As of the end of December, Home Biz Notes will be closing as b5media discontinues Bizzia and the business blogs.  I’ve been writing this blog for more than 4 years, except for a short period when Jean Murray was the blogger.  For a year, Yvonne Russell was my co-blogger.
I hope I’ve brought you helpful information about establishing and operating a home business.  It has been enjoyable blogging here and getting to know so many of my readers.  As with  many opportunities in life, there comes a time to go on to something else.
I shall be activating two business blogs I established at Blogger some time …read more

Many of us, with home businesses, must coordinate our family schedules and needs along with our business commitments.  Hope Clark, writer, editor and newsletter publisher, writes about meeting the deadlines of her writing business while family gather around her for the holidays.
As I read Hope’s Editor’s Piece of Mind, Ho-Ho-Ho,  in her current issue of FFW Small Markets, I related.  I, too, have had to write with family around for the past 13 years, in our multi-generational household.  I’ve even written at the computer with toddlers on my lap.
Hope does have some good suggestions about getting your work done and still enjoying …read more

Home businesses aren’t new.  They’ve been around for years…and years.  But we may not have thought of them as such. 
One of the businesses we can consider is giving music lessons.  Often this is done at the teacher’s home.  Or he/she may go to the student’s home.
Thinking of this, I remembered Miss Wanzer.  She taught my sister and me to play the piano.  Sister took to piano lessons much more readily than I, and stayed with it for many years.  I stopped after the sixth lesson, although I often accompanied Sister to Miss Wanzer and listed to them play.   (I didn’t like to …read more

When producing a product or providing a service in your home business, take a look at the results.  
Are you doing an adequate job, enough to get by and keep you ”resting on your laurels?”  Or are you striving for excellence in what you provide?
Laura Spencer has written a thought provoking post on this topic at her blog, Writing Thoughts.  In Are You an Adequate Writer or an Excellent Writer, Laura talks about writing (one type of home business).  However, I realized, as I read the post, Laura’s points could be applied to any business and most anything you attempt in life.
Are you putting …read more

Many people are looking for work at home opportunities, not necessarily establishing their own home business.  There are many scams out there, so sometimes it’s difficult to determine whether they’re legitimate before you spend money and time on them.
Cynthia Minnaar, who writes about Home Business at About.com, has suggestions on what to look for so you won’t be taken in at How To Find a Proven Legitimate Internet Businiess.
Randy Duermyer, also writing on Home Business at About.com, talks about legitimate home businesses in general and has some suggestions in Legitimate Work at Home Business.
One portion of Randy’s advice caught my attention: …read more

Unless you already have a clientele, or are taking over someone else’s business, when you begin your dressmaking and alteration work, you’ll need to develop techniques for finding customers.  Even when you have some to start with, you should continue to seek other sources, since you may lose some when they move, decide to sew themselves, are strapped budgetwise, or even decide to take their work to a friend starting her own business.

Many laundramats and stores have a bulletin board for posting this type of notice.
Let fabric stores know that you do sewing.  They often receive inquiries and will send business …read more

As I progressed with my 20 minutes per day organizational plan in my home and business, I discovered “art from the past,” when I did oil and water color paintings for sale (and fun), along with designing greeting cards and notepaper for shops and my own use. 
Since then I’ve illustrated some of my books and reproduced art on cards for myself.  However, this rediscovery of my designs has me thinking about adding art to my home business.  I’ve been analyzing at My Organized Biz whether this is practical, potentially profitable, and possible to organize into my schedule.
Sometimes an idea keeps nudging …read more

In a previous post, I mentioned I’d be running a series here about operating a home sewing business, based on my experience and that of others.  At first I did dressmaking and alterations and evolved into quiltmaking and patchwork products. 
There are some considerations before you start a business in your home, especially if it’s one where you have customers/clients coming to the house.  Make sure you’re operating within the zoning regulations for your area or aren’t violating any restrictions in your housing complex.  Be sure you acquire any permits for operating your home business.  Do you need a state license?
Then there are insurances…often …read more

As you’ve read in Home Businesses I’ve Pursued, I’ve been involved in a number of ventures over the years.  Would I have been better to have stayed with one or was I right in becoming involved in a number of them, some of which I operated simultaneously? 
Some people might say I’ve jumped around a lot and didn’t stick with one thing.  Others would realize that times change, the economy changes, our lives change, regulations change and markets change.
Changes in Technology
I can’t think of any that I could pursue just as I did when I started, especially any home business I …read more

Many businesses start in the home, then grow so successfully, they’re moved to a more spacious location outside the residence.  This might be a building on your premises or a business space you rent, lease or purchase elsewhere. 
 Suzanne contacted me to sew skirt and apron samples when I operated my home based dressmaking/alteration business.  She was introducing her designs to shops with the anticipation that they would purchase in bulk from her.
These appealed to many of the businesses she approached and soon she took on a partner.  She hired home workers, like myself, to make them for her.  However, when …read more