Category: Career

In their Home Business Handbook, editors of Income Opportunities magazine reveal that only 20 to 25 percent of home-based businesses fail in their first five years. On the other hand, all small businesses have a failure rate of 50 percent, according to an article on Inc. It’s no secret that almost all business ventures that have success stories start small. For example, Apple and Amazon were launched in home garages. So, if you’re an ambitious entrepreneur, don’t be afraid to start your venture from home.

However, like any other business, taking your home-based venture to the next level of profitability and growth can be daunting. In most cases, home-based business owners try to handle everything by themselves. They also invest a lot of money hiring people to assist them, resulting in low-profit margins. Fortunately, there are ways you can improve your business and attract customers without much hassle. Read on to get an idea of how to set up a home-based business for success and growth. 

Come up with a business idea

Generating a business idea is the most critical step to starting a successful home business. If you’re like many entrepreneurs, you probably know what kind of business you want to establish. For instance, let’s say you’ve been a real estate agent for years. You can leverage your expertise to start a home-based real estate consulting agency. If you don’t know what to do but want to break into the business world, you’ll need to brainstorm ideas for your venture. But with so many business options to consider, choosing the right one can be overwhelming. Therefore, create a list of businesses you can start at home and select those in line with your passion and interests. For example, you may consider becoming a freelance writer, virtual assistant, business consultant, or personal trainer. Also, think of target consumers, market demand, profitability rate, and skills to ensure your potential business has chances for success. 

Plan for success

For aspiring entrepreneurs, starting a business is a fun and fulfilling experience. However, the excitement won’t find you the success you desire. With this in mind, be prepared to take action, which requires a lot of planning. Start by researching your target market to ensure there’s demand for your products and even identify your competitors. Successful entrepreneurs also recommend understanding your target consumer based on their interests, age, and location. Once you’ve identified your ideal customer, focus on creating a business plan. A detailed business plan highlights your specific goals for your venture and what you need to do to become successful. 

Invest in the right insurance coverage

Whether you’re working alone as an independent contractor or have employees, purchasing a home business insurance policy should be a top priority. You can buy different types of business insurance, including business owner’s policy, general liability, and professional liability insurance. You’ll also need worker’s compensation coverage to prevent financial impacts that arise when you or an employee get injured at the workplace. 

Investing in workers comp insurance provides enough funds to compensate employees for lost wages and medical expenses. If you’re managing your home-based business alone, this policy covers your medical bills, lost income during recovery, and emergency room care. That way, you don’t have to use personal finances or assets to cover for workplace injuries. Purchasing workers’ comp insurance also protects you against lawsuits when an employee gets injured at work.  

Don’t forget to create your business identity

Every successful business, regardless of industry or size, has a strong brand. Therefore, create a unique identity for your home-based business. Creating a unique business identity makes your brand memorable so that customers can quickly identify your products in the market. To create a reputable brand, come up with a unique business name and create a logo. It’s also wise to design a website and appealing packaging materials, and then develop a marketing strategy that helps you meet your company goals. This step entails designing ad materials like coupons, fliers, and newsletters with your logo. Also, create a digital marketing campaign that allows you to stay visible online and reach a larger audience. 

Establishing a home-based business is an excellent way of taking control of your time and income. However, before you can set up your home business, ensure you have a business idea with the potential to earn high returns. Also, create a unique brand identity, buy the right business insurance, know your ideal customer, and develop an effective business plan. 

As a manager, you have a lot of work to do. Near the top of your to-do list should be ‘keep employee morale high’. When this is successfully done, employees perform significantly better. Plus, they stay loyal to your company – which is the dream for any manager.

Keeping employee morale high is easier said than done, though. There are a wide range of personalities and roles to deal with. It might be easy to boost one employee’s morale – but the next employee could prove to be more difficult.

To help you with this, here are some helpful (and fun) tips and tricks to immediately boost your employee morale.

1. Play games

Your team works hard every day, so they’ll appreciate any fun they can have together. One of the best ways they can do this is through playing games.

Now, it’s probably not the best idea to play games in the office – as this can cause a commotion. Instead, you should arrange social nights where employees come together to your house to relax and unwind. Here, you can play games and forge a strong bond together.

