If you are a
home based business owner probably the largest obstacle you must
overcome is finding motivation. You work at home and need to get online
to work on your website, marketing, research, etc. But there are many
other things going on that vie for your time. What do you do to ensure
you are devoting adequate time to your home based business?
My main tool for motivation in my home
based business is goal setting. This takes some planning, but if you
spend a little time you can develop challenging, yet attainable goals.
Why set goals? Goal setting allows you to determine where you want to
go with your business. Setting targets gives you a basis for creating a
defined plan and to identify those activities that are non-value added.
Goal setting is an activity used by
successful business people, top level athletes, students and high
achievers in all walks of life. Setting a goal and then reaching that
goal gives a great sense of satisfaction and accomplishment.
There are several types of goals. You
first establish your long term goals. These could be set for three to
five years out. Profitability, net annual income, increase in business
volume, ROI, size of customer base could all be used for long term
goals.
Next is the creation of medium term
goals related to the long term goals. These would be in the one to
three year range. This is followed by short term goals that you want to
achieve in the next several months. Finally, you develop an action plan
that will lead to meeting the short, medium and long term goals.
The lifeblood of an online home based
business is visitors to your website. So one of the goals should relate
to how many visitors you are getting. Granted, there are ways to
generate thousands of hits, so the goal must reflect "targeted"
visitors. If you are new to online marketing you can set a smaller
target. Set goals for one month, three months and one year. When you
have met your 1 month target reevaluate the longer term goals and
adjust them if necessary. Just be sure to validate or revise your
action plan to keep moving toward the next target.
If you are not meeting your goals
review the steps you are taking. Look for new and creative ways to
market your home based business web page. Don't limit yourself to
online marketing. Business cards, newspaper ads, flyers, etc. are all
great options.
If your home based business offers a
product the goal could be obtaining a certain number of orders per week
or per day. It could be sales or unit volumes. If you are an affiliate
marketer your goal could be recruiting a certain number of affiliates
per day or increase in your downline.
Once you have generated an adequate
quantity of data, i.e., unique visitors per day and units of product
sold, you can determine how much you sell per unique visitor. A new
goal could be to increase the sales per visitor.
Make sure your goals have a time
aspect, such as 500 visitors daily by the end of the next three months.
Setting achievable goals and then
attaining them is a great motivator for a home based business owner.
Once you get in the habit of setting and reaching goals your enthusiasm
for your home based business will grow and your success will be
assured.
