Home-Based Business

By Alexi Boyd |

Small Biz Matters – a half hour program each week where you can work ON your business rather than IN it.
Small Business Bookkeeping Tips
with Alexi Boyd from Boyd Office Management Services
Date: September 2014

We’re very excited to be welcoming this week Lenka Taylor to chat to us about her experiences running a home based business. I would consider Lenka to be one of the experts since not only did she establish her own branded business which she ran out of her home but she is now a demonstrator for a well known brand which she also manages out of her own home – kitchen actually, but we’ll get to that later….

Welcome Lenka and thanks for being on the show!

Firstly, can you tell me a little bit of your background, and what led you to take the plunge with home based business?

 

  • Originally in corporate with a IT background working with banking & telecommunications background
    • Is there an ideal corporate background or is it more about your strengths
      • Marketing would do better – depends what you do.
      • Every person has their own strengths
    • Coming from corporate, structured background means you are used to processes being set in stone, tried and tested but often they don’t work in your environment – need to learn to let go & be flexible.
  • Currently a Thermomix consultant but prior to that you ran your own business called Activity Packs, tell us a little about that business

 

Part 1 The Pitfalls & avoiding them initially:

  • I’ll just choose this and off I go when really you need to research to make the dream fit the reality
  • You have to have that time available specifically
  • “I’ll just work when the kids are at school or in bed”. But if you have enquiries at all times you need to be there for them.
  • All the admin plans were important and I realized too late when running your own product based business !
  • Ended up spending more time advertising & marketing which is not my interest or strengths but you cant run a business without it
  • Own business means you need to have a “buffer” to avoid cash flow issues
  • Remember there are ongoing advertising costs
  • Getting help from people (ended up outsourcing)
  • Don’t flog a dead horse if a particular strategy isn’t working, move on!

 

Research FIRST to find the right product

  • Low up front cost – no cash flow issues
  • I want a team to help me (before no one does it with me)
  • Forms of support from the company – product training, sales training (I just want the training just to do the job = more time with family) after sales support for both you and customers (how to handle the irate customer) and when to forward issues on
  • Team & team leader based system – tell me about that = business mentor, sharing ideas for demos, sales
  • The group/team helps motivates you but the deadlines can EITHER be annoying/feeling under pressure or motivating 

 

Part 2 : The Logistics - How does it impact on your time & home life balance

  • Client demands & finding time to service them
    • When I was in craft based business I didn’t think in advance that it was those times that clients would need me – the time I want to spend with my kids
    • Communication is the key, set times for working on the business and the family knows about it
    • Match your expectations with your home & your client
  • Physical space it takes up in your home
    • Be aware as the business grows the space it takes up will grow (more products = more space) and that means less space for the family
    • You MUST have a work area and depending on the business that could be really huge, or outside, or a garage
  • Juggling time
    • Different products require different types of customers & expectations and therefore you might need to be available
    • Longevity of liking doing that product – craft was perfect at a certain time for the kids but not when they grew out of it

 

When is the right time to move on?

  • Think about a time frame to begin with (e.g. stages of life of the family baby products)
  • When you get bored or not
  • When the admin becomes a chore – certain
  • You DO get all the marketing collateral (tables, tablecloth, up front cost, time planning of a simple event) but an established brand gives you everything – even the prize to raffle off) A good thing to investigate when trying

 

Part 3 : Wrap up

Is it more satisfying to do it yourself?

  • Not if you don’t enjoy it
  • The learning cure is so steep, and so much time is spent (e.g. facebook ad) but you now have the skill set to help others…. But I’m still not the expert.
  • But you do have the satisfaction of making it work

(Image courtesy of https://www.flickr.com/photos/89228431@N06/)