BusinessHABEmergency Home Repairs Business: Starting a small business is without a doubt a large undertaking.
But it is fortunately something that can be attained by anybody with a good idea.
A strong work ethic, and a good set of resources.
Starting a business involves thinking of a business concept.
Writing a business plan, understanding the financial side, and finally marketing and launching.
If you’re determining how much you should budget for home repairs.
1. Emergency Home Repairs Business
Consider the age of your home. If you have an older property.
You may want to set aside a larger amount than the rules of thumb dictate.
Particularly if you know there are repairs looming on the horizon.
There are a couple of rules of thumb that can help guide you when budgeting for unexpected home repairs.
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2. Emergency Home Repairs Business
Homeownership is a big responsibility with equally big costs.
Most people think that the bulk of their costs come with the home down payment and closing.
But unexpected home repairs can haunt you years later.
As long as you determine how much you should budget for home repairs and come up with a game plan to save.
3. Define your goals.
Do you want financial independence, eventually selling your business to the highest bidder?
Do you want something small and sustainable.
That you love doing and from which you want to derive a steady income?
These are the things that are good to know very early on.
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4. Create a working name.
You could even do this before you have an idea for the business.
And if the name is good, you may find it helps you define your business idea.
As your plan grows, and things begin to take shape, the perfect name may come to you.
But don’t let that hinder you in the early phases.
Create a name that you can use while you plan and don’t hesitate to change it later.
Always check to see if the name is being used by somebody else before selecting it.
Try to create a name that is simple and memorable.
5. Define your team.
Will you do this alone, or will you bring in one or two trusted friends to join you?
This brings a lot of synergy to the table, as people bounce ideas off each other.
Two people together can often create something that is greater than the sum of the two separate parts.
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6. Choose your partners wisely.
When choosing the person or people you’re going to build the business with, be careful.
Even if someone is your best friend, it doesn’t mean that you will partner well in a business operation.
Start it with a reliable person.
Things to consider when choosing your co-leaders and support cast include:
Does the other person complement your weaknesses?
Or do both of you bring only one set of the same skills to the table?
If the latter, be wary as you can have too many people doing the same thing.
While other things are left unattended.
Emergency Home Repairs Business
7. Do you see eye to eye on the big picture?
Arguments about the details are a given, and are important for getting things right.
But not seeing eye to eye on the big picture, the real purpose of your business.
Can cause a reaction that may be irreparable.
Be sure your team cares about them and buys into the purpose as much as you do.
8. Emergency Home Repairs Business
If interviewing people, do some reading on how to spot real talent beyond the certifications.
Degrees or lack thereof. The area an individual is educated in is not necessarily the area they are most talented in.
An interviewee may have a background in accounting for example.
But their experience and your assessment of them indicates they may be a better fit helping with marketing.
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9. Create a business plan.
A business plan helps to define what you think you need to launch your business, large or small.
It summarizes the sense of your business in a single document.
It also creates a map for investors, bankers.
And other interested parties to use.
When determining how they can best help you.
And to help them decide whether or not your business is viable.
10. Write your business description.
Describe your business more specifically, and how it fits into the market in general.
If you are a corporation, LLC, or sole proprietorship, state that, and why you chose to go that route.
Describe your product, its big features, and why people will want it.
Answer the following questions:
Who are potential customers?
Once you understand who they are and what they want.
Come up with a marketing strategy.
What price are they willing to pay for your product or service?
Why would they pay for your product or service over your competitor’s?
Who are your competitors?
Do a competitive analysis to identify key competitors.
Find out who is doing something similar to what you are planning, and how have they been successful.
Just as important is to find the failures, and what made their venture fall apart.
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11. Write the marketing plan.
Your operational plan describes how you will produce your product.
And your marketing plan describes how you will sell your product.
When you create your marketing plan.
Try to answer the question of how you will make your product known to potential customers.
You will want to include the type of marketing you will use.
For example, will you use radio ads, social media, promotions.
Billboards, attend networking events, or all of the above?
12. Emergency Home Repairs Business
You will also want to define your marketing message.
In other words, what will you say to convince customers to choose your product?
Here, you want to focus on your Unique Selling Point (also known as USP).
This is the unique advantage your product has to solve your customers problem.
For example, you may be lower cost, faster, or higher quality than your peers.
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13. Develop your service.
Once you have the business all planned, financed, and have your basic level of staffing, get going.
Whether that’s sitting down with the engineers and getting the software coded and tested, or getting materials sourced and shipped to your fabrication room (aka “garage”).
Or purchasing in bulk and marking up the price.
The building process is the time during which you prepare for market.
During this time, you may discover things such as:
Needing to tweak the ideas. Perhaps the product needs to be a different color, texture or size.
Maybe your services need to be broader, narrower or more detailed.
This is the time to attend to anything that crops up during your testing and development phases.
You’ll know innately when something needs tweaking.
To make it better or to make it less like a competitor’s stale offerings.
Emergency Home Repairs Business
14. Manage your running costs.
Keep a close eye on your running costs and keep them in line with your projections.
Whenever you see something spent wastefully—like electricity, phone plans, stationery, packaging.
Look around and estimate how much you really need.
And minimize or remove the cost in every way possible.
Think frugally when you start up.
Including renting items instead of purchasing them.
And using pre-paid plans for services your business needs instead of locking yourself into long-term contracts.
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15. Decide how to accept payment.
You will need to do something to get payment from your clients or customers.
You can get something like a Square.
Which is great for small businesses.
Since it requires the minimum amount of paperwork and the fees are minimal.
However, if you feel uncomfortable with technology.
You can inquire about a more traditional merchant account.
A merchant account is a contract under which an acquiring bank extends a line of credit to a merchant.
Who wishes to accept payment card transactions of a particular card association brand.
Previously, without such a contract.
One could not accept payments by any of the major credit card brands.
16. Get a website.
If you’re selling online, get your ecommerce in gear and either build a website, or have one built for you.
your storefront, so anything and everything you can do to make people want to visit, and want to stay, do it.
Alternatively, if your business is more oriented toward the “in person” experience.
Traditional marketing may be just as important.
For example, if you’re starting a landscaping business.
Focus on getting the word out to neighbors before starting a website.
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17. Emergency Home Repairs Business
When making a website keep in mind that simplicity and clarity are key.
A simple design that clearly states what you do, how you do it, and what you charge is most effective.
When making your website.
Remember to emphasize why your business is the best solution to a clients problem.
Emergency Home Repairs Business
18. Spend time developing an excellent social media presence.
This can be done well before the business is ready, increasing anticipation.
Use Facebook, Google+ and Twitter.
And any other social media you participate in to build excitement and spread the word.
You want to build a buzz so that people will begin following your progress.
Be sure to choose business accounts for your business and keep your personal accounts separate.
The messages you send should be tailored differently.
Depending on which account you’re sending from.
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19. Secure space.
Whether it’s an office, or a warehouse.
If you need more space than your garage or your spare bedroom, now’s the time to get that.
If you don’t generally need an office beyond your home.
But may occasionally need meeting space, there are often places that can address those needs.
A quick Google search on “business meeting rentals [your city/state]” will deliver plenty of rental options in your area.
Be sure to contact your local municipality about zoning laws.
Some types of small businesses cannot be ran out of a home.
And it is important to ensure your business is operating within its proper zone.
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Emergency Home Repairs Business
20. Launch your service.
When the product is all built, packaged, coded, online, and ready to sell.
Or when your services are fully worked out and ready to go.
Hold a special event to launch your business.
Send out a press release, announce it to the world.
Tweet it, Facebook it, let the word resound to all corners of your market.
You have a new business.
BusinessHAB