The American Dream -- a Dilemma?

 Most American moms and dads still have the same dreams they had a few years ago; buy a home, provide for their children, and send the kids to college, but the price tag for fulfilling this dream climbs higher and higher every day. Long gone are the days when the husband went off to work in the mornings and the wife stayed home cleaning house, taking care of the kids, and baking cookies. Very few families can live on one income and that means that both parents have to go out and find work.

Unless... he/she can find a way to stay home and still earn a living. And that is just what many enterprising moms and dads are choosing to do. Cottage industries are springing up all over the country. Word processing can be one of the most lucrative of these cottage industries. For the price of a computer, printer, software, a person with a background in word processing can create his/her own in-home business.

One Step at a Time

Before you begin your word processing business, do your homework. Find out what is the software program of choice in today's business community. You will want your computer system to be compatible with your clients. Next, look at the make-up of your industrial area, an arts community, a thriving business area? By checking out the demographics of your area, you can make a decision regarding the type of advertising you want to use.

In the beginning, you will want to try all sorts of advertising: neighborhood newspapers are an inexpensive way to advertise, but they usually only publish on a weekly basis and that may not be enough to keep the clients rolling in. You can put your name on the bulletin board at your local supermarket and pass out flyers door-to-door in large office buildings or other business complexes. Although it may be more expensive than neighborhood newspapers, you may want to run an ad in your local daily newspaper (in the business services section). Church bulletins and university newspapers that sell advertising may also be a relatively inexpensive way to go. And get your business cards printed up right away. Don't let a client walk out the door without one or two business cards. repeat business and word-of-mouth may well be your best advertising tool.

Whatever means you choose to employ in your advertising, do yourself a favor and track the responses. Put a check list nest to your telephone and whenever a call comes in (whether you get the job or not) ask the prospective client where he found out about you. It won't take long for you to discover where your most cost-effective advertising comes from and when you know that, you can punch it up and drop the ones that aren't doing anything for you.

Be Prepared

One telephone call will be the only opportunity you have to sell your service. If you hesitate when asked a price for a particular project, you'll probably lose the job so do your homework. Call the competition, ask what they are charging. If the competition is out of your immediate geographic area (and you are therefore not a threat to their livelihood), you may want to  be straight with them and tell them you are starting a word processing business and ask for their input. You may be surprised to find them willing to help out with important information.

A Potpourri of Projects

Keep in mind that there are a myriad of documents that need to be typed: business letters, envelopes, forms, tables, screen plays, resumes, etc. It will be possible to set a basic rate -- a flat rate for double or single spaced pages -- but don't lock yourself in over the phone! Clients may not be accurately describing the type of work they want you to do, so remember the words "straight text".

For example, a prospective client may call asking what you charge for 4 single spaced pages. You answer 45.00 per page, straight text. Then when the client comes, you discover that what he has is 4 pages of extremely complicated tables -- definitely NOT STRAIGHT TEXT. By not making firm pricing commitments over the phone, you will have the flexibility to up the ante when a client brings you something other than what you were expecting.

Don't forget that many people don't know the difference between a single or doubled spaced pages. To some clients, a resume may be a single spaced page, but it takes a lot longer to type than a business letter and you will want to charge more for resumes. You will want to establish an hourly rate for tables, transcription and other more time-consuming jobs.

Your pricing will change as you become more familiar with what your clients demand.. You may find yourself doing a lot of list maintenance and merge letters or you may be doing work primarily for doctors, or attorneys. Have a good basis for your pricing but be flexible.

Control Your Growth

As the demand for your services grows, you will have to make a number of difficult decisions.. Do you want to move out of your home and into an office? Do you have the work to warrant hiring a part or full-time employees or use subcontractors? there's an upside and downside to each of these options. If you opt to open an outside office, you lose the convenience of working at home.

But staying in the home has it's own set of headaches. How convenient is your location for your clients? Is there plenty of parking? Where do you put your new employees as you grow? Do you have the capital to provide the additional equipment for the employees's use? And are you ready to be less available to the occasional client showing up on your doorstep after hours, on weekends, or even on a holiday? When you have an office at home, you may find yourself having a difficult time getting away from your work. You hear the telephone ring after hours, and if you're short of work, you may want to take the call even if it's midnight.

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