this time and for the foreseeable future, this is an in-demand field.

Business Plan Writer – General knowledge about business and business plan writing allows you to provide expertise to clients ranging from large companies to small.

Find Clients for Your Freelance Writing Business

Friends/Professional Network – Increase your friends/professional circle. Social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin and others are valuable networking tools.  Mention your interest in freelance writing and provide samples of your work.

Website/Blog – A very valuable public display that displays your talents and expertise.  Potential clients can either discover your sites by accident or by referral.  Write for your own site in your personal time – hopefully because you enjoy it – and add adsense or affiliate products for extra income generation.

Resources To Find Freelance Writing Work Online:

* Odesk.com – This is a global job marketplace for small and medium sized business to bid a job, hire & manage.

* eLance.com – This is the world’s leading site for online work. Share your profile for jobs, find clients and more.

* Guru.com – There are 250000+ freelancers. Find jobs and get hired.

* About.com – Looking for ‘guides’ experts.

* American Society of Business Publications Editors

* Associated Press

* Copydesk

* Freelance BBS

* Freelance Switch

* Freelance Venue

* Freelance Writing Gigs

* Magazine Publishers of America

* Media Bistro

* Morning Coffee

* Online Writing Jobs

* Poe War

* Seed

* Sunoasis Jobs

* Telecommuting Jobs

* Whisper Jobs

* Work At Home Mom

* Write Jobs

* Writer Find

* Places for Writers

* Publishers Marketplace

How much do freelance content writers earn?

According to an informal pole by About.com: “…44% averaged under $1000/month, 27% brought in between $1000 and $2000 per month, and 28% brought in over $2000 per month. Keep in mind that less than half of these respondents worked 8 hours/day on average, and less than half had more than one year of experience.”1  “A recent look at Elance.com showed the day’s top article writer had made about $16,000 via Elance in the past 6 months.”1

Common Problems with Freelance Writing Careers

# Lack of Time:  Starting a freelance writing business requires a goal and a plan.  Refer to an earlier posting on this blog about starting a business while employed.  A daily log of time spent on various tasks may help budget time effectively.  Review this log frequently, identify trends, and make adjustments to spend more time on writing!

# Waiting for the right time:  Many freelance writers wait for the “right time” to start and get caught up in daily activities and responsibilities.  Frequent excuses include vacations, too tired, not in the mood to write, etc.  No time is better than the present.

# Need to know more:  No one is perfect and knowledge is limitless and continually expanding. Just start your business. Success and failure is a better teacher than any book, magazine or other resource.

# Money: If you have a computer and an Internet connection, you have everything needed to start a success freelance writing business.  Even if you don’t own either, your local library or community colleges will provide both, free of charge in most cases.

Edited by Dion D. Shaw

Dion D Shaw is the founder and owner of Homepreneurs.

This article excerpted in part from:  http://www.makemoneyfreemoney.com/how-to-start-a-freelance-writing-business/

Reference

1) http://freelancewrite.about.com/od/basicsoffreelancing/f/faqmoney.htm

Homepreneurs.  New Day.  New Opportunities.

Disclaimer

Homepreneurs does not endorse nor have any relationships with any of the services listed.  Homepreneurs receives no compensation or consideration for its suggestions.  Homepreneurs strongly urges all interested parties to conduct research and accepts no responsibility for any losses incurred.

© Homepreneurs 2010 – 2013

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Home Business With Arts and Crafts

January 30, 2012

Turn your hobby into a money-making machine.  Crafts and crafting are perhaps the ultimate home business that is fun too!  The typical crafter displays at local or regional craft shows; higher end artisans travel around the country.  Liam Hughes, profiled as a Homepreneurs Success Story, is an example of a nationally known artist that attends many shows around the country.

Here is a small listing of art & craft shows in the Midwest for 2012 .  Use Google search and the newspaper to find many local and regional shows.  Once on the show circuit, make friends with the other artisans and find out what where the hot shows are and what products are selling well.

