How to Start Your
Own
Highly Profitable Home Typing/Secretarial Service
Every day , in every part of the country, there are stories about how
both men and women are successfully marketing a typing/secretarial
service.
Most of these people have no great ability. Many of them may have just
wanted to do something with their hands, or their leisure time, while
others had enough imagination to recognize they were developing a
business that would become a paying proposition.
Now you are probably asking if you could use your own talents, large or
small, to build up an impressive bank account but still remain at home
and care for your family? The answer, or course, is a resounding "YES!"
People that have succeeded in building a typing service at home know
that it is a unique and stimulating experience. And for those who manage
to survive and prosper the first precarious year have done so because
they made sound plans based on finding out what people need, and then
supplied it at a price they would pay.
The Are Great Advantages To Starting Your Own Typing Service
How much money you make in a business of your own could go beyond
your greatest expectations.
Business histories have proven that it is perfectly possible to
launch a tiny business in a kitchen, basement, or back yard, and
eventually count sales by the millions.
But there are other rewards that appeal to some people even more. The
advantages of building a business for yourself at home can outweigh what
the most glamorous outside job has to offer.
The first great advantage is that you can operate your typing service
enterprise on a shoestring from the smallest room in your home. Or if
you are more ambitious and have come up with something the world seems
to want and need, you can then expand your product or services on a huge
scale. Since your initial overhead will be a minor factor, you will have
plenty of time to decide whether you want to pursue your line of work on
a part-time or full-time basis.
Personal Assets You Need To Develop
Personal factors that make one person a total success while another
is a complete failure, is often easy to analyze. You will require most
of the qualities listed below in practically any home-based business:
* Interest in people and the ability to speak and get along with them.
* The ability to express yourself plainly, pleasantly, and with sincere
belief in your service.
* Willingness to work long hours, especially in the first year.
* Enough knowledge of arithmetic to figure costs, selling prices,
interest, rates, and taxes.
* Dependability, even if there is a family crisis.
* An understanding of what customers' wants and needs are.
* An ability to analyze present and future trends in your business.
Imagination and Common Sense Can Fill You Bank Account
If you want to really attract customers from all walks of business
life, you must have imagination, and you must have common sense. Neither
is as abundant as you might imagine.
Imagination means writing inexpensive classified ads that return tens of
thousands of dollars in return. It means carving out a niche in the
marketplace, and creating a business identity that is exclusively yours.
It means looking ahead with total confidence, and seeing yourself as the
owner of a multi-million dollar business.
Common sense is something altogether different. It means realizing that
nobody, except in their dreams, gets rich overnight. It also means that
if you have tested something out West and it sold like wildfire, chances
are it will move just as well in the East, South, and North.
Common sense will also tell you that once you decide to take the plunge,
you will probably lie awake on some nights and wonder if you have bought
too many office supplies, or if you will make enough profit to justify
the new typewriters and computer system that seemed so necessary just a
few days before.
Common sense will also tell you that there are bound to be some
mistakes, and that customers can sometimes be fickle, unpredictable, and
demanding. In fact, there may be days when you wish you were doing
something else.
Business Rules To Remember
* Make or do something different or better than the market now
offers.
* Find a way to distribute the produce or provide the service faster and
at less cost.
* Produce something timely to meet a want or need.
* Give People something they want that is either too difficult or too
expensive to get elsewhere.
* Package it more attractively, more reliably, or both.
* Sell and provide only quality items or services and avoid poor
workmanship at all costs.
* Always give good service even if it demands hard work and long hours.
* Always do small-scale testing so you can make your mistakes i n
miniature.
* Use intelligence and tact when dealing with customers or supply
sources.
* Study your field until you have a basic understanding of it; then try
to find new and better ways of doing it.
Don't Use Lack Of Money As Your Excuse
The question you should ask yourself as you prepare to start your
business is not "How much money can I raise?" but, "Can I survive
discouragement, or do I only want to be independent as long as there is
something to lean on when the going gets tough?"
