Pinoy Entrepreneurs

A new resource has been launched to help entrepreneurs in the UK start up and grow successful businesses. The resource is called the Start Up Donut, and it counts none other than Google among its sponsors.

The site went live today and his been developed in response to a surge in the number of business start-ups in the UK brought on by large numbers of redundancies and changes in the business climate.

“The economic conditions have led large numbers of people to consider their options – as a result, entrepreneurial activity is on the rise,” says James Elias, Google UK’s Head of Business Marketing. “There are some very creative businesses being launched, and people are looking for the highest quality information to make their ideas a reality.”

Start up Donut is a free resource, which includes access to hundreds of pages of practical information and advice. It also includes online tools designed to give entrepreneurs quick, easy to understand help.

Source: SmallBusinessNewz
Author: Chris Crum

Imagine you are driving a car on an empty road at midnight with no lights and sign boards and you’re far away from home. What will be you next move? Confused in the middle of the road? This is what happens when people start a home based business opportunity without doing the adequate research or preparation.

Thousands of home based business opportunities are available in the market. However, selecting the best one which suits your requirements can be the toughest job. Here are some basic steps which you’ll need to consider before taking up any business.

Explore Your Options:

Take some time to explore various opportunities available in the market rather than jumping on the first thing that you come across. Explore the net, read some books or ask your colleagues for ideas and jot down your favorites

Match Your Interest:

Out of various options you selected, choose the one that matches your interests, goals, abilities and revenue. Don’t select a business for just the heck of doing it. Consider all the possibilities and select the one that you’ll love doing and the one which is worth doing.

Research on Competition and Market:

Now you have a direction because you have selected 1 out of thousand available businesses. First try to know more about the business by doing a thorough research. Then understand and analyze your competition and you target audience. This way you won’t the beating around the bush and you’ll hit the target accurately.

List Down Essential Things Needed Your To Start:

Jot down all the essential things which you’ll require to start your business. The important resources which you will need to own are desktop or a notebook, internet connection, headset with microphone etc. Remember that one of the reasons you choose a home based business opportunity is to cut down your overhead costs. Therefore, try to make use of all the possible things available at home.

Safety Measures:

Do not start any business without knowing the consequences and safety measures of the business. For example, if your business involves usage of chemicals or flammable substances, avoid direct contact and keep them away from the reach of children, if any.

Investment Planning:

Consider the cost involved in starting the business and the source of finance. Your business won’t fetch you immediate income. It will take certain months or years to develop and flourish. So it’s always important and wise to keep extra money aside for sustaining your expenses.

Laws and Compliance:

Different countries and cities have different set of rules and regulations for a home based business. Check what are the essential laws and rules necessary for you to abide. Also most of the countries have tax benefits for home based business opportunities, which will come handy to you.

Insure Your Business:

Most of the businesses today can be insured. Check with local agents to understand which plan will suit your type of business. By insuring, you can minimize your wrists and you’ll be able to protect your business from loss.

Set Realistic Goals:

People with a fixed goal succeed because they know where they are going. Set your target but be realistic while setting it. Setting unrealistic goals and not achieving it will break your confidence and can act as a barrier for your business.

Family Support:

One of the advantages of home business is that it takes you closer to you family. This can improve your relationship and profits at the same time. If your business involves some easy tasks which can be handed by anyone in your family, you can ask them for support and generate extra income in lesser time.

These simple and basic rules can avoid unexpected confusion and help you to set a clear path for your business. If done with proper planning and research, a home based business opportunity can turn into a huge business. Remember, you are the owner of this business and only your pro-activeness can make it a success. So, plan well and get started.

Reference:  OurFormulaForSuccess

ACTRESS and former “pantasya ng bayan” Joyce Jimenez finds it easy to manage her lingerie business and concentrate on her pregnancy with the latest information tech-nology from “Negosyo Boost” of PLDT-SME Nation.

Joyce likes to be a hands-on manager and com-munication is very im-portant to her.

“This is very helpful to me because it saves me time and everything and I don’t need to go to the site everyday,” says Joyce as PLDT introduced its Negosyo Boost package to help the small and me-dium entrepreneurs. From product selection to mar-keting and promoting those products, she is there to make sure that her growing business gets off.

“As SME, it’s hard if you do not have commu-nication to the outside world,” added Joyce, who expects to give birth in October. Constant updates and consultations form the backbone of her business operations. That’s why she finds Negosyo Boost such a valuable partner.

“Even when I’m abroad, I’d still like to stay on top of my lingerie business part-nership with Ever Bilena Cosmetics. And Negosyo Boost offers small busi-nesses like mine to do that in an effective yet af-fordable way,” Joyce explains.

“But I can’t always be physically present for my business partners. With the laptop and a wireless in-ternet access on hand, they can quickly send pictures of the products, and I can also receive them just as fast. And we can even do video-conferencing when needed. It’s almost as good as being there.”

The PLDT-SME-Nation Negosyo Boost service bundles broadband con-nectivity and business-enabling hardware devices like netbooks and printers into one convenient pack-age. This allows managers like Jimenez and Rommel Juan, owner of Binalot, one of the country’s more original fast food chains, to manage their business even when they’re on the go.

Business owners can choose from any of the three PLDT-SME Nation Negosyo Boost packages. Each one just costs P3,000 a month, with a one time fee of P2,000.

The Negosyo Launch package bundles a PLDT myDSL subscription with a business landline, Sylviana UMPC netbook and a space-saving HP 4250 3-in-1 printer.

Businesses who subscribe to the Negosyo Advance package will get PLDT myDSL Biz, a WeRoam Plan with 2 mbps of wireless con-nectivity, a Sylviana UMPC netbook, and a HP 4250 3-in-1 printer.

Then there’s Negosyo On-The-Go, which in-cludes a WeRoam Plan, two units of PLDT Land-line Plus, and a Sylviana UMPC netbook.

Business owners also have the option to up-grade their Negosyo Boost subscription to a Booster A package where they can get the MSI Wind U100LX netbook for an additional P400 a month, or the Booster B package’s HP Mini-note for an P800 monthly fee.

Reference: Journal Online