While craft shows are the obvious choice for selling your product, other options exist.  Thanks to the Internet, crafters and artists now have multiple distribution channels including Facebook, Twitter, Blogs, personal websites and the specialty sites listed below:

Art Fire

“We have crafted a complete market place and community for handmade artists and those who love handmade items where artisans can list handmade crafts for sale, absolutely free of charge! There are No listing fees, no final valuation fees, no fees, no kidding!”

Fees: Not for the basic option; upgrade options are available

crowdSpring

Claims to be the #1 marketplace for logos and graphic design.  “crowdSPRING is an online marketplace for creative services. For buyers, crowdSPRING is a place to post a creative project, watch the world contribute ideas and choose the one they like. For creatives, crowdSPRING is a global stage for creativity where title and experience don’t matter.”

Fees: None noted.

Ebay

The auction site known ’round the world can be an excellent place to sell your handmade items. Ebay even has a Guide to Selling Crafts for crafters.

Fees: Product listing fees apply

Etsy

Etsy is a popular web site for crafters of all kinds, generally homemade items.

“We connect buyers with independent creators and shop owners to find the very best in handmade, vintage and supplies.”

Fees: 20 cents to list each item for four months and a 3.5% transaction fee on items sold

FaveCrafts

If you love to craft and own a digital camera, http://www.FaveCrafts.com wants to pay you for your craft ideas. Submit your craft project or craft tutorial to FaveCrafts and earn $15 for each article published on the website. All craft techniques are welcome, but projects must include a materials list, instructions and at least one finished project photograph. For details on how to submit your craft idea, click here.

FaveCrafts.com is also looking for crafters interested in producing video for the website. Earn $25 for each video published on FaveCrafts. Video submissions can include craft techniques, how-to videos and craft project videos. To get started producing video for FaveCrafts, contact the FaveCrafts editorial team with 3-5 ideas for craft videos you can produce..

SmashingDarling.com

In their own words, “SmashingDarling is the online destination for anything new and emerging fashion, bringing together independent fashion designers with individuals who seek a unique fashion edge.”

Set up an online boutique (or several) at this fashion-focused site and sell your unique clothing and accessories.  No household items.

Fees: Free to set up; 18% transaction fee on all sales

YouCanMakeThis.com

If you’re great at coming up with new projects, and can capture the details in easy-to-follow how-to guides, you may be able to sell your patterns and crafting directions at YouCanMakeThis.com.

Fees: Profit-sharing model

Zazzle

An on-demand, made-to-order marketplace that’s perfect for anyone who has a great idea for customized clothing, mugs, magnets, buttons, skateboards, and more!

No need to purchase inventory. Create a free online gallery to showcase your products!

Fees: Free

Many more craft websites here: http://www.artcraftmarketing.com/topsites/ .

Compiled by Dion D Shaw

Dion D Shaw is the founder and owner of Homepreneurs

Partial article source:

http://ratracerebellion.com/jobs-crafting.html

Homepreneurs.  New Day.  New Opportunities.

Disclaimer

Homepreneurs does not endorse nor have any relationships with any of the services listed.  Homepreneurs receives no compensation or consideration for its suggestions.  Homepreneurs strongly urges all interested parties to conduct research and accepts no responsibility for any losses incurred.

© Homepreneurs 2010 – 2013

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Business Startup Alternative: Buy an Existing Business

January 29, 2012

Starting a business from scratch – home business or small business – is often an iffy and possibly pricey process.  Legal issues, licensing, permits, location, building a customer base – to name a few – are time-consuming with no guarantee of success.  Even if launching goes well, the break-even point could be some years away, even with the best of research and planning.

There are other options for would-be entrepreneurs: buying an existing franchise or business.

Purchasing a current concern has advantages and some drawbacks also.  We’ll step back from the ‘yeah – that’s it!‘ moment and examine the issue.

Why to Consider a Purchase

- Ideas – you suffer from a lack of solid business ideas for a geographic area, level of expertise or interest

- Age – when laid off after a certain point, age discrimination exists.  Period.  Consulting may be an option, but you are not likely to be a new hire at 60.

- Opportunity – that little corner cafe you’ve always loved is up for sale and makes great muffins …

- Income – retirement income may not be enough.  Do you need to supplement?  A business income may be appropriate.

