- The Best Home Based Business Opportunities For a Bad Economy
As with any economic condition, some will be affected negatively by an economic downturn, but there will be great opportunities created for others. It’s your job as a business owner to find those opportunities. You have enough to do just running your operation, so here are some ideas for businesses that do especially well in bumpy economic times. You can focus your business on such opportunities, or if you’re just getting started, use these as a guide (in no particular order). All of these businesses can easily be operated out of your home.
As with any successful business, those that prosper will be those that create value for their customers. When economic times are tough the quest for value becomes even more acute. The demand for certain businesses grows as the demand for others shrinks. Inexpensive luxuries related businesses will tend to do relatively worse in a recession or economic downturn.
For example, selling $5.00 coffee drinks may not be the path to success when people begin pinching pennies. On the other hand, a business helping people pinch those pennies and weather the recession could net you big profits as a home based business owner.
Best Home Based Business Opportunities For a Bad Economy 1
Credit Consultant – This is one business that experiences a huge upswing in demand when times are tough. You can earn handsome fees by helping people through credit problems and getting them on the path back to excellent credit. Help them set up budgets, prioritize their spending, analyze spending habits and credit offers, raising FICO credit scores and basically anything else that becomes a big problem when money gets tight. It can be a great gig; help people and be well rewarded for it, financially and otherwise.
You can also do credit consulting for businesses. For many businesses, their credit is the financial lubrication that keeps their business operating efficiently and smoothes out their cash flow. They’ll benefit from your services with increased efficiency and higher operating profits.
Best Home Based Business Opportunities For a Bad Economy 2
Debt Collection Agency – It goes without saying that when times are tough more people have trouble paying their bills. If you have experience in the credit or collections industry, you can leverage this into a nice career helping businesses ensure payment of their bills is a priority for customers. The reality is that when business or consumers begin having trouble paying their bills, they’ll pay the ones they feel are important, while letting others go unpaid.
A skilled debt collections agency (you?) is invaluable when it comes to convincing these creditors that their client’s invoices should be one of those given top priority. You should have prior experience in this field and be familiar with all state and local laws pertaining to debt collections. You can go at it alone or purchase a franchise.
Best Home Based Business Opportunities For a Bad Economy 3
Low Cost Goods Provider – In a recession or poor economic times consumers and business become much more price sensitive. In fact if times are poor enough, price becomes the over riding factor people use to make their purchasing decisions. If you are a low price goods supplier that puts you in an excellent position to make a profit by supplying needed items at a very low cost.
For home based business owners this is a godsend. Due to the low overhead of home based businesses, they are well positioned to become just such a supplier. Using the Internet for their marketing and drop ship fulfillment centers as suppliers a home based business can create a very large presence supplying goods in any number of needed categories at the low prices consumers and businesses demand during these times. Other considerations typically used to make purchasing decisions, such as service and quality, will become secondary, and price will reign supreme.
If you can be the low cost supplier, yet keep good service and high quality, you’ll be set to retain customers when economic times improve. Such a strategy can set the stage for a strong business now and in the future. Therein lies another reason to keep your overhead low. Every cent you increase your overhead must be accounted for in your price structure, so pinch pennies. If you can make a case for increased ROI, then by all means spend away, but far too many business owners never do any formal ROI analysis. Make sure you’re not one of them.
You’ll typically want to target a market segment where you can get a competitive advantage either in distribution or supply, preferably both. If you can get an exclusive distribution agreement on a product or service with solid potential, you’ll obviously be well positioned to thrive in the marketplace. While such an advantage isn’t essential, it will take some pressure off you as a marketer, because selling an exclusive with built in demand is much easier than having a host of competitors.
How can you ensure you have a competitive advantage? Basically, you have to grow a set. No supplier is just going to call you out of the blue and drop a valued product line at your feet. You have to find a product, or series of them, that is in demand, or would be so if it was correctly marketed, yet currently has limited distribution. It’s usually easier to find this type of product in the specialty arena. Develop a marketing plan for the product line that ensures you are well positioned to take advantage of its growth. Usually you would be set up as the exclusive distributor.
There are two points here. The first is to make sure that the product / service will be in equal or greater demand as the economy loses steam. The second is to make sure that your marketing plan guarantees the manufacturer or higher level distributor will increase their profits and or sales by implementing your marketing plan. If you can make the case that they’re fools not to implement your plan, you’re half way to that new Hattaras you’ve always wanted.
It won’t be easy to pull this off, but I know several marketers who have done so, and more who are trying all the time. The greater tragedy is that too many people never really implement their plans. You have to not only find the product(s), but you have to develop the plan, then, most importantly, implement it. It’s the action and follow through part that trips up so many people. You have to have persistence, and be prepared to hear about 3 million “no’s” before you make your first deal. But you have to think big, and never give up.
Best Home Based Business Opportunities For a Bad Economy 4Foreclosure investor. Look around you. What is growing as the economy is hitting the rocky road? That’s where you want your home based business to focus. One such candidate for these trying times is in foreclosure investing. The veritable epidemic of foreclosures in some areas presents an opportunity for the astute business owner to capitalize on. It’s not an easy road, but can generate some tremendous profits. You’ll not only need to locate foreclosure properties, but know which to make deals on and which to steer clear of. Purchasing the wrong one could leave you deep in debt, instead of rolling in dough.
Remember, the keys to success in poor economic times are much the same as when times are good, only the products and services differ. You must find those who have an immediate need for a critical solution. The more immediate the need and the more serious the problem they need solved, the great your opportunity as a marketer and business owner. Keep this in mind when plotting your path .
