While there’s much talk about starting home based businesses, there isn’t enough about what to start. Surprisingly, most successful home businesses require unique skills to compete in the marketplace. This means that, sometimes, you’ll have to find out what skills people need you to have and go out and get them. Here are some tips on how to do so.
1. Follow the leader. It may sound unorthodox, but one of the best ways to gain a skill suitable to make money from home is to find what skills turn into cash. Look at what other home based businesses are doing. Find out what skills they need to produce or market their business and see if can be done for you. Some of the best ideas I had of making money from home came from what I was already buying from online sellers.
2. Tailor your learning. The frustration with many out-of-work professionals is trying to find ways to turn their skills in to home based businesses. This often fails because a job is different from a business. What’s required of a job, is not required of many businesses and vice versa. Many people can go through college, earn a degree and start working without any real skills. So when looking to get trained to develop a skill for your business, make sure it is tailored to your business. Hire someone to take you on and train you or get necessary materials specifically designed for your field.
3. Unlearn. No matter how long your training and career life was, it doesn’t necessarily mean you can translate it in to a home based business. An engineer may have years of experience in his field, however, there may be little opportunity for him to start a business from home. The way I see many businesses fail is that they can’t let go of their career past and find something new and more profitable to create a business from.
4. Start early. I think one of the best things parents can give their children, career wise, is the option to learn a skill suitable for a home based business. Many of us are college educated adults with no transferable skills. This is why there is such a small market for home businesses. School, for the most part, trains you to be an employee. Some of us, don’t want to be an employee. So it’s important to gain skills that can be used in a business, not just for a job. Also, a valuable skill may take years to develop, so it’s best to start developing it as early as possible.
5. Pay attention. While gaining a skill, make sure to keep your eye on the current demand. Not all skills are the same. Web design may be more in-demand than carpentry. You may spend a while developing a skill only to find that no one needs it any more.
