Build a business

Today, succeeding in the home based business industry is more challenging than ever. As more entrepreneurs flock to the internet and launch new businesses, advertising costs will continue to rise at an alarming rate. For new business owners and experienced alike, remaining competitive online isn’t easy, and it’s not going to get any easier for most.

Fortunately, with the new “Building On A Budget” platform, large pocketbooks may no longer be needed to grow a lucrative home business.

Mike Dillard, founder of MagneticSponsoring.com, and his marketing team have recently begun conducting research and performing experiments on many new forms of media. They have been documenting the results of each experiment and providing training in the form of article and video case studies, some of which have already been posted for free.

Now aspiring and success driven entrepreneurs who have little or no money to advertise, can learn the most potent ways to build any home business using the latest online marketing strategies, in many cases without spending a dime.

“Building On A Budget” is sure to be a dependable solution for all of today’s home business owners looking for maximum exposure without giving up their paycheck.

For more information, visit buildingonabudget.com.

It’s darn hard being a glass half-full kind of guy these days. Last March the jobless ranks swelled to 13.2 million, pushing the unemployment rate to 8.5%.

Some of those folks will land on their feet in the same industry. Others will re-invent themselves. And still others will head for … their garages.

Recessions have birthed myriad entrepreneurs. Following is the third and last in a series in upstate New York who have used bumps in the road as motivation to back out the Buick and set up shop within walking distance of their mailboxes.

Tony Ogeen, 51, Tony’s Canvas and Leather, Massena, N.Y.

Thirteen years ago, Ogeen got into a really bad car accident. Unable to go back to work as a corrections officer, but needing an income to support his young family, he began considering self-employment. “I was always reading about people starting a business doing what they are good at,” he says. “The only thing I knew I was pretty good at was repairing my son’s hockey equipment. In fact, his whole team relied on me for keeping their equipment in shape.”

In 2001, during the last recession, Ogeen started searching online for industrial sewing machines that he could set up in his garage; he settled on a supplier across the Canadian border. “I started out making and repairing boat tops and continued repairing my son’s [team's] hockey equipment,” he says. “I also learned how to re-palm hockey gloves because it is like a lost art.”

Ogeen’s biggest challenge: marketing. “I knew there was a need locally for what I do [hockey is a way of life in upstate New York], but I wanted to go nationally,” he says. “I was reluctant to invest much time and money in the Internet at first.” Eventually he had a Web site designed (tonyscanvas.com), though it didn’t bring in any sales in the first year.

Frustrated but resilient, Ogeen took a Web design course offered by a local economic development agency. “Now my canvas hockey bags are on the first pages of Google, which has doubled my bottom line,” he says. “Looking back, the only mistake I made was not marketing my business using the Internet sooner.”

Solid customer service helps too. As soon as the work is completed, Ogeen loads up his truck and drives the reconstituted equipment to the team’s rink. “I have always tried to deliver my work whenever I can,” he says. “I think the extra effort pays off. If I can solve a customer’s problem and make it really easy for them, it will lead to more work.”

Indeed, the increased demand has forced Ogeen to hire on his first employee: “I trained my 15-year-old son, Zeppy, how to sew,” he crows. “He is my bag man now.”

For more information, visit forbes.com.

It’s darn hard being a glass half-full kind of guy these days. Last March the jobless ranks swelled to 13.2 million, pushing the unemployment rate to 8.5%.

Some of those folks will land on their feet in the same industry. Others will re-invent themselves. And still others will head for … their garages.

Recessions have birthed myriad entrepreneurs. Following is the second in a series in upstate New York who have used bumps in the road as motivation to back out the Buick and set up shop within walking distance of their mailboxes.

Meg Ingraham, 52, Racquette River Rods, Potsdam, N.Y.

A few years ago, while nursing her husband through back surgery and her 90-year-old mother-in-law through a broken ankle, Ingraham noodled the idea of working from home. “I needed a steady income but wanted to do something that I really enjoyed, and do it on my own,” she says. “A number of years ago I was given the chance to learn how to build fishing rods and I loved it. Working with crafts, seeing something growing in my hands and making a living at it was very appealing.”

A year ago the rod maker she worked for went out of business, but a couple of the employees were very interested in opening a new shop. So Ingraham started clearing out the garage.

Since then, every day has been a challenge. “My first order for components was wrong,” she admits. “I bought lots of great stuff [for about $4,100] on closeout thinking I was making a wise investment, but ultimately these parts are not at all what we needed to make the type of rod we had envisioned.” Her biggest mistake: overestimating her business knowledge. “I can build a beautiful, functional and perfect rod, but that’s not enough to run a business,” she says.

To bolster her skills, Ingraham looked for courses in accounting and bookkeeping offered by the four local universities. “I have attended so many classes in the last few months that my head is spinning, but I feel so much better about my ability to tackle the budgeting issues that have been holding me back,” she says. One course, for free, offered by the State University of New York in Canton, provided four hours of basic accounting training, a free copy of QuickBooks and two hours of on-site training.

Thus far, Ingraham has invested $41,150 for renovations to the garage and to purchase machinery and initial components. Of that, $13,000 came from a loan received through the Potsdam Economic Development Office at an interest rate of 2%; the rest, from personal savings. She has yet to break even. “We do a lot of robbing Peter to pay Paul but I have learned that it is part of the start-up process,” she says.

For more information, visit forbes.com.