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Thoughts to Consider Before Starting Your Own Home Based Business

So you think it’s your time. You’re tired of the drive, the 9 to 5 plus hours and everyone’s favorite, the office politics. I know you feel like you have what it takes to startup and run your own home based business. But, do you really? Before you leave that world with all of its glamour and (this is important) that steady paycheck, take a good look at yourself and determine if you have what it takes to make it as a home based entrepreneur. Below is a list of characteristics that I think are important to have if you wish to become a successful home business owner. Check them out and see if you have what it takes to cut it in this very special arena of opportunity.

• Courage: It is a huge risk to start your own home based business. It may be necessary to live without a paycheck for a period of time. If you have a family to support that increases the fear level 100 fold. Hopefully you have planned for this brave adventure and you won’t run out of money early on.

• Confidence: This trait goes hand in hand with courage. As a new home based business owner you will need confidence to pull through tough times. It will be necessary to go though many doorways and you will need to remain poised and truly believe that this venture will be successful.

• Discipline: This trait is so difficult for many. There will be times you have to work when you don’t want to and there is no one there to force you. That movie you have been dying to see is showing or possible a son’s baseball game. What if you have to meet with a prospective client and miss some of these special times? It may be necessary for you to choose work over something that is fun or family oriented. I believe that this characteristic needs to be one that all of your family needs to have because there may be times that you just cannot be with them and they must understand.

• Entrepreneurial spirit: This characteristic is normally noticed at a young age. Some examples might include a lemonade stand when you were 10 or maybe as a teenager you had a very successful babysitter service. The idea here is that you learned at a very young age that the harder you worked the more successful you are likely to be. Maybe your parents started paying $5 a week if your room stayed clean. By the time you were 14 you were cleaning the rest of your home (for a restructured fee) and some of the neighbors’ homes, too.

• The maverick way of thinking: This is the type of person who just cannot make it in the corporate world. These special people have a vision that gets bogged down while working a 9-5 job. This vision gives the maverick a different perspective when approaching their home based business and ultimately gaining a competitive edge over the rest of the small businesses in their chosen niche.

Can you see yourself as having any of the above characteristics? There are several more traits that could be included in this list and may be the ones that I will include in a future article. If I were to pick one of the above characteristics that a person has to have to be successful as a home based business owner it would be the ‘Maverick Mentality’. There have been only a few individuals that I have known in my life (my father included) who had this special quality. They seem to have an innate ability to look at a project and see the desired results. For the rest of us it is necessary to perfect some of the other characteristics mentioned above. So if you’re the type of person who possesses these unique qualities you should have what it takes to be successful at owning a home based business.

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How Important Is the Fundraising Auctioneer to the Success of Your Event?

I want you to think about the term “Fundraising Auction”.

A “Fundraising Auction” is an event where items of value are gathered, and then sold in a competitive bidding situation, either in a Silent Auction format, or in a Live Auction format by a Live Auctioneer. And since typically the best items are saved for the Live Auction, arguably it is the Live Auction that should generate a significant portion of the proceeds in any Fundraising Auction.

So why do so many non-profit groups consider the Fundraising Auctioneer to be the least valuable component in a Fundraising Auction?

The Hosting Facility gets paid.
The Printer gets paid.
The Caterer gets paid.
The Liquor Store gets paid.
The DJ gets paid.
The Florist gets paid.
But the Auctioneer … the individual who is expected to raise the lion’s share of the event’s proceeds… is expected to work for Free. And is usually under-appreciated for the professional services he/she provides.

I’m not trying to underscore the value of the invitations & programs, food, booze, music, and decorations. All are important in their own way. But each of these are “Expenses”. It is the Auctioneer who is going to bring “Revenue”… and thus, the “Profits”… into any event. Which is the ultimate objective of any Fundraising Auction.

Here is a real-life example of how under-appreciated the Auctioneer can be. In two comparable events we worked last year, during the dinner portion of the event one non-profit group sat the Auctioneer (me) at a table with the DJ, the Interns, the Volunteer Staff, and other event “Help”. The 2nd non-profit group sat the Auctioneer (me) directly next to the CEO of their organization, where we chatted about how important the pending revenue would be to their organization. Which group do you think valued the services of the Fundraising Auctioneer more?

Don’t ever under-estimate the value that a professional Fundraising Auctioneer can bring to your event. The Auctioneer adds value as a pre-event consultant. And the Auctioneer can change an event from a moderate to a huge success.