These days, a lot of people are getting together in groups to play online casino games. Online casino games are the ultimate source for making social nights exciting and memorable! You and your team should start by playing All Slots Casino. You never know, one of you might hit the jackpot!

2. Allow employees to work from home

The modern business environment is evolving fast.  Over the past year, more and more companies have started allowing their employees to work from the comfort of their homes. In addition to this, companies are also hiring remote employees.

This is great, as it saves office space and stops employees from needing to needlessly travel to the office every day (when in reality, they can do everything from home!).

So, providing your business model allows it, consider offering employees the chance to work from home. This doesn’t have to be every day, by the way. For example, they could do three days in the office per week and two days from home – you get the idea.

3. Hold regular performance meetings

Performance meetings are an excellent way to let your employees know what they’re doing right. Basically, you can give them a pat on the back and tell them to keep doing what they’re doing. Of course, you should also provide constructive criticism – but the main aim is to keep your employee’s morale levels high by letting them know they’re appreciated!

4. Create a relaxation space in the office

If you have a busy work office, it’s recommended that you create a relaxation space where employees can go to have a drink, kick their feet up, and relax for 20 minutes or so. This will ensure that they don’t overwork themselves while keeping their minds fresh.

5. Invest in the best equipment

As the famous saying goes, ‘a workman is only as good as his tools’, which is still relevant today.

For example, if you are the customer service department manager in an office, your employees should have comfortable office chairs and desks, plus excellent headsets. This will maximize their performance levels and keep them happy!

Nowadays, having a side job has become more of a necessity rather than just another way of earning extra bucks. As the global economy tries to rebound from the ill effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, there are still people who are struggling to make ends meet.

Enter side jobs. While the term suggests that you do them alongside your full-time work, some people have turned them into their main bread and butter, allowing them to earn as much as they can.

In a recent study conducted by Upwork, it was revealed that 32% percent of first-time freelancers started freelancing right after finishing college, while 22% got into it after losing or being laid off from their job because of the pandemic in 2020.

This only goes to show that freelancing or getting a side job isn’t just for skilled individuals who already have full-time jobs but also for those who are starting or restarting their careers. 

Let’s go over some profitable side hustles that you might want to consider.

Online Tutor 

Tutoring has long been a popular side hustle for a lot of college students and professors. In fact, online tutoring has been around longer than the recent shift to online classes. There are already a number of platforms where people can sign up and find a tutoring gig.

A great example of a tutoring job is teaching language online. If you apply to work for Preply.com, all you really need is knowledge and expertise in a specific language. Apart from English, they have teachers offering Spanish, French, German, and Italian language classes. 

Content Writer

If you have experience or skills in writing, or if you’re a fresh graduate who is used to churning out papers on a weekly basis, then content writing might be the perfect side hustle for you. As a content writer, you’ll do a variety of web content for companies spanning different industries.

To launch your writing career, it may be a great time to put together your previous works that can reflect your skills, as some companies do look for a portfolio in order to apply.

Graphic Designer

If you have a keen eye for the arts and are passionate about creating graphics, there are a lot of websites and platforms out there to help you monetize graphic design skills. Who knows you could be designing website banners or infomercials for multinational corporations!

Just like content writing, putting together a portfolio would be your first step if you want to enter this kind of side hustle.

Ride-share Driver

Now, not all the best side hustles out there are online or internet-related. There are still some that you can do outside your home, more so on your way home, or to work or anywhere really. 

Ride-share applications have been godsent for people who want to economize on their transportation costs.

Earnings from ride-sharing depend on the application that you will sign up for and the type of service and vehicle you can offer. On estimate, if a driver works 15 hours a week then they will earn somewhere near 17$ an hour. Not bad if you’re just sitting at home, or on your way back home and not in a hurry!

Virtual Assistant 

As baffling as it may sound for those who have worked all their life inside an office, yes, a virtual assistant is a real job. With a lot of people shifting to a work-from-home setup, the line between work and home has been a blur, and most desk job workers who are now at home might need an extra hand. 

Virtual assistants are no different from your “normal” assistants in the office. Being a “VA” entails doing a lot of tasks, from answering emails and entertaining clients to booking hotels and flights and even ordering groceries. You’re essentially being your boss’ assistant from the comforts of your own home or workspace.

