Home Based Business Owner Tips for Success

1) Attitude--

One very important factor in running a business is your attitude towards it. You should treat your business like a business.

This is very important whether you work your business full-time, or part-time. A very close friend of mine, who is also a colleague, is a mother of 4 who works her home business around her family. In this case, she has put her family first, and at the same time, still been able to develop her business.She works part-time, but she has a full-time attitude. To put it another way, if you have a lacking attitude, you'll have a lacking income. However, if you have a business attitude, you'll have a business income.

Keeping your attitude in mind while running your business is one of the first steps to ensuring your success.

Being successful working part-time on your business, or working full-time, is more than achievable. However in saying that, it is highly unlikely that working in your "spare time" will achieve you success.

2) The Environment In Which You Work--

Keeping with the attitude principles discussed above, it is necessary to remember that while you are working from home, you should make sure that you have a space to call your own; your own "business at home" office, free from distractions.

Keep the theme going with a comfortable office chair, and a well laid-out and organized desk. Stationery supplies will also be of assistance, so be sure to include the following in your "home office":

- Pens
- Highlighter
- Hole Punch
- Stapler
- Sticky Tape
- Note Book(s)
- A system which will enable you to easily and efficiently store your physical files and documents.
- Ring Binders
- Manila Folders

Do you have a fast internet connection? If not, consider the use of a broadband internet connection. Anything you do will take a certain amount of time, and your time is a very valuable asset. Faster internet means you will have more time for other things.

3) Schedule--

Dividing up your spare time between your business, your family, or your "significant others" will require a carefully planned schedule. Just like office hours in which you would work, when you allocate time for work, make sure that you work during this time. Equally important is to make sure you have time for other commitments - time with your family, exercising, education, and leisure time are all equally important factors in your life. Its also a good idea to keep in mind why you are doing what you are doing. For example, if you are starting your home business to spend more time with your family, you don't want your work time consuming valuable family time.

With a home business, the only "boss" you have is yourself and your schedule. Lets say for instance that you are working during your allocated work time, and you have unexpected visitors, or people calling you. You have to make a choice; are you really committed to running your own business? Are you committed to business success? Your choices in these types of situations will govern whether or not you have a "business attitude", or a "hobby attitude".

However, you may need to adjust the way you make your choices. This is especially true in a family environment. In this instance, it may be necessary to discuss with your partner and/or children an agreed period of time which is classed as business time, in which you will not be interrupted. It may also help to print or write down this schedule and place it somewhere prominent so as to inform all family members of your work schedule.

4) Describing Your Business--

Make sure that when asked about your business, you are able to describe it concisely; a strong and powerful one or two sentence about your business that someone can repeat easily about describing your business to others. A company slogan or "tag line" can also be invaluable for promoting your business; take the time to create a unique and memorable tag line or slogan.

5) Knowledge Of Your Services Or Products--

You now have your product and your service in which you sell, whether or not you actually use your product or service you sell, it is a wise decision to make sure that your knowledge of your product or service is intimate and well-founded. For instance, if you sell ebooks, then ensure you know the content and the value in which it holds; if you sell software, ensure that you know how it works, "inside and out". In doing so, your reputation will develop as someone who provides quality information about a product or service, and because of this knowledge, you yourself can become a preferred supplier.

However, it may not always be practical to use certain products (as an example, a man may choose to sell wedding dresses), in which case the seller wouldn't be a product or service user, though in saying that, the seller can still have extensive knowledge of the product or services benefits and features.

6) Administration--

It is essential to implement good record keeping practices.

This can include tasks such as consulting a tax adviser who can advise you on the best and most optimal way to set up and store your financial records, as well as which records need to be kept. In addition, your adviser could also recommend record keeping systems which can help you in achieving a more efficient and simpler means of organizing this aspect of your business.

You may also be told advice on the most effective arrangements and set ups for your banking necessities. In doing so, you will most likely be advised to seek out separate bank accounts for your business.

If you use various logins, passwords, and usernames, it would be a wise decision to keep track and store this various information.

The tools and methods in which you track these are varied; from a simple paper notebook to free and commercial software.

7) Protection For Your Computer--

Your computer houses all your important business data, and is also the lifeline of your business dealings. In saying this, it is vital that you protect your computer.

Pieces of software such as virus scanners, personal firewalls, anti-spyware and adware, and even an email scanner, should all be implemented to help with the protection of your computer.

8) Obtaining A Domain Name--

For any home-based, online business, it is more than just essential to have a domain name for your business, it is vital. There are many domain registrar companies out there. Take your pick.