A Case Study Once I was scheduled to call an Auction for a major local non-profit group. They represented a very good cause and they had a strong and dedicated following. Their event was sold out, quality Live & Silent Auction items had been solicited, and the Special Pledge Appeal had been choreographed and was ready to go. The facility was first class, the appropriate caterer was booked, and the food was ready to cook.

But quite unexpectedly, some unseasonably inclement weather forced the event’s cancellation. Despite all of the committee’s hard work, cancelling the event was the proper decision considering the circumstances.

So the Event Committee scrambled to re-schedule the event for the following weekend.

They confirmed with the Hosting Facility.
They confirmed with the Caterer.
They confirmed with the Liquor Store.
They confirmed with the DJ.
They confirmed with the Florist.
Since they already had the Mailing List of those scheduled to attend, no new invitations had to be printed as all were contacted by email or telephone. So with everything in place, the group went ahead and re-scheduled the event for the following weekend.

But guess who they failed to confirm? You got it… the Professional Auctioneer. They thought so little of the Auctioneer’s contribution that they “assumed” that the Auctioneer would be available and at their beck and call.

But the Auctioneer already had another Fundraising Auction booked for that date with another non-profit group. It was only hour away from the re-scheduled event, and things could have been easily worked out. All Group #1 had to do was start their event one hour earlier, or one hour later, than the Group #2, and the Auctioneer could have helped both groups on the same day.

But because Group #1 failed to anticipate a possible Auctioneer conflict, because they failed to confirm with the Auctioneer before re-scheduling their event, their preferred Auctioneer had to bow out and they had to scramble to locate substitute “Volunteer” Auctioneer only days before their event.

And it cost them.

Learning Points

The Live Auction is usually where the profits are made at any Fundraising Auction.
A Professional Fundraising Auctioneer can be vital to the success of any Fundraising Auction.
The better Fundraising Auctioneers usually get booked quickly.
You need to recognize the important contributions that a good Auctioneer can make to your event.
Michael Ivankovich is a Bucks County Fundraising Auctioneer based in Doylestown PA, and serves the Great Philadelphia PA area. He has been a professionally licensed and bonded Auctioneer in Pennsylvania for nearly 20 years, has been named Pennsylvania’s Auctioneer of the Year, and has considerable experience in conducting Fundraising Auctions. Michael loves helping groups raise needed funds for good causes and one of his specialties is the “Special Pledge Appeal” or “Fund-A-Cause Appeal” which usually enables clients to double their revenue in a single evening.

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Choosing a Home Base Business Idea

With the slow improvement of the economy, a lot of people are looking for ways to earn some extra money. If you’re one of them, you shouldn’t have second thoughts about trying on the perfect home base business idea. Starting a conventional business can be costly especially if you need to put up a storefront. With an online business, you will be able to start with a small amount of capital. All you need is a reliable internet connection and computer.Here are some of the best home based business ideas that you can use:1. Caring for senior citizens – if you are quite good in caring for the elderly, you can start your own home based business of teaching or training younger people in looking after older individuals. In some families, the parents are usually too busy with their work and attending to kids; they don’t have much time to care for the elderly. With your skills, you can help others in finding a well-paid profession.2. Candle making – Do you know how to make candles? If you do, you should consider this as a home business. If you are not comfortable with internet business, this is a great option. During New Year or Christmas and other festive occasions, people need candles. You can teach interested individuals to make candles, especially scented ones. This is also a great way to help them in earning extra money.3. For women with small kids, it would be an advantage to learn about the various internet business ideas. You can become a freelance writer, blogger, or you can become an affiliate marketer. Why don’t you start a daycare center? This is one of the good home business ideas that you can try.4. If you are good in gardening, you can teach others your skills and techniques in growing plants. Home gardeners can earn some money by teaching others several times a week in exchange for a small fee.5. Another home business that you can try is yard maintenance. You can offer the neighborhood your services when you’re just starting. As you gain a good reputation in this industry, you can expand the business to nearby places; by expanding, you will need to have a service car to transport the equipment that you will use like mower or trimmers.If you think that starting a local home business is challenging, you can simply opt for online Business ideas. There are so many internet business ideas that you can choose from. With a little knowledge of the web and using computers, you will surely be able to generate some money.You can try answering surveys and questions in behalf of companies. Another option is to become a product tester. Blogging and writing is very popular today. You have to evaluate your skills and knowledge before choosing a certain endeavor. It is not that hard to manage an online or small home business. With the right attitude and skills, you will surely succeed and provide your family with their needs.

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