Homeschool Entrepreneur » Home business ideas

Calling All Inventors!

Deb — Wed, 16 May 2012 16:18:43 +0000

Here’s another competition you can enter from Edison Nation. Market your invention on Season 5 of Edison Nation! Deadline is May 31.

Click here for more info: http://www.edisonnation.com/live_product_searches/EE312

7 Ways To Know If You’re In The Right Business

Deb — Sun, 22 Apr 2012 07:01:14 +0000

Choosing a business is by far the most difficult decision you will face in your entrepreneurial journey. You may have that idea for a business that is stuck in your head that you dream about daily, but will it succeed?

You may need to adapt your idea a little differently to suit what the market will bear. It’s absolutely essential that you are passionate about the field that you want to start a business in, but thinking long and hard about the factors that will make it succeed is a sub-category you really need to consider carefully. You may need to adapt your idea a little differently to suit what the market will bear.

So, HOW do you know if a business will succeed?

There are many ways to determine this, and its certainly a lengthier subject than this simple blog post can support. Even if we could, all the signs can point to inevitable success, and it still may not succeed like you hoped. I’m somewhat of a business bio nut. I love to read, watch and hear about how anyone has found some element of entrepreneurial success. One thing I have noticed is that is isn’t always the IDEA….but it’s the person behind the idea.

There are so many variables in the success equation, but what it boils down to is the biggest factor is YOU. Here are the six, no, seven, common denominators in 99% of successful entrepreneurs:

Are YOU passionate about what you want to do?
Are YOU ready to work hard, long hours to start with? (that’s why you need to be passionate about this!)
Are YOU ready to turn a deaf ear to those negative comments that are sure to come at you?
Are YOU ready to look at all your customers as friends, even the ones that are grumbling, complaining, and making your life, well….less than enjoyable?
Are YOU ready to allow your business to flow into the direction that the market seems to be taking it?
Are YOU willing to learn everything you can about your business, and humbly seek advice from experienced entrepreneurs?
Are YOU willing to surround yourself with motivated, intelligent, hard-working partners/employees….and let go the dear friends and/or relatives that are NOT?

These are really the most important factors in any new business. If you are willing to put your all into it and watch what works and sells and move your business in that direction, then it would be difficult to fail.

Here are some other places to find advice and do some old-fashioned research on deciding on a business to start:

http://www.ahbbo.com/starting-business-articles.html

http://blogs.msdn.com/b/chrisfie/archive/2011/03/02/great-read-how-to-choose-the-right-business-intelligence-technology-to-suit-your-style-microsoft-bi.aspx

Only 3 Days Left To Enter Edison Nation Season 5

Deb — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 19:38:11 +0000

Sorry for the late notice, but I just discovered the deadline to enter Edison Nation’s call for unique and innovative inventions (say THAT 5 times!) is April 2nd.

An Emmy Award-winning public television show, Everyday Edisons has been a huge hit now for 4 seasons. If you have never heard of Edison Nation, just watch the video above or go to EdisonNation.com.

It’s a great way to present your invention and see where it can go. Here is Eric Huber’s story to give you an idea of what to expect.

Let us know if you make it, we’ll feature you on Homeschool Entrepreneur!

Start a Business Teaching Music

Deb — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 02:30:30 +0000

Many homeschool families, in fact most homeschool families, integrate music lessons as an important part of their curriculum. It’s been proven that music lessons actually make you smarter. No, this is not a wive’s tale or a myth, it is a scientific fact.

Forbes Magazine reported a Canadian study proving that after nine months of weekly training in piano or voice, young students’ IQs rose nearly three points more than their untrained peers. Evidently, it exercises parts of the brain useful in mathematics, spatial intelligence and other intellectual pursuits. In addition, Medical News Today found evidence that children with music lessons had better memories as well as higher literacy and math levels.

All that is to encourage those of you that have been thinking about starting to teach music as a means for extra income to move forward with your plans! Every area, especially in homeschool groups, there is a need for talented music teachers. If you are ambitious and would like to make it a full time income, you can use the internet to dramatically expand your reach.

Music Teaching Success is a website that has a wealth of information on starting your music business and how to move it online. There is very little capital needed to start this business. Marketing is what you need to concentrate on at first, but once you have a clientele built up, you will be free to work with what you love most: teaching music.