Overall, if you’re looking into getting a side job or joining the hustle culture, all you need is a huge trove of skills up your sleeve, as there are a lot of companies just waiting for you to lend your hand. Go and try these side jobs out!

The real estate industry is saturated, and growing your real estate business can be challenging. If you operate as a real estate agent, you act as a licensed professional playing a pivotal role in bringing the sellers and buyer together in real estate transactions. A real estate agent acts as an intermediary who negotiates the deal until closure. They work on a commission basis and are usually affiliated with real estate brokers. 

In other words, a real estate agent works as an independent contractor, meaning that you can grow your business if you take appropriate measures. There are different things you can do to grow your business and reach new customers while making more sales at the same time. Many new real estate agents make the mistake of overestimating the potential revenue they can generate while underestimating the expenses affecting their business.  However, with the right approach, you can take your business to another level. Read on to learn everything you need to know about improving your business if you are a real estate agent. 

Have a Business Plan

Most real agents act as independent contractors. If you are an independent contractor, you need to act like a small business instead of an employee. You can only succeed as a real estate agent if you control your growth strategy, invest in long-term goals, and relationships. You must create a business plan that is flexible and also helps your venture to grow with you. A business plan plays a critical role since it helps you create a framework to follow in your operations. 

Take time to understand your target customers and the market to create an effective plan. It is essential to develop new skills to promote the growth of your business and educate yourself on the different things you lack. Instead of only being concerned about getting clients, focus on creating a concrete plan that will promote the growth of your business. This plan will also help to set your business apart from the rest.     

Use Networking

Networking is critical in the real estate industry since you need to work with sellers, buyers, and other stakeholders. To grow your business, you must work on ways to find the right people at various networking events. Your goal is to connect with many people who can share financial advice or other help. Focus on meeting people from diverse backgrounds since real estate is for people from every walk of life, and equally, surround yourself with like-minded people. Some people can even act as mentors in your business network if you choose the right partners to associate with.    

Time Management

When you want to grow your business, it’s important to focus on how you can reach the next stage. Many real estate agents usually lack time management, which often leads to distractions and, ultimately, affects their business. Use different technologies to manage your business activities. With Close Concierge, you can organize your daily, weekly, or monthly tasks and set aside time for distractions. It is an easy-to-use technology that helps you track your activities, contracts to close a deal and to attract clients. Your Concierge helps ensure that your contract will close without errors, and you will get your payment.  

Ask for Referrals

It’s imperative to focus on building referrals and also use word of mouth to attract many clients. It can be achieved by offering referral gifts, creating loyalty customer programs, or requesting referrals on your official website. Test all these ideas to determine the best option to yield the most referrals. It becomes easier for you to enjoy constant business if many sellers and buyers are happy to work with you. These same people will refer their friends and colleagues to your business.    

Set a Budget

If you are new to real estate, you must not solely focus on closing your first deal or achieving immediate success. You may be tempted to quick-start your business, but you will soon realize that long-term success depends on a budget. When determining your budget ensure that you cover your mandatory daily life expenses and set sufficient money for the business aside. What is important in business is to monitor your cash flow and how you spend the money. If you do not have a budget, you may not realize your goals. 

Be creative

Knowledge of sales tactics is a must for sales agents, but you also need to understand other techniques. Be creative and utilize your writing and photography skills to provide compelling descriptions of your listings to motivate the consumers so that they share the same vision as you. If you have a compelling way of telling your story, you are likely to appeal to the interests of many clients. 

Use Social Media

Many people increasingly use social media to perform various activities. It is vital to be active on at least one social media platform where you can drive leads, share content, or even run ads. Social media helps you reach a wider audience of target customers, and it also allows you to engage meaningfully with your clients. Your customers might not necessarily be from your immediate area; therefore, social media goes a long way in attracting these customers.

Real estate agents are primarily concerned with acting as intermediaries between the sellers and buyers of property. These agents work for licensed brokers, and they play a pivotal role in negotiating and closing deals. While you may operate as an independent contractor, you must know that there are different strategies you can take to improve your business. It is crucial to have a business plan and to focus on the bigger picture instead of quick sales. Always be creative and use social media platforms to reach a wide range of target audiences. Additionally, you must have a realistic budget for your business and make sure that it is separate from personal expenses. A true real estate agent builds relationships with their clients that last for years. They are honest and knowledgeable about the ever-changing laws and regulations.

