Interview with Dan Furman

Home Based Business Guru

Let’s get going…

What do you mean by the word ‘real’ in the title of your book Start & Run A Real Home Based Business?

Dan Furman: Oh, what a great question – thank you for asking this.

I mean “real” as in offering an honest product or service. Maybe a skilled trade (like an electrician, a plumber, or a builder.) Or maybe a service that you will offer (pet sitting, daycare, beauty salon, etc). Or selling a product that you craft, or wholesale. Something that doesn’t need a “meeting” to describe.

Also, maybe it’ll be clearer if I mention what is NOT real... the following businesses are NOT real (in my opinion):

• Any network marketing where you income partially depends on who you sign up under you
• Any “work at home” information that you have to pay for (like paying for a list of work at home opportunities)
• Anything with the words “system” or “program” in the company literature.

I mentioned this, and even put it into the title, because there are only about 4 million “scams” out there preying on people’s hopes and dreams. They offer “programs” and “systems” that make it all seem so easy, but the truth is, the only people making money on these are the company. Personally, I hate them, and wanted to be clear that MY “work at home” information had nothing to do with any of that.

What sort of home based business would you recommend to someone who needs immediate cash flow?

Dan Furman: Well, something you can out and do tomorrow. Landscaping / lawn mowing. Handyman. Pet care. It doesn’t have to be what you will eventually make your career, but if you need money tomorrow, go out and do something for someone tomorrow. You don’t need much (if any) start-up money to do the things I just listed.

If you are willing to take a little more time, any web-based business can bring in money quickly... but the trick there is, you have to have a little bit of money to start with – you need to have a nice website made, and you need to buy ads on search engines.

How would your advice be different for someone who is currently employed, but would like to make extra money from home?

Dan Furman: Well, for someone with a job, they have time – they can plan it a little better. I would say find something you enjoy, and go in that direction. See, someone with a job can find what they like to do, and find a way to make money at it. Even if your hobby was model railroads, you could probably buy/sell related products on eBay (since you’re not starving, you can explore a little more than if you needed money right away, instead of going right out and cutting grass)

What is the biggest mistake to avoid when starting a home based business?

Dan Furman: Underfunding. It’s far and away the biggest mistake. Listen, unless you want to take my grass cutting suggestion and run with it (don’t run with a lawnmower, by the way), you are probably going to need some money to get going. For example, if you are going to be on the web, “free” websites aren’t going to cut it. And you are also probably going to need to buy some ads on Google and the like – you really can’t start a web-based business without at least a few thousand dollars / pounds / whatever.

What is the biggest challenge most people need to overcome to achieve success in a home business?

Dan Furman: I’ll give you two that I think are equal:

The first is self-motivation. It is very, very hard to stay motivated and get things done… especially when my Xbox and LCD TV are right there. You have to have the discipline to actually follow through and get things done. It’s harder than it appears, too.

The second is realizing that you have to do everything – including making the work appear. This is a new concept to grasp for many. Think about it – at a “job”, you are given work to do – you don’t make the work appear. But in your own business, you are responsible for doing the work, and also making more work appear. It’s not easy.

You say on your web site that people make business more complicated than it needs to be. What do you mean by that?

Dan Furman: Well, people get involved with a lot of things that don’t really matter, such as stressing over a company name or logo before they’ve even made one sale. I disagree with this approach, because you can always change the name or logo later. For someone looking to start a small home based business, instead of writing a business plan and doing a marketing study, I’m more apt to tell someone starting out to “find something you like to do / can do, go make some money at it, and then go where that leads you.” Worry about the other stuff later.

Business is selling a product or service for money (preferably a profit!) When you boil things right down, that’s really all there is to it. Everything else stems from that simple point.

How does someone’s thinking need to change if they are moving from employment to starting a home based business?

Dan Furman: I outlined some of this in the earlier question about the challenges of a home based business (discipline and making the work appear.) I’ll also say that in jobs, most people have a “good enough” attitude. As in “ahhh, I don’t need to do any more – it’s good enough”. You can’t think like that in your own business – I do my best work every time. Now, I’ll be honest – this was pretty much my method of operation at my jobs too – I always took pride in doing really good work.

Also... time off. There are no sick days, no personal days, etc. Nobody covers for you – the work has to get done, by you. If you take time off to attend a funeral, etc, you still have to do the work that was scheduled for that day. Depending on your business, you may have to work extra tomorrow or the weekend. This is not an easy thing for many people.

I know I’m sounding a little “stern” here, but that’s the whole point.

Can you give a simple explanation of niche marketing for a home based business?

Dan Furman: Big fish in a little pond (I love that saying). Do/sell something for a small segment of the market. It makes that specific market far more likely to buy from you (because you are a specialist).

This will be easier if I gave a few examples:

• My next door neighbour cuts hair – but she specializes in older ladies (who have specific hair care needs). That’s a niche market.
• My sister runs a jewelry store. She buys ads from a guy who does nothing but write ads for jewelry stores. He limits his service to one store per postal code (that makes “getting in” very exclusive... it also allows him to sell the same ad pack all over the country, because no two stores in any area will have the same ads.) That’s a niche market. If you had experience in ad writing or marketing for any specific business, you could do the same type of thing.
• When I started my online business, it was programming. But not just any programming – I specialized in a certain piece of e-commerce software that only big companies used. At the time, I was one of the only freelance people offering programming for this software. That’s a niche market.

Dan Furman: There are too many products and services out there to answer this question in anything but general terms, but I would say the biggest thing is to have your marketing “solve a problem”. In other words, buyers of your product or service have needs – needs that your product or service is filling. So address those needs and solve the problems they have.

How is your book Do The Web Write of value to someone starting a business from home?

Dan Furman: I tell you how to setup a website for maximum conversion (what pages to have, what order to have them in, etc.) Then I tell you how to write for those pages. Also, there’s a rather beefy chapter on writing that will help anyone become a better business writer overall (not just for the web.) Being a better business writer never hurt anyone.

What skills does someone need to set up as a work at home copywriter?

Dan Furman: Well, you have to be able to write well.

You need good organization skills, and you REALLY need to communicate well (both on the phone and in e-mail), because you will do a LOT of that.

You need a quiet area to work. No kids allowed, if possible.

You must be disciplined – you have to deliver work on time.

You need to be a little arrogant as well (it’s true). Hey, I *know* I’m a good writer. I *always* knew. I knew that I could goof off in most classes in school, and “write” my way to a good grade. So when I started this, I already *knew* I was good enough to charge for my work. I think you have to have a little of that moxie to succeed as a copywriter.

How would a home based copywriter sell their services?

Dan Furman: You really have one choice – the internet. You need a nice website (homemade websites don’t cut it), preferably liberally peppered with your writing. You also need to advertise this website (because there is a LOT of competition.) This means paying for pay per click ads. But, if your writing is good enough, your website should convert, meaning your ads should pay for themselves (mine do).

The nice thing here is you can market to the world this way. Distance just isn’t a factor in a wired world.

Thank you Dan for being so generous with your time - and for your great answers. I'd recommend anyone who is looking to build a successful home based business to take note of the really practical advice you've given in this interview, and of course to have a look at your books and website.