*Please tell us about the resources you’ve used thus far and would recommend to others (or steer them away from). Take a moment to share your educational background (both academic and work-based) and point out things that have helped or hindered you along the way from that education.
While I can’t necessarily recommend any resources, I will share my theory on starting out. It is very easy to want the biggest and the best and to want to jump into things. I think it is easy to get caught up with the idea and the excitement and be convinced that your idea or this opportunity is the best thing since sliced bread! But, sometimes things aren’t as great as you think they will be. Do your research on the least you can invest without making a large commitment, yet still create an image and have a jumping off point. Two examples from each of my businesses show how this has worked for me.
When I started TheHomeCast my primary thought was of setting up a podcast. I had no idea about podcasts or the technology associated with them. I began to research through the internet and found a plethora of information. A number of people pointed to free programs such as Audacity and Skype. Free is a very good thing, especially when being recommended by individuals who have used and succeeded with the products. I downloaded a free program called HotRecorder that records Skype conversations, and then paid a small fee to upgrade to change file formats. All in all, for these three components I spent $15. The next thing to purchase was a microphone. Being a cheapskate I purchased an inexpensive microphone headset. Although the headset serves the purpose it does lack in its sound quality and will likely be replaced.
So, you can see that when it came to launching the podcast aspect of TheHomeCast it was a minimal investment. Where I spent the most money was in my site design. My reason behind this was that this would be the entry for my site visitors. Whether we like it or not first impressions are very powerful. I wanted people to come to TheHomeCast.com and think, "wow, this looks neat. I think I’ll look around", rather than, "oh, this is just another home website with the same old information." For me the look of my site was what would get people "in the door", so to speak; the content my team and I provide is what keeps them there and brings them back.
Another example of limiting the investment came from joining Once Upon a Family. I had no experience with multi-level marketing or direct sales, so I really wasn’t sure how it was going to work out for me. Once Upon a Family does a great thing by offering three different kits to get started with prices ranging from $99 to $299. They also provide opportunities to receive a further discount on the starter kit by hosting a celebration and using your rewards toward your starter kit. I chose to start out with the $99 kit, knowing that I would be hosting my own grand opening and be able to pick free and reduced products from that, as well as being aware of regular kit enhancement opportunities. In my first month of working with Once Upon a Family I have received over $200 worth of products for under $100 aside from my starter kit. I very carefully choose where I will spend money and how that will work toward my current goal of introducing Once Upon a Family to my region, and building contacts from that. Although I would love to do national advertising and bring in business through my website at StartATradition.com, I know that my bread and butter will come from the relationships I make in my community, so that is where I focus.
I always get a laugh from people when I share that I have a degree in legal technology and had every intention of going into law enforcement. My path changed before I even headed out on it; I actually spent five years working in special education. My most recent career path was working from home with an international homeschooling magazine in customer service, and then later as marketing manager. The knowledge and connections I made from that were irreplaceable, both in the aspects of learning how to work from home, and how to balance it all, as well as hands on experience regarding marketing, customer service, and public relations.
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