If you have a passion for driving and more than a few hours on hand to spare every day, becoming an Uber driver is a great career option. You would get to meet new people every day, drive around the town, and get paid for it. Globally, the ridesharing business has around 3.5 million drivers, and the company is sure that the driver network will continue to grow. If you are part of the Uber drivers team or wish to join them, make sure you know these useful tips. These will make your life as an Uber driver safe, easy, and rewarding.

Understand the Taxes

When you drive for Uber, you fall under the category of self-employed professionals. This means you will have to file your taxes for self-employment and pay for your Social Security and Medicare, which comes to 15.3 percent of your income. If you have received more than 600 dollars in the form of promotions, referrals, and other non-ride income in a year, you might get the Form 1099-NEC form on your Uber app. The tax summary and form are available in your Uber app as Uber 1099 taxes forms under the accounts tab. If you earn less than 600 dollars, you might claim an exemption under the self-employment clause. However, you might still have to pay taxes for your earnings from the previous year. 

The IRS website has all the information you will need, including the important dates for paying your taxes. Other information like the mileage deduction, breakdown of the expenses, actual taxable income of the driver, etc., can be found using the tax calculator on the Uber website. You can also find a useful tax calculator online as well. Use these tools to ensure you understand and pay your taxes on time. Else you might face an IRS action and lose your driving privileges.

Focus on The Service

While this might seem elementary, it could go a long way in helping you secure more rides. If you are considerate to your passengers, engage them in small talk, have a clean car, take the route that your passenger prefers, and engage in music, it creates a positive experience. All this will ensure you get a good tip from the passenger. Besides that, they are more likely to give you a five-star rating, which assures the app and Uber that you give your riders the best possible experience. 

Therefore, the algorithm is more likely to assign you rides when you have consistent five-star ratings. Getting those five-star ratings are easier than you think. Smile, treat the passengers nice and make sure you ask them to review the ride at the end of the trip. You are driving with Uber to make a living. Being nice to your passengers and earning five-star ratings will increase the probability of making good money every day.

Explore the City

If you are new to the city or driving to a new town, it would help explore the city. You could do this by driving around the city multiple times, talking to your rides, reading about the city, and exploring through Google Maps. This will give you a perspective on the traffic bottlenecks, alternative routes, interesting destinations for tourists, popular dining places, public restrooms, etc. If your ride is for a long-distance trip, prepare a list of restaurants and local restrooms beforehand. Inform your ride every 30 minutes to one hour about an oncoming break spot. 

The last thing that your ride wants is to be asked to relieve themselves in the bushes and abandoned lot. So, engage them in a conversation and inform them about the places where you could stop if they need a break. This will save them embarrassment and make their ride comfortable. If you are traveling to regions where you are not sure about the availability of public restrooms, always drive to a Starbucks. Your passengers can relieve themselves, use the Wi-Fi and get something to eat or drink at the same time and thus earn you brownie points.

Make the Most Of the App

Spend some time on the Uber App. Explore Uber app features like the driver destination, find rides in places with surge pricing, and get assistance on whether you need to keep driving or take a different route during traffic congestions. Besides that, you can track your earnings in real-time and use the app even when there is no network. Exploring these features and trying to understand them will make your life on the road easy and increase your earnings, as you will know how to find a ride every time you are working. You will find better routes, understand the city well, and stay safe on the move. While understanding the app might take some time, it would be worth it because this time would be an investment in your future earnings. 

Use Uber Accessories

Accessorize your car with a phone cradle, in-car chargers, and AUX cable to let your riders connect their phone, charge, and use it on the go. These will help you build a great rapport with the rider and earn you a five-star rating, which will increase your earnings in the future. Besides that, you could also have a few books, magazines, and movies available for them to watch if the rides are long-distance. As most of these accessories are a one-time investment, you will not have to spend money on them often for them to yield results. 

These are just a few handy tips that every Uber driver should know to increase their earnings, make a living, and have a safe life while riding. If you are going to a new city for a ride, make sure you know the local laws. Carry your documents and permits with you at all times as an additional safety precaution. Besides that, make sure you sanitize your vehicle often, keep a sanitizer and a box of tissues and masks handy for your passengers. Stay masked at all times, even if you are vaccinated. This will keep you and your riders healthy, which is paramount.