Home-based businesses are an important sector of the Australian business community, with nearly one million people operating a business at or from home.

Here at jcfinanciallyfree.com.au we know operating a small business is not just about working for yourself, it's also about having the necessary management skills and of course a long-term vision to grow and succeed. Luckily with this home based business opportunity you are part of a massive community who are all sharing the same experiences.

When you’re starting up a home-based business there’s a wide range of government advice and support available. Networking is also an important way to keep up to date with business trends and to create business opportunities and friendships. Join a business association, check newspapers and business publications, and search the internet to find events relevant to your business. The business provides massive amounts of training resources on networking.

Maximising the benefits of technology for a home based business
If you have an internet connection and a phone, you have the two tools essential for this business. These days, an online presence for business is almost essential and is a business tool that can help you reach a much wider market, twenty four hours a day, seven days a week.

The internet can be:

• a powerful business and communication tool
• an source of cost-efficiency
• an environmentally friendly way to work
• A sign of professionalism.

Going online can also give you the freedom to live and work wherever you like.

Clients may not necessarily want to talk to you or drop into your premises, but now expect to see your website address and your email on business cards and other promotional materials so they can find out more about your products or services.

E-business: 8 benefits for a home based business
Electronic technologies have become so advanced over the last decade that we are at a point where e-business has become commonplace.

Many businesses still confuse e-business with e-commerce, which is the transactional aspect of e-business.

1. Business process optimisation
Full integration of electronic technologies throughout business processes will provide massive benefits.

Examples include:
a) Improvements to responsiveness and service:
• Publishing Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on a website saves time and money.
• Automatic email responses providing instant information to enquiries.
• Useful information about products, services, prices etc. and something free or value-added provides the customer with what they are generally looking for in their first contact with a business and helps to create a successful sale more quickly.

b) Across-the-board savings
Materials costs:

• Reduce materials costs.

Overhead and other costs:

• Outsourcing labour and casual work and automating business processes help reduce space and equipment requirements.
• Using email for communicating and information dissemination saves phone, fax and courier costs.

Cash flow improvements:
Reduce interest charges, bank fees, collection fees, postage and printing by using Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT), Point of Sale (POS) and electronic banking facilities.

c) More fruitful customer/supplier relationships
Using email and other voice, image and word communication facilities not only saves money and provides greater responsiveness, but can facilitate better supplier, customer and staff relationships because it can be used more often, much more readily and can provide so much more information at no cost.
With interactive databases and electronic loyalty programs, personalized and targeted direct mailing used wisely can strengthen customer relationships and increase sales.

d) Faster provision of products and services to the marketplace through streamlined and thus cheaper production integrating a strong marketing website with business processes allows the customer to order via the website. The order is then sent electronically through the other business processes - for example, accounting, production, warehousing and distribution and the customer is provided with a product to their specification and in a timely manner.

2. New markets
Whether geographical, industry or niche, the clever use of email and a website can increase customer numbers, purchasing volumes and frequency of return (loyalty). It will improve your ability to capture and leverage customer intelligence to direct your marketing and will ultimately result in increased revenues.

3. Trust
Investing in a well-built e-business system including email, website and back end systems will greatly assist in building client trust. Providing free, useful information, secure ordering and payment transactions and reliable delivery, support and feedback systems are the key to establishing strong and successful customer relationships on the internet. This business has all the functionality for a successful business.

4. Customer loyalty
Successfully capturing customer intelligence will help to anticipate customer needs, ensure availability and provide superior delivery, support and feedback systems, all of which help to build trust in the business and confidence in the system.

5. Market leadership
For many businesses, planning, investment and implementation of electronic technologies will improve international competitiveness, resulting in improved market share, return on investment (ROI) and consequently market performance through business leadership.

6. New Products and Services
Electronic technologies significantly add to organisational agility and lead to new services valued by customers. In many cases, information and knowledge are becoming the new products or services of the future. Businesses are also able to source new materials, technologies or techniques and venture into markets previously outside the scope of business operations. Joint ventures are increasingly possible through e-technologies providing businesses with new opportunities and potential areas for growth.

7. Intellectual and Human Capital
Email and website technologies can support all aspects of business. They provide new opportunities for a business to capture research and leverage so much information about its customers and transactions that exponential growth in intellectual capital is emerging as a major business benefit.

8. Technology
These days, electronic technologies, from an accounting perspective, should be considered an ongoing operational cost rather than a capital investment. Thus, the key to achieving the most benefit to the bottom line from computer systems lies in choosing the right technology and implementing it to optimise the many benefits of e-business.