entrepreneur home business

1. Sell what everyone else is selling When you start your home business to make money with eBay, on the surface it sounds very inviting to sell what everyone else is selling. After all it is working for them, why shouldn't it work for you. It is important that you understand that the seller who is selling these hot items on eBay are more established and have a track record and are trusted by buyers. They have good resources and are in a position to buy in wholesale quantities enabling them to offer good prices. Before you start selling what everyone is selling, it is absolutely necessary for you to research what others are selling their items for and compare it with what your costs are. You want to be profitable as well as competitive.

2. Cheap items under $10 This is a big problem area. Perhaps you reason that everyone wants a good deal. While this is true, the big problem with items that sell for under $10 is shipping. More often than not, shipping for the item will cost more than the item itself, and this can discourage buyers from purchasing. For example, if you have the item listed for $7.95 and the shipping on that item is $5.00, the total cost for that item is $12.95. If the buyer can go to their local store and buy that item for $9.95, it becomes a better value for them. You will find that one of the best ways to sell inexpensive items is to put them together in a group like a group of 4 cups, 5 cards, etc.... Grouping your items in this manner allows you to offer items under $10 and still be competitive.

Offers for free stuff abound online and most of them are completely legitimate. Although it might be nice to get a free sample of mocha coffee or a free pair of baby booties, what do you really do with all that free stuff? Why not make some cash with it?

Free samples are so prevailing online that you can virtually can order five or six things every day and be getting free stuff in the mail for months! These free samples are available for everything from coffee creamers to baby wipes and antacids. The idea behind them is to turn you onto the products so that you will start buying them, but you can also turn free stuff into cash in your pocket by reselling it.

Let's start with some ideas. If you bundle similar items together, you have the perfect "sampler kit" or gift basket. All you need is three or four related items and you are ready to start. For example, you could put together some baby products, a sample of Dove soap, a couple mini packs of baby wipes, a formula sample and maybe even some talc powder or baby perfume. Put those all in a cute basket along with a bow and cellophane and you have the perfect newborn gift basket.

To create a sampler pack, you need items that are even more similar, like coffee. If you can get eight to ten different coffee samples, they can be packaged together in a neat little box, perhaps along with a mug or creamers and sold as a sampler pack. No one will ever know it was created from free stuff!

Larger free stuff like baby booties and T-shirts can be resold online, on Ebay or Craigslist, for example. If you get put together several T-shirts or other items that are similar, you can sell them on Ebay as a package deal, charging only a few dollars per item. Let's face it after all, this was free stuff, so even a few dollars are pure profit!

There are 1000's of online business opportunities available for you to make easy money online. When I say easy money, I'm not implying that there is no work or effort involved. You definitely will have to put in the hours and treat your online business as you would a regular brick-and-mortar business. But to me, it's a lot easier making money when you don't have a boss breathing down your neck, deadlines to meet and stress building daily. When you work for yourself you have the ability to be creative and work with inspired action. When you begin to see the money flowing into your account it no longer feels like work!

Let's jump forward. You have chosen a business opportunity, product or affiliate business to promote. So you're plugging along posting ads, submitting articles, networking in online groups, doing pay per click's, and seem to have created quite a successful online campaign. Things look good, right? But, is there an area that you are neglecting? Are you in fact losing sales because of some simple marketing techniques you may have ignored or that you thought wouldn't produce?

Don't get me wrong, I'm not referring to making a "warm list" of family and friends and inviting them all over for an "opportunity night" and bundt cake. Man, am I glad those days are over! That doesn't mean there still isn't an OFF-line market available for you to tap into, which will send prospects to your online business.

What I am referring to is a technique called "Gorrilla Marketing". Basically it involves thinking "out of the box". Do you live near a college or military base? How about a grocery store?!? Most grocery store's have bulletin boards. Use these! Make up "sizzle" cards and post them everywhere!

What's a sizzle card? It's basically your business card but the size of a flyer. You will need a catchy, take action headline that is short and to the point. Try something like: "Did You Make $3000 Today? If Not, YOU MUST SEE THIS!" Then provide a link to your website. Just make sure your headline is factual and relates to your business. That's it! Most people don't have a problem just logging on to a website. Instant traffic!!

You could also leave your phone number on the sizzle card. Now, if these people call YOU, then you know you have a hot lead! You can drop these cards off in a variety of places, including the movie theater, gym, and diners.