qprev_HBB Manual 2.qxd - Small Business BC

• Cleaner to use• Quieter to run• More long-lasting• Foldable or easier to store• Cheaper to distribute• Easier to transport• More adjustable• Performance enhanced• Less expensive to repair• More convenient to use• Technology enhancedValue-added servicesThe customer is king. Any way you can addvalue to the customer’s experience of dealingwith you will help differentiate your businessfrom another one. Home-base businesses canoften supply extra value at low cost, simplyby being more connected with the needs andpreferences of their customers than largerorganizations can.Look for opportunities to add value to thecustomer’s experience:• Offer satisfaction-guarantees.• Improve the warranty coverage.• Add optional accessories.• Introduce limited time special editions.• Cross-sell the services of other companies.• Add a gift-wrapping service.• Provide child-minding arrangementsfor clients.The Internet revolutionExpanding technology is creating many newopportunities for entrepreneurs who are turningtheir homes into launching pads for hightechnology ventures. You don’t have tobe a techi yourself: you can partner with anotherand complement each other’s skills. The e-commerce opportunities available through theInternet are growing exponentially:• E-tailing – Retail operations have moved onlinewith a digital front-end. Everything frombooks and flowers to groceries and clothes isnow sold from a Web site.• E-commerce – Businesses selling to otherbusinesses (called B2B) was an early use ofthe Web. Suppliers, equipment, parts,transportation – it’s all only a few clicks away.• E-mail – Ever since Hotmail offered free e-mail accounts, the number of people havingtheir own e-mail addresses has multipliedtremendously. As more people establish theirown homepages, identities become virtual.• E-cafe – Web surfing and crawling forinformation, entertainment or person-to-personcontact grows each year. Public access to theweb from Internet style cafes has also grown.• E-trading – The middle men are being cut outas supply lines move closer to the end user.Not only can you bypass your stock broker andtrade on-line yourself, you can also do thiswith airline bookings, concert tickets, andclassified ads.How could you use your talents and experiencesto create an e-commerce opportunity?solutions for small business home-based business 15