Part I: So You Say You're a Stay at Home Mom with a Home
Business?
By Jessica Delgado
So you've decided to take a huge leap and become
a stay at home mom, but you've also decided to start your own
business. You've decided that taking on the daunting task of
juggling kids, a household, and a business from home is for you.
You've thought it through; you've selected your business, set up
your work area, made your "Do Not Disturb" sign and even planned
the first year. Now, how do you begin marketing?
In this first article of a three part series, I will address how
to begin marketing yourself and your business. These three steps
are so basic, that you may have overlooked them. At first, many
people do. They want to become business moguls before even
setting a good foundation for their business. Although it is a
great aspiration to have, and always dream big, without the
right foundation for your business, you will be part of the 98%
of first-year failures.
The first step in getting your name out there is neither a web
site nor a bricks and mortar retail/office space. The first step
in getting your name out there is to make sure you have a market
for it. Today, the Internet is a great tool to market your
services or products, but its not the magic ingredient. Putting
up a web site will not make you an overnight success. Think
about this. There are millions of pages Worldwide (web) with
tons of information. How is Sammy in Britain going to find your
page as soon as you put it up? It takes a lot of work to
generate traffic and repeat clients. Therefore, make sure that
you have a viable business that you can market in your own town,
city or block.
Take advantage of your hometown. Put up flyers, posters, and
advertise in your place of worship. Most churches have monthly
newsletters that allows for advertisements in the back flap. Ask
if you can leave business cards at your local bakery, hair
salon, grocery store, or even post office.
But most of all, don't forget word of mouth. Have your friends
tell everyone they know. You tell everyone you know. Give them
all a handful of business cards to pass along to people they
know. How many times have you not gone to a friends favorite
"insert favorite here." Be it their favorite hairstylist,
seamstress, or even bakery for the kids birthday cake: You have
fallen prey to a word of mouth referral. It is one of the best
ways to advertise.
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