Practical Advice FREE RESOURCES By: Jim Taylor, Publisher Work from home jobs news Many companies which supply the products you would be using in your new business may have some very valuable free resources. For example paint and decorating stores have flyers and pamphlets available all the time, if you need some ideas to get you going in the home decorating business. They may also allow you to advertise your service through their store and promote you to their customers. This kind of relationship will take time to develop but can add considerably to your client base. Third party referrals are always a good way to do business. The internet probably has more resources than anywhere, of course you could spend all your time sorting through the sea of useless info or info which simply does not apply. The good ole library shouldn't be overlooked either. Government agencies have a 'mountain' of free advice on everything from registering a company name to finding finances to get you started. Of course the ideal business model is to be 'debt-free' but may not always be possible depending on your circumstance. Most business ideas here can be started with very little money. Promotion Getting started without spending any money on promotion is unlikely, even if all you need are some business cards or flyers. You will have to spend something on promotion. Perhaps the least expensive, most effective means of promotion is the old fashioned method of walking, knocking and talking. It may sound archaic but it is the single most effective way to build your business. Firstly, it gets you off your butt, while waiting for the phone to ring. It helps you avoid lazy habits which easily creep up of new self-employed people. Ask me how I know? If you approach this method of doing business as something you are going to devote 8 hrs. a day to until you are simply too busy you will absolutely succeed. You will find some jobs need doing right then, and you will be busy for the rest of the day. Somtimes, there is nothing right then, however if you spend some time developing a relationship with a person, there is a good chance you will be in the running when they DO need your service. They can also recommend you to friends and family. So get off the couch and pound the pavement. It's much cheaper than buying a full page ad in the local paper. It probably will be more effective in the long run as well. Posting flyers on local bulletin boards (for example the local mall) is another way of getting exposure for very little expense. Don't overlook putting flyers on the windows of your vehicle. You will then have a rolling billboard every place you go. Then even when you are grocery shopping you are promoting your business in the parking lot. Offering genuine discounts to encourage new business is another avenue of promotion, but two words of advice here. Make it a GENUINE discount, don't simply jack up the price and then give a discount. Don't make the discount so genuine that you wind up loosing money on the deal. Let's face it, if you have no jobs, you can afford to discount your regular fee to encourage new business. Big business does it all the time.