PLEASE cast your opinion!

[makingitin2012]

Okay, do you think that it is feasible to launch an online 'business writing services' business, with the aim of not taking over the world, but rather to achieve a full-time wage of 25-30k within two years?
My work experience is based within this area (business administration), and I am qualified to MA level in English Language. Typical services would include web content writing, newsletter writing, promotional material writing, blog writing - basically anything that a business might require writing assistance with. I am also considering whether to advise on the use of social media for business. Any thoughts? Please?
Thank you.

Do you have a unique something to bring to it? There are already quite a few companies that do all that and more.

Have you done any market research?

Thank you for taking the time to reply Tee. Yes there are a lot of companies offering such services, but if I'm honest this doesn't dissuade me - if anything I take the view that if others are making a success of this, then there's no reason why I can't too.
Unique something? That's hard, I admit! I am mulling over whether small businesses / sole traders may often assume that such services are generally tailored to larger business, and therefore I could tailor my marketing to the 'small' business. But, likewise, I wouldn't then of course wish to market myself out of the larger business clients! I'm also considering whether the smaller business / sole trader may wish to join in promoting via social media, but don't know where to start? This is something that I could advise / do for them?

Well, it's what I do, advise on social media along with web design, graphic arts, etc.

And, to be honest, there's not all that much work. Most really large businesses have a dedicated person on staff to do all that for them. And most sole traders either do it themselves or CBA to do it at all. No matter how you pitch it to them!

I cannot tell you how many times I have heard, after a pitch 'but Social Media can do nothing for me. Thanks for you time.' Then I guess you weren't interested and/or listening to what I just said!!!! Thanks for wasting my time!!

You really need a lot of contacts and/or, like I said, something unique to do it full time and make a lot at it. I only do it part time anyway, due to my health and my son. Once he starts school I'm going to try to ramp up, but I am not hopefully.

Okay, thank you. I agree something 'unique' is needed, but at the oh so real possibility of sounding pathetic, I am as yet to identify how I can make this service 'unique'! I have thought of 'playing' on the area that I live in, as in marketing my blog towards promoting places I visit etc, in the hope that a) people may follow the blog primarily for that reason, and b) the businesses / places that I visit in my blog may also of course then 'follow' me.
I'm also 100% confident in promoting my business by physically knocking on the doors of other businesses, and not for example just relying on on-line promotion. If any of that sounds worthy / relevant?!

And, (!), failing that, (!), any other suggestions as to what I could do online based on my experience and qualifications, would be gratefully received!! So frustrating that I have the determination and inclination to work 24/7 - I just wish I could identify at what!! Thank you to previous posters.

How about combining the 'business writing services' idea with being a virtual PA? Most seem to market themselves as either one or the other?

Thoughts anyone, please? Positive, negative - I don't mind if they help me to consider points! Thank you.

You say your background is in business administration.

What was your speciality?

What are you really good at?

Is it writing? Or is that just something you can do that seems easy to do online?

What is your network of contacts like? What area do you know best?

Yes, my background is in business administration - 15 years in the same industry, (sales) mainly for one national company, progressed to area business administration manager. Started from the bottom, knew all systems / processes inside out.

I would say my speciality was organisation and people skills - I'm an excellent communicator.

I'm really good at writing, organising, and selling. (I have a BA and MA in English, though I must admit I'm only an absolute stickler for grammar when it comes to professional writing!) Genuinely, (though I can see why this point was made), my idea is not because I thought it something easy I could do online. Rather, I am trying to follow the business advice to a) do something that you are good at, and b) do what you know. So I rather started off by thinking right, what can I do with this qualification, and with this experience?

Contacts - yes, I have no doubt that I could pick up work from previous colleagues / clients - though how much of course remains unseen. I am aware of at least 15 companies I could contact, whereby I have worked with, or for, the directors, to pitch my services. I am confident that I would get some work here, but would need to generate work from new sources too.

I'm in the process of starting my own business and whilst I would expect to cover this type of work myself, there is a possibility that I might be interested in attending a workshop that covers the areas that you are proposing.

If you could combine the areas you have proposed with training workshops and perhaps virtual pa services I think that you have the basis for a very good business.

Good luck.

Haziedoll - your thoughts have prompted me to realise a new strand that I can add to the idea to make it 'unique' - thank you so much! This is why I love receiving views (positive or negative), as not only can you consider the actual view itself, but they can also bring about new ideas as consequence - so thank you again!
Good luck in your business too - and feel free to PM me if I could ever be of service, or just give advice :)

You really do need a USP that makes you clearly stand out from an already over-saturated market. I have a very unique USP (not saying what it is at the moment) but I'm dual qualified. I earned £35,000 for the year 2010-11 - and that's working from home - part time - with three children (I now have 4). I could have done a lot more work had I had the time! But were it not for my specific skills I could not have done this.

