While some entrepreneurs quit their day jobs to
follow their dreams, U.S. News & World Report senior money editor
Kimberly Palmer started a side business because she was worried about the
stability of her dream job.
"I felt a lot of financial stress myself in
2009, at the height of the recession, and I felt I had very little job security
- people were getting laid off all the time," says Palmer.
Spurred by the need for a backup plan, Palmer
launched a business in 2011 selling money workbooks on Etsy - an experience she
talks about in her new book, The Economy of You: Discover Your Inner
Entrepreneur and Recession-Proof Your Life, out this month.
"I discovered a whole world of people doing the
same thing, starting side businesses. It really was becoming a big trend,"
says Palmer. She calls these on-the-side gigs "micro-businesses,"
which she defines as businesses that may not be paying the mortgage but are providing
another source of income.
Today a micro-business owner herself earning
approximately $200 per month from her online shop, Palmer shares her five tips
for anyone looking to launch a business on the side.
No. 1: Figure out what you have to
offer.
Before starting your own business, Palmer says it's
necessary to get a sense of the overall market, and where you might be able to
fit in.
"Go to popular ecommerce sites like Etsy, or
sites like Fiverr, Elance or Freelancer.com, to see how people are making
money," says Palmer. (Fiverr is a marketplace for online services costing
$5, while Elance and Freelancer.com help people find freelance gigs online.) By
exploring online marketplaces, Palmer says budding entrepreneurs can better
understand what they might be able to offer that's unique, or how to price
services that others are offering.
No. 2: Keep costs down.
Palmer says a common mistake first-time
entrepreneurs make is spending too much to get a business off the ground.
"It's easy to take advantage of existing
ecommerce sites," says Palmer, like Etsy or eBay. By setting up shop on
one of these platforms, Palmer says entrepreneurs can bypass the need for a
potentially costly website.
No. 3: Identify your weaknesses.
While you may be an experienced graphic designer,
you may not have a lot of marketing or sales experience. Once you figure out
what you don't know, Palmer suggests connecting with other entrepreneurs online
to improve your own abilities.
"I copied what the people I admired were
doing," says Palmer. In her case, the key to marketing her money workbooks
was getting coverage on popular online blogs aimed at mothers; by reaching out
to these writers, Palmer was able to increase sales.
No. 4: Test the marketplace.
"It's hard to know or predict what customers
want," says Palmer. She says soliciting feedback from clients can help you
figure out exactly what's going to resonate with your target audience. In her
personal experience, Palmer started out selling paper money planners, but soon
discovered that buyers were more interested in online money workbooks.
No. 5: Embrace challenges.
If you're a first-time entrepreneur, it's unlikely
you'll hit it out of the ballpark on your first try. However, Palmer says new
business owners can't let early-stage struggles get them down.
"Know there will be failures and bumps
along the road. Being entrepreneurial means there's going to be rejection. It
just means you have to tweak things or slightly change what you're
offering," says Palmer.
Source: entrepreneur.com
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