9) Processing Of Your Payments--

Any online business will need to the ability to accept payments. Payment processors such as Paypal, 2Checkout, and Clickbank, all offer multiple ways to accept payment, including the ability to accept credit card payments online.

As an online business just starting out, this is the most effective, efficient, and economical way to get started in accepting online payments. As your business starts to grow and develop, it may be necessary to look into obtaining your own merchant account for transactions.

Also, it may be worth while taking into account other forms of currency online, such as eGold.

10) Email Accounts--

The more professional and trusted your online home business appears, the more likely your customers are going to do business with you. One of the most easiest and simplest ways to do this, is to use an associated email account. After obtaining your own domain, it is possible to create your very own associated email account.


We want you and your business to be successful here at Business Network Long Distance.  Contact us today to save money on your long distance bill so that you have more money for the other necessities.

Before you Cut off the Landline...

It can be hard to remember why we keep around landlines that seems so aged when new technology is all around us.  However, can you say about any of your new technology that it lasts all the time through storms or that it doesn't get lost or stolen.  A landline is a dependable form of communication that many forget about.

Depend on the landline and depend on Business Network Long Distance for quality long distance.

Your Credit Report Made Simple

Business Network Long Distance presents 3 ways to get your free annual credit report for the business owner:

Yes, you can now get your credit report without paying a dime. And unlike before, now it is truly free. No longer do you have to sign up for a "free" credit report by signing up for "credit monitoring protection service" for a low annual fee of $79 a year! The days of dodging the annoying charges and service fees for a free credit report are over.

Under the 2003 Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act, you have the right to a free copy of your credit report within a 12 month period from the big three credit report bureaus (Experian, Equifax and TransUnion).

The goal of this new government act is to ensure that Americans have the right to stay informed about what these three credit reporting bureaus say about you without having to pay for it. Since identity theft, fraud and errors are quite common today, why should you have to pay for a copy of a report to fight back against these problems?

Here are the 3 ways to get your free annual credit report:

The three credit reporting agencies have created a website to request your annual credit report.

1) Go to www.annualcreditreport.com

2) Call (877) 322-8228 to request your free credit report.

3) Complete a form from the Federal Trade Comission, http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/include/requestformfinal.pdf and mail it to: Annual Credit Report Request Service, P.O. Box 105281, Atlanta, GA 30348-5281.

If you go directly to the three agencies or use any other type of service you may end up having to pay or sign up for the subscription services I mentioned above! Make sure you use one of the 3 methods I have listed to get your annual free credit report.

You can get the reports from all 3 agencies at once or stagger the reports from each one during the course of 1 year. The advantage of staggering the reports that you receive is to keep track of how any major changes in your financial picture affect what is on your credit report. For example, if you plan on getting a second mortgage over the coming year, or applying for student loans, ect. it might be wise to get a report before and after these major events!

This new Act does not supplant the other methods you can take advantage of to receive a free credit report. If you are applying for unemployment or been denied a loan, or need a credit report in order to get a job, you still have the right to obtain a free credit report.

Take advantage of this new government regulation and make sure all of the information listed by all three credit reporting agencies are correct. Any errors or omissions can reduce your credit score and end up costing you a lot of money when you apply for any type of credit.

Spend more money on paying off loans and improving your credit report by saving money on other bills.  Contact Business Network Long Distance to save money on your long distance bill today!

The Real Cost of Cellphones

The rage of social media --- texting, Facebook, on-line shopping, on-line banking and bill paying has cost employers millions of dollars in paid out wages to employees playing on the job. Profits are lost due to a decrease in productivity. In addition to paying current wages, employers have been forced to hire specialist to track employee quality and quantity of work, as well as, invest in Spyware to make sure that the time employees spend on-line is for business purposes.

            In analyzing how much employee cell phone usage cost an employer. An example of 10 employees who earn $15 an hour that check their cell phones for 3 minutes every other hour on an 8-hour shift. (3 minutes multiplied by 4 times a day= 12 minutes). Those 10 employees multiplied by 12 minutes daily= 120 minutes total then multiplied by 5 days a week= 600 minutes or 10 hours, which equals $150 dollars a week. Yearly the cumulative cost for those 10 employees checking and responding to email and Facebook for one year is a staggering $7,800 dollars in lost wages and 520 hours in lost productivity. Believe it or not the above example of an employee using only 12 minutes a day used for social media is extremely conservative.

            What do you think your employees are doing on their phones?  Don’t let that be a company expense.  Cell phones in the work place are a major distraction for employees, which create not only losses in payroll and productivity, but also create an unsafe work environment as well. Cell phones are hurting both large and small companies. In order to put money back into your company start by saving money on your business landlines by choosing Business Network Long Distance as an alternative long-distance provider.