If you are honest with yourself, you will know ahead of time just how
far you may go with your business plans. The true test may come as you
look at a bank statement and the deposits are down.
If you come through your personal tests you will gain meaningful
strength from it. Without some discouraging hours to make you stubbornly
surge forward, competition can overwhelm you. Your persistence will
actually eliminate competition.
Also, when you have stared failure in the face and driven it away,
you can feel confident you will be able to conquer it over and over
again.
Lack of money is a poor argument for failure to try to succeed. There
are always individuals or local lending institutions who will risk a
small amount on a person who has a reputation for being industrious,
provided you have a salable idea. After all, many big businesses were
founded on little more than courage and fortitude.
But realistically, it may take more than courage, credit, and
perseverance to keep a new business afloat. The first thing you will no
doubt learn about financing, is that the less you need capital and
backing, the less trouble you will have in getting it, and at a lower
interest rate.
Many people in business think it's a good idea to be short on capital;
after all, then there is no alternative except to make the most of what
you have and to minimize your mistakes.
The point here is that people's needs and desires change with the
times, and you can't continue to manufacture horse buggies for
transportation when people have turned to cars.
Selecting Your Business Name
Deciding on a business name is one of the first decisions you will
have to make. Without a name you won't be able to have letterheads,
envelopes, business cards, invoices, brochures, ads, or anything else
printed up. You also won't be able to open a business checking account.
Pricing Your Service
The best way to determine what your prices should be is to check with
the competition in your immediate area.
If there is no other typing service, contact a secretarial agency in
a metro area nearest you. And remember, what you want to find out is
what an agency charges, not what a secretary earns.
The most recent national averages indicate that typing services range
anywhere from $12.00 to $20.00 per hour, depending on what part of the
country you live in.
Determine what the market will support in your area, and set your
prices accordingly. And remember, there's never a good reason to
drastically under price your services. After all, if the quality is
there you should get paid for it.
Set Your Typing Guidelines
Once the word is out, you can begin to receive typing assignments
from hospitals, lawyers, students, authors, and businesses of every
conceivable kind. You will receive requests to type resumes, grant
proposals, wedding programs, mailing lists, corporate reports, sales
letters, cover letters, announcements, flyers, manuscripts, newsletters,
ads, and much more.
There are literally thousands of typing job possibilities that require
the services of a professional agency. Increasingly, companies are
finding that it's far more cost effective to utilize typing services to
move the tons of paperwork that must be processed. Executives are also
discovering they can operate more efficiently and cost effectively by
reducing or even eliminating secretaries and turning to typing services.
You don't have to be a speed-typist to get started in your own business.
What is important is that you are accurate and dependable. That means no
mistakes and following instructions. It means following formats, and
meeting deadlines. Providing dependable service will be your best
insurance for repeat business.
Know That Practice Makes Perfect And Pace Yourself
Before you accept every job that comes your way, you should have the
knowledge and ability to do the job in a professional, competent manner.
Only take jobs you feel comfortable with. If you feel comfortable doing
resumes, then specialize in resumes until you feel ready to do reports
and sales letters.
Set a certain amount of time aside for improving your speed and
accuracy. Never stop adding new typing services as you feel competent to
perform them. Check with your local librarian who will help you locate
some of the many books available in your business field.
If you want to gain secretarial/typing experience consider working
part-time for a professional secretarial service, even while you are
building up your own business.
A part-time job may be all you need to become familiar with current
methods, techniques, formats, and pricing structures. If you want to get
some on-the-job training experience, refer to your telephone directory
under "Secretarial," or "Typing Services."
Louise Lefler
(With Louise Lefler's new book
"Start Your
Own highly successful home typing service" You'll learn
how-to grow a home typing service to become a so-called "Virtual
Assistant.")
Remember, your future is up to
you, 
