success_story.htm

There are many ways to make money from a small or home-based business. Some home-based entrepreneurs have been able to generate incomes that compare well with much larger conventional businesses. A recent example is the young entrepreneur who thought up the Website that sells advertising space by the pixel. Some reports say he has produced close to $1 million with his next goal being a billion dollars! We’re going to discuss a few successful businesses run from home or very small quarters, usually by a single entrepreneur. Perhaps you can find your own niche idea from these examples and see how you might go about starting your own successful business.

The first two businesses are dependent on writing. In these days every business needs a Website and some written content to succeed. One of these examples provides content for businesses unable or unwilling to provide their own; the second uses a large volume of content to attract travelers to European destinations.

Coale Communications

With the emergence of the Internet as a business medium and information highway, a skill with high demand is the ability to write content of all kinds. This gives rise to a career as freelance copywriter. Eileen Coale, President of Coale Communications, operates a successful copywriting business. She got the idea after reading Peter Bowerman’s The Well-Fed Writer. Two years after that she decided to jump in and try this business.

A lot of very good writers will fail at this kind of business because they are reluctant to market themselves. Nobody knows what they can do, so their business is not successful. This means a pre-requisite to prosper as a copywriter is to devise a way to let others know about your abilities and services. Eileen markets her business with a lot of networking throughout the business community. By targeting her best prospects regularly, she gets many referrals to keep her business going. She quickly had to learn who are the right kind of clients; most important is that they have the ability to pay for her services.

This business originally consisted of many kinds of copywriting tasks but has quickly evolved to be mostly for the Internet. It may be sales oriented text, content intended to convey information, or a variety of work for electronic newsletters or e-mail marketing campaigns. When the business first started, most any work was accepted, sometimes at very low prices. She found that using a bid-for-work site like Guru.com did not work for her business, so she uses all the networking she can. In her area there are seven Chambers of Commerce to work along with other business organizations. She has also conducted a very successful seminar. Her Website is a primary marketing tool operating 24/7 to show examples of her work, available services, and her prices.

Eileen suggests those interested in a copywriting business read everything they can about copywriting and the writing business in general. There are a number of discussion boards on this subject which are also helpful. Always market yourself and network as much as possible. Try unique things and view failure as just a bump on the road that you have conquered. Cultivate friends who will encourage you and not have a negative attitude about what you are doing. Always shape your own destiny and set your own goals; others should not tell you everything to do.

Ideas to remember:

Read everything you can find about the copywriting business.

Network constantly.

Show what you can do on a professional Website.

Choose a circle of friends with positive attitudes toward your business.

Try many different ideas; if they fail just move on.

Europe For Visitors

Writing has become a very important part of every business because the Internet has not only made possible the exposure of large quantities of information, but it has separated the art of good writing from the ability to use one’s writing skills as an income stream for the writer. Durant Imboden is one writer

whose content on EuropeForVisitors.com is profitable for him. The Website features volumes of articles about a large number of European travel destinations. There are descriptions of lodging, entertainment, dining facilities. One can find out what travel vehicles are available with detailed descriptions. Cruises and guided tours are all covered in depth on this complete European travel site. The owner partners with many service providers to produce income from this web business. His writing is rewarded financially when visitors pay his partners for their services. The revenue is from affiliate/referral fees and revenue from Google AdSense. This site contains a Tourist Office Directory and Photo Galleries where you can find pictures of places you want to visit. According to information on their “Advertising” page about 500,000 visitors come here each month. It’s a good example of a successful online content Website business.

Durant worked for MicroSoft and About.com using his writing ability to promote various projects for his employers. After leaving About.com he realized everything he had written was under his own copyright. Many were travel related so, together with his wife (also a travel writer), they put together several Websites directed at European travel destinations. The idea the Imbodens use is similar to the print methods Baedeker, Fodor, and other publishers of travel-related information except it is displayed on the Internet.

Because there are several different Websites to attend, much of the work is written in a way that keeps it up-to-date always with only a minimum of occasional updating. There are over 3,500 pages of content on the Imbodens’ Websites.

Entrepreneurs wanting to pursue using content for profit should find a subject they like and can remain interested in that can also provide the basis for income; in other words, something many others will want to know about. Provide value for readers; a good thing to read is Google’s guideline list for Webmasters. As a writer, don’t get carried away with technical aspects of writing; write so your readers will enjoy what they read as well as get desired information that is easy to understand. And don’t quit your steady day job until you’re sure your Internet business can support you and your family.

Ideas to remember:

Utilize skills and knowledge learned over past years and in past experience.