The point is - identify your USP and develop it. Then make it a clear part of your 'brand'. Hope that helps!

Thank you Perma. Would you mind if I sent you a PM that detailed my proposed USP? It wouldn't be until later, but I would be grateful of your thoughts? If not don't worry, thank you for the reply above.

yes, no problem. x PS do you get a notification telling you you have a direct message?!

I don't work in your field (although I have some of the same skills) and I thought I'd share my experience over the last couple of years.....

I've been self-employed for 9 years and made a pretty good living from that. Over the last couple of years work and opportunities have certainly declined, as people say things are tough out there, and in my financial year 2009 - 2010 I only made about 2/3rd of the income (and profit) compared to previous years.

However, what I did find was a new opportunity, using the skills I already had, which I found I really loved. And in the space of a year I am well on my way to having a full time income from that. The interesting thing is that this in not a brand new niche, it's been around for many years, and there are already people established who work in this area. Some others working in this area have spoken to me about how tough things are, yet I have been able to generate interest and work and even to pass referrals on to some others already established in the field.

So how? Well I'm not doing anything miraculous, or devious, or anything that takes work from other people (in fact as I said already, I've generated some additional work for them). I think it's just that I've got a set of skills that is right, and I've got energy and enthusiasm for this work (both for doing it, and for marketing it). I think that in some ways I am a fresh (or naive?) pair of eyes into the market so I see ways to interesting people that others who have been working in the area for much longer have either disregarded (they may not have been the right approaches at the time) or which have required an investment of time/money that they have not had.

Your original post asked about developing your business over a 2 year period. I guess that some of the success of this will come from how much you can put into it. It will be easier if for example you are currently a SAHM earning no income, with children at school - so you have time to invest without needing an immediate payback. It would be much harder if you were already working full time, and trying to build your business in the margins of your life, or having to make choices to lose a day's pay in order to market and develop your new business. Does that make sense?

So my advice, fwiw:

• get really in touch with what you are passionate about and gooed at (don't dilute your efforts with things that you might be able to do also but are not really driving forces for you).

-have a plan, follow it, work out what is working and do more of it, be honest about the things in your plan that seemed like good ideas but you don't really feel motivated to follow them through, and keep a flexible mind so you can develop a specialism if it arises.

• listen more to your own intuition than to the voices of others, have confidence in your own conviction, AND also heed the advice of others where is of help.

Terrible grammar, spelling and typos

I don't know anything about this field but I will be really interested to see if you make a success of it, because it is my impression that (most/many) small businesses simply don't care about the quality of their written productions. I wish they did. I'm fed up with seeing illiterate flyers and signs (we have a furniture store selling chester draws near us, and it's not ironic). I'm not just talking about apostrophes, though people seem to place those at random nowadays, but major spelling mistakes, punctuation mistakes and a complete ignorance of grammar. I hope you can get them to see that this makes them look unprofessional and to pay for your services, but I have my doubts. I just think many people - businesses and clients - no longer either know or care that there is a right way to spell and punctuate and construct a sentence. Good luck, anyway.

I run a publishing consultancy which I started 12 years ago.

Some advice from lessons I learnt in the early stages:

• V small companies expect you to run around after them for v little return. I now avoid them.
• Try not to be a jack-of-all-trades and to just focus on some key, valuable services.
• Use businesses local to you that you can visit quickly as time is money.
• Perhaps focus on the sector you used to work in? You have a track record so you can speak the same language.
• Find clients you 'like' to work with. Having a good rapport will help to earn you repeated business.
• Enjoy what you're doing. This is an opportunity to forge ahead with something that'll earn you money but the the motivation should also be that you enjoy it.
• Not having any decent income is a great motivator. When you can't pay your bills, it helps to focus the mind on earning money!

Incidentally, my home office business earned me a 6 figure profit a few years ago. It's a good business model so good luck!

Curious on the costs of these services to the small business?

Chelseamorning - thank you for such a detailed reply, that is really helpful, thank you. I am on holiday this week but just wanted to say a quick thank you for now.

Xmyboys - Please feel free to PM me. Thank you.

Could I ask, would you be more inclined to use a 'virtual' office service if the 'virtual' administrator visited your premises first?
I don't think that I could expect a 'virtual' administrator to understand my own office systems as well as somebody with first-hand, actual experience of them, and that this may put me off using a 'virtual' only service. I understand that this contradicts the 'virtual' aspect, but I am exploring the possibility of offering 'first-hand' visits, which could incorporate a review of existing systems etc, as a USP. Thank you.

Anyone? Please?