Of course, you don’t have to complicate matters with online lessons. I have known several young ladies that have earned a modest income teaching music to local students. It’s not hard to get started at all! Here are the links we mentioned above. There are many other materials and books available to help you on your journey but learn everything you can online first – there is plenty out there!

http://www.musicteachingsuccess.com

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/52349.php

http://www.forbes.com/2004/07/15/cx_0715health.html

Be Inspired, Entrepreneurs

Deb — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 15:46:29 +0000

For those of you who have not seen this video on our website, yet, enjoy.

If you know a homeschool family that could help up create a video like this for homeschool entrepreneurs, please contact me at deb@homeschoolent.com. Thanks!

**FYI-we are NOT selling the product they mention at the end, it’s just the most inspirational video for entrepreneurs I have ever seen. I promise, there are NO affiliate links…(except the company’s own. )

Thanks!

____

A great gift idea:

Thinking of Starting an Online Information Marketing Business?

Deb — Sat, 27 Aug 2011 04:07:47 +0000

If you’ve been thinking of starting an online business, then you are not alone. Starting an online business is a very broad subject, but like retailing, you may have a wide variety of options to choose from but there are basics you MUST know. Choosing the right niche, packaging it to appeal to your target market, ideal ways to market it, and more. There is so much to learn from those that have found success and know what works and what doesn’t. Eben Pagen is one of the top ‘internet gurus’ and has created an online empire larger than most without succumbing to the darker side of internet marketing.

Transparent, honest and quite talented in teaching complicated subjects in an easy to understand format, Eben has a habit of sharing a large chunk of his knowledge for free. I’ll warn you up front, he is going to tell you about a new product he has in the last 10 minutes of the video, but not before you have gleaned a great deal of VERY valuable information. It’s sort of like those resorts you are invited to spend the weekend on in exchange for sitting through a sales presentation. The nice part here is you can simply close the window in the last 10 minutes if you aren’t interested.

Marketing an information product is ideal for homeschoolers because it’s a wonderful way to share your unique homeschool experience with others. It just fits most homeschool families. Low to no investment, work at home, using the the knowledge you already have, how much better could it be? Regardless of where you may be in your journey, you have much to gain by what Eben is willing to share in this webinar. Watch the video and learn the following cutting edge techniques:

How to package what you know into “information products” that you can sell for high prices online
The 2 key things you must have in order to build a successful “information business” online
The common denominators of “winning” online niches – and how to target one that works
A new type of marketing that is actually much easier and more fun than “high pressure” stuff from the past
The one question to ask to figure out exactly what to include in your information product – so it has the highest chances of success
Which type of product to start with if you’re building a new information business online

You will not have to jump over an opt-in or squeeze page, either. Or give up your email address. Just watch & learn! Take notes.

(I promise, this is NOT an attempt to sell you anything, there are NO affiliate links whatsoever, and I have no connection with selling their product. I simply want to share this great information with you, honest-in fact, if you do want to buy his product, let me know so I CAN go get an affiliate link! )

http://www.andyjenkinsblog.com/2011/08/25/eben-pagan-guru-mastermind-webinar-replay/

Living Their Dream

Deb — Thu, 26 May 2011 23:44:03 +0000

Forest Graves was laid off unexpectedly from his job, and didn’t know what to do. Together with his wife they decided to do what they had always wanted to do: start a coffee business. As coffee lovers, they were always on the search for the perfect cup of coffee – to no avail. They bought a roaster and now they have a very successful coffee business.

When I checked out his webpage, JumpingGoat.com, I noticed that one of his blog categories (on the right) was ‘Coffee Shop Business’. He writes his blog in a very transparent, down-to-earth way and I think anyone considering opening a shop like this could glean a great deal of wisdom from someone that has done so well.

Watch the video if you haven’t already. He gives some good advice and three good tips in this interview:

Just begin

Embrace technology

Start with a Facebook page

Start a Coffee Business and Learn Entrepreneurship: For 8-14 year olds:

A curriculum written for older elementary students that are interested in selling quality coffee while learning how to run a business is FatBrainCoffee.com. It’s an excellent program that takes you step by step through everything you need to run your own coffee business. I think they have added tea, also.

So…have you thought of what business you would start if given the opportunity?