Considerations

- Money – when starting any business, some amount of money is needed.  Reserve funds are important to have in case of emergencies.  Upfront capital may be necessary too.

- Tax advantages – part of a purchase may be financed with ROBS or Rollover as Business Start-up.  This takes money from a 401k plan and invests it in a new venture.  The regular early withdrawal penalty doesn’t apply in these cases (check with a qualified professional to confirm).

- Paperwork and due diligence – ensure you are getting the best deal by working with a broker or carefully researching the market, the customers, the vendors, and the legal options. 

With the global economy still mired in mud, the business market is a buyers market.  Are you interested?  Here are some good resources to start with:

- International Business Brokers Association or ibba.org

- BizBuySell.com

- Business-Broker.net

Buying businesses is an excellent alternative to starting one up, provided the time and circumstances are right.  Take a look at the idea, it may be worth your time.

By Dion D. Shaw

Dion Shaw is the founder and owner of Homepreneurs

Homepreneurs.  New day.  New Opportunities.

Disclaimer

Homepreneurs does not endorse nor have any relationships with any of the services listed.  Homepreneurs receives no compensation or consideration for its suggestions.  Homepreneurs strongly urges all interested parties to conduct research and accepts no responsibility for any losses incurred.

© Homepreneurs 2010 – 2012

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7 Ways To Promote Your Business Online For Free

January 25, 2012

Every business needs promotion, regardless of size. This is especially true for the home and small business ventures that don’t have large box stores or sell online.  The big question: what are some effective yet cost-effective ways of marketing?  In the article, 7 Ways to Promote Your Business Online for Free, Kim Bhasin brings out several suggestions that are fairly easy and FREE.  Free does not mean cheap, ineffective or any less valuable.  To the contrary, many of Bhasin’s suggestions use the Internet as a communications media.  Using the Internet allows for potentially huge audiences and customers.  Nothing in history compares to the power and reach of the Internet as a marketing medium.

————

7 Ways To Promote Your Business Online For Free

By Kim Bhasin

You may not have wads of cash to spend on marketing in the early stages of your startup, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t effective ways to get your brand out there.

Before the Internet, small businesses only had a few ways to market their products cheaply, through methods like printing out fliers or sponsoring little local events. Now there are all kinds of opportunities out there on the Web—you just need to know where to look.

Here are seven ways to promote your business online that won’t cost you a dime:

1. Use the three big local listing services

Registering your business with Google Places allows it to be found more easily on Google searches and it shows up on Google Maps. All you have to do is fill out the form and register, then get your business verified through their confirmation process, which can be done either with a phone call or snail mail. Yahoo! also has a big database of businesses called Yahoo! Local. It’s free, and is certainly worth the few minutes it takes to set up. Microsoft’s Bing has a similar service that’s easy to sign up for.

2. Embrace social media

Social media isn’t just a tool to gain exposure—it has now become a necessary time investment for every business to make. You can tie in ads and offers on your Facebook page and have a direct channel with your customers on Twitter. Networking on LinkedIn—both at the personal and company level—can be another way to help your startup.

3. Start a blog

A blog not only helps your company get its name out through followers, but is a way to connect with your consumers more directly. But remember that one of the major keys of blogging is to keep your stream updated as frequently as you can. A dormant, abandoned blog is worth nothing.

4. Put up multimedia on YouTube and Flickr

YouTube provides a free way to distribute creative promotional videos, but in order to succeed you must put up content that people want to view and are relevant to your business—a simple ad will not work. A Flickr profile can also help by giving you one place to compile all the photos for your business, and allows you to link back to your website.

5. SEO your company website

Search engine optimization cannot be underestimated in the world of constant Googling. Pick up a book or head over to an online how-to-guide on SEO and make sure your site is primed for performance on search engines.

6. Press releases

Every time your business does something newsworthy, don’t hesitate to shoot off a press release—maybe folks will pick up on it. They’re a powerful media tool to use to help generate publicity, and having free distribution of them is a bonus. There are dozens of websites out there that you can use for your press releases, such as PRLog and 24/7 Press Release.

