4. You can lose money from lack of effective marketing.

Effective marketing is a big area where businesses fail. They usually plan their promotion like they plan their meals – one at a time. It pays to have a marketing plan and be able to correctly determine ROI (Return On Investment) from marketing actions. Most businesses send out one promotion piece and then tally responses, not amount of money produced from those responses. This gives a false picture. Then business owners think that their marketing “isn’t working” so they quit - just as quickly as they started. Likewise, when they quit, they do so not realizing that repeat mailings are key to generating more responses and more income. Executives commonly do not “put themselves in their prospects/customers shoes” and look at their marketing from customer’s viewpoint. An example of this is taking a look at how you actually respond to direct mail. Do you jump at every mail piece that arrives in your mailbox? Or, more realistically, do you start to really take notice of a company’s promotion once you have seen it repeatedly?

The marketing medium is something to consider as well. There are inexpensive ways to get started with marketing that will get you a good Return On your Investment and that will enable you to generate enough income consistently before you start branching out into other more expensive media. A postcard is a particular medium that works well for a number of reasons. I highly suggest finding a reputable direct mail postcard company that gives free marketing advice as your source for direct mail marketing. I would make sure that postcards are all they do, get references from them to investigate and call those references for data about that company. And remember, absolute cheapest price isn’t always best – you get what you pay for. There is a lot to learn about marketing. It is a powerful tool to expanding your business.

This four-point checklist that can help you discover where your business is losing money. Each of these points can be improved when you apply correct tools. I base validity of those correct tools on whether they get results – not by my opinion – but whether they actually work no matter what industry you are in.

If you are going out on your own for first time online, I suggest choosing a business where a team is incorporated. There are a multitude of programs where you can still have your own home business but will also work as part of a team. Here if rough times strike, at least you will have more than one head to tap into to solve problem. When you are more experienced and would like to do something off your own back, you can always start another venture where maybe risk in start-up period would be greater.

Nobody says that online business is easy. Like everywhere there is alot of competition and alot of marketing work must be done in order to drive potential customers to your web site. Don’t expect big returns in this period and don’t let lack of income affect your drive for your business. It’s imperative in these times to keep working diligently to your plan believing that your present work is for future investment. The real question that each individual must ask themselves internally is how far you will go and how determined you are to succeed in creating YOUR OWN business. If answer is positive, believe me you are half way there already.

Author Jack Foley works from home in Ireland For more articles and information about Jack's home business, visit his website: http://www.residual-income-home-based-business.com