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Watch Out for Bad SEO Services

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One of the big money makers online right now is the area of search engine optimization (SEO). This is the process by which you tweak your home business web site or blog so that it is easy for search engines to navigate, and so that it has the qualities that search engines recognize in sites that are worthy of climbing in the rankings. There are many SEO firms out there that promise results. But you have to be careful

Susan Payton, the Marketing Eggspert at Sparkplugging, offers this on the main thing to watch out for:

[T]here are companies who will promise to get you to the #1 position in the search engines. It’s crap. No one can guarantee where you’ll be in search engine results. Often this means you’ll be #1 for your company name or other search term that no one’s looking for. That’s not what you want. You want a company that uses ethical search engine  optimization efforts to organically move you toward the top.

Ethical search engine optimization includes such things as using keywords naturally in your web copy, writing good headlines, having properly tagged video and images, and using strategic linking to useful information both on and off your web site. Even social media can be helpful in SEO. There are companies that can help you do this, but you have to wade through a lot of the bad while trying to find them.

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Great Online Tools for Your Virtual Office

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If you work from home, chances are that you want a virtual office that you can access from anywhere. I know that I use a variety of online tools that help with my home business when I am…away from home. Here are some great tools that totkumi suggests for your home business virtual office. Some of these look downright awesome:

PageOnce: This is not something that I particularly need, but it does look useful. It is an iPhone application that runs as a virtual assistant, helping you keep everything organized and that helps you run basic virtual home office operations.

Line2: I think this looks awesome. You can add a second line to your cell phone — one that has separate contacts and voicemail. This lets you know when a call is a business call, and helps you get all of your calls, even if you are not in your home office.

Google Docs: I am a huge fan of Google Docs. I can access documents, templates and a number of other things from anywhere with Google Docs. It is also easy to share. I also like Google Calendar, which helps me keep things in order, and helps me keep track of work and appointments.

FreshBooks: I don’t use this, but if you do invoicing, FreshBooks can be very helpful. This is a great accounting tool that even has an iPhone app attached to it so that you can take care of business on the go. I use PayPal for most of my invoicing, and Quicken for keeping track of things, but I can see the appeal of FreshBooks.

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5 Low-Cost Home Business Ideas

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Many people are interested in starting a home business — or at least working from home. However, there are concerns about cost. (You can learn about starting a business from the SBA.) The good news is that there are plenty of things you can do for a home business that are low-cost. You just need to have the right skills. Here are 5 low-cost home business ideas:

1. Tutoring: If you have a specialty, you can tutor others. Many people are willing to pay for a tutor, and many parents want tutors for their children. You can even do online tutoring, holding distance sessions with your clients. You can get started by going to the local school district and asking if they need tutors, or posting your services on a university community message board. There are also online sites that can help you find clients for your services (but you may have to pay a portion of earnings).

2. Online teaching: Technology makes distance learning possible. Not only can you tutor others remotely, but you can teach online. Many online universities are looking for instructors. However, many traditional universities also offer online courses, taught by teachers at a distance. You can be paid an adjunct salary and teach a course in your specialty — provided you are qualified.

3. Virtual assistant: This is another great job done at a distance. You can help set up appointments, do routine office work and other jobs for people who need a little more time. There are a number of sites that can connect you with clients (fees), or you can post your own credentials. Also, look online at reputable career sites. Many companies post openings for virtual assistants.

4. Web design: If you are a talented web designer, you could start your own business. If you know about SEO, and creating a good site, you can make come good money. This also works for graphic design and other related fields. My brother-in-law does freelance game design for companies that produce video games. He does this from the comfort of his home.

5. Freelance writing: No list of low-cost home business ideas is complete without freelance writing. It’s what I do. You can find sites that will take your stuff, even if it isn’t terribly polished. This is a good way to hone your skills. You can write any number of things from anywhere. I provide content for blogs, report on science breakthroughs for a news site and cover personal finance for another site. Plus, I have my own column in the local newspaper, and have written for national magazines. If you can write, the potential is boundless.

