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Local Business  » Is The "At Home" In Your Work At Home Business?

Is The "At Home" In Your Work At Home Business?

Have you ever thought about the fact that most people with a

"home" business probably spend more time outside their home

working their business, than actually being at home?

With the exception of certain types of home based businesses,

most, whether in businesses of the traditional variety, such as

real estate agents, mortgage brokers, etc., or network

marketers, spend a great deal of time outside the home in an

effort to build and maintain their businesses.

When it comes to network marketing the number one activity that

takes place outside the home is probably the classic hotel

and/or conference room meeting where people gather at least once

a week to bring prospects to hear their company's business

presentation.

Of course, industry veterans know that these meetings often turn

into mere social gatherings, because the same people

(representatives who are already in the business) usually keep

showing up week after week, as opposed to the new prospects who

are supposed to be getting into the business.

Many home business owners routinely meet prospects at the

prospects' homes or offices, or have the prospect come to them

in order to conduct a business presentation.

Yet another popular practice is to take your prospect to lunch

or dinner to discuss your business proposal over a meal.

Prospects often love it, because they get a free meal, usually

with no obligation to join you in your business.

For some types of high dollar transactions, as in the type of

business that is often conducted among larger businesses and

organizations, taking your prospective customer, client, or new

business partner out on the town may be justifiable. However,

especially if you are involved in network marketing, the amount

that you stand to make up front if a new prospect signs up may

range from as little as nothing, to perhaps a few hundred

dollars.

For example's sake, lets say that you are with a company where

at your level in their compensation plan you earn $100 each time

someone new comes into your business and qualifies for whatever

your initial product/service purchase requirements are. As

always, it is the consumption of the product that you are being

paid for.

And let's say that for every 10 prospects you take to lunch 1

prospect typically signs up. Again, this is for example's sake,

as your actual closing rate may be higher. However, especially

for someone new, it's reasonable to assume that he or she may

sign up as few as 1 prospect out of every 10.

Let's further assume an average lunch bill of $25. Again, this

is being very conservative, as a typical lunch even for two can

easily be higher.

Ok, let's do the math. You take 10 prospects to lunch at $25

each, and 1 signs up in your business, which earns you an

up-front commission (when your check comes) of $100. $25 x 10 =

$250 so you are now at a loss of $150 for your efforts. That's

not including gas money, wear and tear on your car, or any sales

aids or samples that you may have also given away to each

prospect. So, conservatively, at this rate you're going to LOSE

AT LEAST $150 for each and every person you bring into your

business!

Again, your closing rate may be higher than 1 out of 10, and

your initial compensation may be higher, perhaps even by

hundreds of dollars. However, if you are like 9 out of 10

typical home business people or network marketers, the numbers

above are probably very realistic. Many network marketing

compensation plans pay considerably less than $100 in up-front

money.

If you are doing hotel conference room meetings then your cost

may be lower as you, along with all other representatives

attending, are likely sharing in the expense of the room and

facilities.

The above examples assume that you are working with prospects

and/or representatives who are in your immediate local vicinity.

Many network marketers travel out of town to grow their

businesses. Sometimes this may be to sign up a new prospect.

However, typically it is to provide support and assistance to

new out of town people who have come into your organization. One

thing that you'll quickly learn as you grow your business is

that even if you only recruit and sponsor people locally,

because they will have friends and family in other states and

perhaps even other countries, it won't be long before any

organization of any size is spread out quite far geographically.

Almost every industry or network marketing company also holds at

least one annual company event or meeting, which all

representatives are encouraged to attend. These events require

yet more expense, time away from your main occupation (unless

you are working your business fulltime), and even time away from

your primary business. Sometimes you'll recruit someone along

the way using the old "3-Foot Rule," (prospect anyone who gets

within 3 feet of you) which is absolutely NOT one of the methods

advocated here on ABCIncome.com. But otherwise, when you attend

company functions you usually do so at the expense of taking

time away from the activities that are actively making you

money.

It can be true that you will gain enough new information and

insight into your business that what you learn at these company

functions can help you build your business even better, but

seldom can you count on such an even to guarantee dollars into

your bank account. Over the years I've watched countless people

spend money they didn't have in their budgets in order to attend

such events. That's because most such events cost you money, as

opposed to making you money.

There is nothing wrong with company conventions, seminars, etc.,

as long as you can readily afford it, enjoy it, and, most

importantly, can afford to pay for it out of PROFIT! If your

business isn't making you enough money to pay for such a trip

then wait until it does, unless you are already in a position to

easily and comfortably afford the trip out of your existing

budget (most likely from the income from your day job).

Not to digress too far away from the main theme of this article,

but key rules to always remember in your business are to grow

your business out of profit, spend as little money as possible

on things that don't make you money, and what money you do spend

try to invest wisely in those things that will make you money.

Lastly, be reasonable about how many functions you attend. Some

groups of network marketers (usually not an official company

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sanctioned position) encourage or even demand their

representatives to attend pep talks and rallies as often as once

a month or more. Follow the guidelines already mentioned above:

Can you afford it, and what impact will attending that function

have on your business? Is it costing you money or making you

money?

Returning to our original theme, even if you can afford

activities like those just discussed above, do you want to spend

that much time away from your home and family? Many people find

that they are out and about so much, traveling to work with out

of town groups, and attending functions, that they are tired and

barely recover after returning from one before they are off to

the next.

Even if your efforts are profitable the above methods can be

among the least efficient ways of building a business. That's

not to say it can't or doesn't work, many have built

organizations of thousands that way, including me (in years

past, as I use better and more efficient methods today). But ask

yourself, if you could build an organization just as, if not

more, effectively while still being able to spend as much time

at home with your family as you would like, wouldn't that be

better?

Sure, you can always take people to lunch, dinner, and travel,

to socialize, but, especially with all of the tools that you now

have at your disposal such as the telephone, conference lines,

Internet, fax, etc., it simply isn't necessary to do so in order

to build a successful and profitable business.

There are some people who just love and enjoy always being on

the go, or socializing, etc. There too such things become a

matter of personal preference. I know people, for instance, who,

especially in years past before online bill pay, etc., love to

pay almost all of their bills in person. For a stay at home

parent, or someone not working fulltime, or a retired person,

etc., they often view it as a way to get out of the house and

keep active. However, if you employ the kinds of training and

techniques that are available to allow you to build a growing,

successful, and profitable business, right from the comfort of

your own home, you will be busy with so many new prospects and

representatives that you are unlikely to get bored sitting

around home with nothing to do!

So, if you're happy with the way in which you are currently

growing your business, which may include some of the methods

above, that's fine. Some people still enjoy building their

businesses in the traditional way, in person, one person or a

few at a time. However, if you would like to learn more about

some of the things that you can change, and techniques that you

can employ, in order to start growing your business effectively

right from home, then please take a look at the programs that we

offer on ABCIncome.com. They allow you to achieve better

results, faster, than using any of the less efficient methods

mentioned above.

About the author:

GRPMAX, L.L.C. was founded by CEO Phil Covington in 1979 and is

the parent company of ABCIncome.Com. GRPMAX specializes in

developing Uniquely Innovative Technologies & Solutions™ and has

worked with clients ranging from small business, to government,

to the Fortune 500.