7. Join a relevant online community and contribute

Every niche has communities online that you can get involved in. But just signing up for a forum and posting every once in a while about your business isn’t beneficial for anyone, and will likely just annoy people. Actively contribute and build a rapport with the community, while keeping your business out of it. Passively promote your business by putting a link in your signature or mentioning it only when the context is appropriate.

Kim Bhasin is a reporter for the War Room section of Business Insider. Previously he worked for a financial and strategic management consulting firm.

He is also currently a graduate student in Business and Economic Reporting at New York University. Kim holds an MBA in Strategic Management from Pace University and a BSc in Business Administration from Sacred Heart University.

Article Source:

 

http://www.openforum.com/articles/7-ways-to-promote-your-business-online-for-free?intlink=us-openf-nav-ymal-t9a7pv4r6

 

Homepreneurs.  New Day.  New Opportunities.

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Start Your Business Planning Now

January 22, 2012

Chris Gattis left an excellent comment on Homepreneurs blog today: “…Most small business start-ups begin with bootstrapping techniques to offset a lack of cash. However, many hopeful entrepreneurs are sitting on the sideline waiting on the economy to get better before starting. Now is a great time to get started. The generally down economy will keep you focused on finding sales and keeping costs in check. Once the economy picks up, and it will in time, you’ll have an organization and systems in place ready to leverage for growth.”

In our opinion, Chris is right on target.  The economy is still down, but starting to show signs of life.  Planning for a small or home business should start now.  As suggested, bootstrapping – to help oneself without the aid of others – is cost-effective and an educational way to learn all aspects of running a business.

Following the idea of bootstrapping, we’d like to suggest some resources and articles that can help you in this effort:

Financial

This is often the biggest issue when considering entrepreneurship.  Here are some suggestions to consider:

Use personal savings to start.  Ask family members if they can add a little here and there, look at CrowdFunding options, read these articles for startup funding options and creative funding ideas.

Benefits

Next to financial concerns, many younger entrepreneurs are concerned with medical benefits.  This is a valid concern, given the lack of national heathcare in the United States and the high cost of buying medical plans for yourself and perhaps a family.  If you currently have a job and are planning on quitting to start your own business, take the COBRA option from the employer.  This will cover medical costs for up to 18 months though you will pay 102% of the personal plan cost.  Paying for COBRA coverage will be far less expensive than an independent plan.

Consider a hybrid of working part-time and running your business on the side.  Hompreneurs recently posted 2 lists of companies that provide benefits for part-time employees.  For as little as 20-25 hours per week, one can get medical coverage and more while working on your dream.

You may also consider starting a business on the side while working your full time job.  This allows you to maintain benefits and financial health while starting the business you’ve always wanted.

Business Ideas

Startup ideas are easy for some, very difficult for others.  Homepreneurs lists dozens of home business ideas for you to consider or perhaps spark an idea of your own.  Here are a few highlights:

8 Great Work-at-Home Business ideas

Starting a Business in a Rough Economy

Home Healthcare Business Options

Home Business Options with Good Income Potential

and for part time business:

Part Time Jobs at Home

Business Resources on the Internet

The Internet is a home business and small business owners best friend, confidant, and resource for information.  The article about free or low cost Internet resources will help guide you and suggest technical and business assistance.

Marketing and Branding Your Product

Successfully launching a business requires considerable effort in marketing, branding, and getting exposure for your product or service.  Here are suggestions for low cost marketing, and bootstrap branding.

Many resources are available to help the novice – or experienced – entrepreneur plan and launch a business for as little startup capital as possible.  We suggest using this free one-page business plan to get started and put your ideas on paper.

We hope this list of resources gives you ideas for a business and provides some helpful tips.  Best wishes for your success!

By Dion D Shaw

Dion D Shaw is the founder and owner of Homepreneurs

Homepreneurs.  New Day.  New Opportunities.

Disclaimer

Homepreneurs does not endorse nor have any relationships with any of the services listed.  Homepreneurs receives no compensation or consideration for its suggestions.  Homepreneurs strongly urges all interested parties to conduct research and accepts no responsibility for any losses incurred.

© Homepreneurs 2010 – 2012

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