Monetize products you have developed in other jobs for which you have rights of ownership.

Continue learning and improving your skills forever.

Concentrate on something you and your family enjoy (in this case, travel).

other jobs for which you have rights of ownership.

Maine Balsam Fir Products

This entrepreneur looked around and found something that was around her all along. She realized ways to monetize products of nature by utilizing skills acquired through study and her own interest in herbs and sewing. Here is Maine Balsam Fir Products owned by Wendy and Jack Newmeyer.

The Newmeyers lived in very poor conditions for some years with no electricity, telephone, or running water while they built the new life of their dreams on their own farm in Maine. Realizing there might be a market for the large amount of waste from harvesting trees on their property, Wendy originally sold Balsam Fir branches to a local incense factory. She quickly found another more lucrative market for the waste through sales to other makers of Balsam stuffed pillows, potpourri, and other products. She mailed 300 flyers to herb businesses all over the country and received 125 orders. Amazing!

Realizing the Balsam branch business was seasonal, she began to make very good quality pillows and other souvenir products for sale to the large Maine tourist industry. Working sometimes 20 hours a day, Wendy drove around to stores with a trunk load of fragrant pillows made from silk-screened fabric. She now has 12 employees and sells worldwide to over 4,400 stores.
After being so successful, Wendy is spending more effort on balancing her life with things other than just work. She is finding ways to enjoy the things around her which is why she and her husband moved to Maine in the first place.

Ideas to remember:

Make use of your skills and native abilities.

Find opportunities in what is going on around you.

Expect to put in long hours and do hard work in the beginning.

Try to find a balance between work and enjoyment of life.

HipGrips

Caryl Parker called on IBM customers for 16 years. Then she ran into two obstacles many prospective home-based entrepreneurs face. She didn’t enjoy her job anymore and she was raising four children at home. After leaving her IBM job and being Mom for some years, she decided to try and get back into the business world some way. But what to do?

Ms. Parker is a weekend tennis enthusiast living in California. Her business ideas centered on her love for this sport. What finally caught her attention was something already on the market: “overgrips” that many players use to make racket handles more comfortable and less slippery when the hands perspire. Her idea was to decorate these grips to improve their usually drab appearance, making them a desired fashion accessory for the game of tennis. It was a product aimed at the women’s market in a sport where most accessories seem to be designed primarily for men. The result was HipGrips.

This company began as a true home-based business in the owner’s dining room. The family became the assembly line for these products. Early success caused some dissension among the workers (her family) because it required a lot of time doing work that everyone did not enjoy as much as Caryl did. The kids even had some pay demands! These family concerns--and the fact that Ms. Parker did not enjoy the finance and supply side of the business--brought her to find a partner, Bobbi Giudicelli, who was also a tennis associate.

The new partner quickly moved to obtain trademarks and copyrights as protection from all the large companies in the tennis equipment industry. HipGrips became so successful that Wilson Sporting Goods came along with a proposal to take over production and distribution which the partners accepted. They are still involved in design and new product development.

Although making less than at IBM, Ms. Parker enjoys being her own boss (a desire of most self-employed people). She says she is more passionate about what she does. At IBM (and any other company) she just sold what she was told to promote. In her own business she is able to influence every aspect of products and even bring new ones on line. What a great feeling that must be!

Ideas to remember:

Find a business you like and that you can become passionate about.

Seek a niche even in a market with many other players.

Use family to help; they provide a channel for extra income and tax deductions for the business.

Protect your business with trademarks and copyrights.
Many times the things entrepreneurs do are very similar with finance often being at the top. In these examples the first two used personal talents, and the Balsam business simply had no money; it was started with waste material. Finance was not an original problem for them. The tennis business required some money, but not a lot, even after it was decided to build inventory, because the unit value is quite small.
What is common is they all found a niche in a business of interest to the entrepreneur. Each business produced a few mostly different “Ideas to remember.” By seeing what these people have done, you may get an idea for a business you can pursue with passion. The actions of these entrepreneurs may help you develop your own business.

Start now and NEVER QUIT!

RESOURCES:

Anders, George. “What a Racket: Ex-IBMer Launches Her Own Firm.” The Wall Street Journal
Online Website, October, 2005:

PowerHomeBiz.com: Success Stories of Entrepreneurs

Yank is a home-based entrepreneur and freelance business writer living in Hurricane Alley, North Carolina, USA. His Website is http://www.furriwhalesworld.com/. Contact Yank at globalbiz@furriwhalesworld.com.