There are other low-cost home business ideas out there as well. Can you think of any? Share your home business story in the comments.

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Courses from the SBA Can Help Your Home Business Succeed

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Yesterday, I wrote about how the government has some handy resources available for those interested in starting a business. Today, I’d like to offer you some information on another resource available: 30-minute courses from the Small Business Administration.

The SBA offers a number of self-paced courses on starting a business, franchising, using technology, management, finances and more. These course can offer you a great resource if you want to start a home business. Learning about a variety of business related topics can give you just what you need to learn how to start and successfully run a business.

Instead of wondering what you should do, take a few online SBA courses. You’ll be glad you did.

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10 Steps to Starting a Home Business

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The government has a number of resources available to small businesses, including home business operations. One of the more interesting things on Business.gov is the 10 step business starting article. It’s very simple and straightforward, but it give you a general idea of what you will need if you want to start a home business. Here are the 10 steps to starting a home business, according to the governemnt:

1. Research and Plan Your Business

2. Get Business Assistance and Training

3. Choose a Business Location

4. Finance Your Business

5. Determine the Legal Structure of Your Business

6. Register a Business Name with Your State

7. Get a Tax Identification Number

8. Register for State and Local Taxes

9. Obtain Business Licenses and Permits

10. Learn Employer Responsibilities

Clearly, each step has sub-steps that need to be completed. However, this basic outline can provide you with a starting point and a good checklist of what will be necessary as you set up your home business.

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Learn to Set Up a Successful Facebook Page for Your Home Business

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One of the things that can really help your home business is to set up a Facebook page. Indeed, a Facebook page is one of the cardinal necessities of social media promotion of your home business. But you need to do it right. Susan Payton wrote a great post on Mashable about setting up a Facebook page that can help you with your home business. Payton points that some of the items to include on your Facebook page can be:

* Company overview

* Company contact information and web site

* Interesting company-related videos

* Press releases

* RSS feed from your home business blog

* Twitter updates from your business

* Company news

* Interaction with customers

If you are interested in setting up a Facebook page for your home business, I suggest you head over and read the article on Mashable. It will take you through essential elements of a good business Facebook page, and help you set one up.

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Avoid these Social Networking Mistakes

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By now, we all know that social media is a tool that can be used to help you promote your home business. But there are some definite dos and don’ts when it comes to social networking. Allison Boyer at Bizza offers four social networking mistakes to avoid:

1. Combining your personal profile with your professional profile.

2. Forgetting that you have a profile, and failing to keep it updated.

3. Becoming infamous. Yes, you want to be well-known. But not for being a jerk.

4. Sending visitors to your social networking page to an empty site.

Now, I have to admit that I am a major offender with #1. My Facebook profile is a combination of my professional and personal life. Oddly, I don’t feel too badly about that. Sometimes I feel bad for my actual friends and relatives, but since you can just ignore annoying things on Facebook, I don’t feel that bad.

Are you making any of these social networking mistakes with your home business?

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Working from Home Tip: Don’t Go Back To Work When You’re Done

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One of the things I realized last week, when I was sick, was that once I was done with everything that had to be done, I didn’t need to go back to work. And it got me to thinking about the way I act when I’m not sick. Sometimes, even when I decide I’m done working for the day, I’m really not. I’ll get an idea, or I’ll decide that I can use just 10 more minutes to do something “real quick.”

This, mind-set, however, doesn’t do much for my peace of mind, or for my overall productivity. When working from home, the hardest part can be actually being done for the day. But it is essential for your sanity — in most cases — to be done when you are finished for the day.

Knowing when to quit

Make a list of priorities, and tasks that have to be done today. Then get to work on them. Either choose a quitting time that makes sense with regard to your home business workload, or be done when you have completed the items on your to-do list. Either way, make it a point to be finished when you reach your prescribed ending point. If something occurs to you later, briefly write it down, and take care of it first thing in the morning. The only exceptions are true emergencies.

For most people, working from home is about flexibility and having more time to enjoy your family. In order to realize this dream, though, you have to stop working sometime.

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