How to Start a Data Entry Business

Saturday, November 1, 2014

How to Start a Data Entry Business

The Internet is filled with work-from-home opportunities, and one of the most popular work-from-home options is data entry. There are many scams offered, but there are also many legitimate and free ways to make money online doing data entry. Scams may promise that you will work for just minutes a day and make thousands of dollars a month, but if you really want to make money you will need to do data entry as if it were a full-time job. If you are skilled in data entry and are looking for an opportunity to work from home.

Data entry businesses have become more popular as it has the liberty to work from home. Large firms require data to be completed on time, thus most of the companies outsource these jobs. You can start a data entry business by following these steps:

Things You'll Need

Data entry software
Internet access
Typing speed and accuracy

Instructions:

Step 1

What's in a name? You could use your own name for your data entry business, or you could create a completely unique business name. It would be wise to create a name that shows your potential clients that you are all about data entry.

Step 2

Acquire a solid contract that you will have your clients sign before you begin working with them. This contract will lay out what you expect from your clients and what your clients can expect from you. Hire a lawyer to write, or to look over your already existing contract.

Step 3

Start your data entry business with some power marketing. You will need to find your target market, and that great thing about the Internet is that you have the world at your fingertips. Send out press releases, business cards, notices, or post cards (online or via mail) to secretarial offices, administrators, mailing list companies, printing companies, doctors, lawyers, and more. Think about your potential clients and their needs. Freelance websites can also help you find data entry work for your business. See the links below to get started searching for some.

Step 4

Increase your typing speed and accuracy. This is something you will always need to keep at a constant level of skill. You can use software programs that help you get faster and more accurate with your typing. The faster and more accurately you can type, the more money you can make. See the link below for more information.

Step 5

Once you have acquired enough clients you are ready to start hiring other contract data entry workers and expanding your business. You can find them by posting a job on the same freelance sites you find your clients. Take a cut of their pay for your data entry business. You can keep working with clients yourself or find freelancers to do the data entry work for you, and then you can focus on running the business itself. That is up to you.

Step 6

Join a freelance website. These sites list thousands of data entry jobs available each week. Some of the employers on these sites are looking for "captcha" data entry, company research, job posting, and much more. The pay varies by employer, and you may be able to negotiate your own rates.

Captcha verifies that the information provided is from a human and not a computer.
Many freelance sites give you the opportunity to join their membership program and pay a small monthly fee or work as a free member. However, you are typically more likely to be hired if you are a member.

Step 7

Work in data entry on your own. There are many new companies that want to market their new products or services, and they will pay for business contact information. Compiling a complete list of company information including website address, mailing address, email, telephone, and fax number takes a lot of work, but it can be very profitable. Certain websites will charge more than $1,000 for this complete list of business contact information. This type of data entry doesn't pay upfront, but it can pay for itself on your first sale.

Step 8

Research and join one of the many legitimate work-from-home data entry programs. Make sure that you read several reviews and all of the contract details before you sign up or pay any money for a program. Many of these programs are overloaded with members so it can be very difficult to make a lot of money through them. It might be more effective to sign up for more than one.

Step 9

Sign up for a PayPal account so that you can get paid online. This way your personal information will be kept safe, and you will be able to dispute any transactions made.

Tips & Warnings

Continue increasing your typing speed and accuracy
Do an extensive research to find out the companies that outsource their data entry projects.
You need to build trust with your potential customers, so sharpen your communication your skills since it is the vital weapon that links your business and clients. Business writing skills increases your worth as a data entry specialist and ensure that you proofread your proposals or any kind of mails that you send them.
You may need a website to market your products and services; so create a website. It is not mandatory that you need to design it with graphical and flash illustrations. A simple site that has your contact details, experience and services are basic requirements for web branding.
In order to promote your business, generate your own business cards. Try to fix meetings with companies in your city. Use online marketing forums to send people to your website.
After forming a noteworthy client base, you may need to hire more employees. You can hire them on contract basis as daily, weekly or monthly wages too.
It is mandatory that you keep track of your budget.

Reference

How to Start a Data Entry Business

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Easy Tips and Ideas to Start Business

Although anyone can start a business, many people fail because of a bad product or improper research. If you want to start your own business, you can improve your chances for success before you even begin. In order to make your business successful, start strong and make sure that your idea will hold out for the long haul.

Have a Good Product

Ensure that you plan to sell something useful. Although you may think that your product is important or special, that doesn't mean the general public will agree. Ask friends, family and strangers what they think of your product. If they don't seem that interested, ask them why. With their suggestions, you can either improve the product or scrap the idea completely. According to Brad Sugars of Entrepreneur magazine, most small businesses fail because they sold a product that didn't have an adequate market. This also applies to small businesses that provide a service. A lawn-care business might be useful for part of the year in a northern state, but it is in-demand year-round in the south. Consider whether people will actually want to use your service and get constructive advice from those not afraid to give their opinion.

Research Local Businesses

Research local companies before starting up your own business. This will not only give you an idea of the amount of competition you will have, but it will also help you price your product or service. If you're looking to start a wedding photography business, you may find during your research that the market is over-saturated in your area. If not over-saturated, you should contact each business and ask them for a price list. Alter your prices so you can stay competitive with the competition in town. Researching similar local businesses will also help you decide where to locate your business location. Try not to start up a store or office close to another business of your type. If your small business is located away from similar business types, this will cause locals to choose you over businesses that are farther away from where they live.

Get Professional Advice

You may know someone who has started their own successful business. Ask him for advice and listen to his stories of how he started his company. You may gain useful advice on the good and bad ways to start a business. Local entrepreneurs can also introduce you to local product providers or advertisers that you may not have met without their help. Accept any advice with open arms, especially if the advice is coming from someone successful in the area.

How to Calculate Business Start Up Costs

Starting a business in no easy endeavor. It takes a great deal of research, perseverance and hard work. While sweat equity will make your small business more successful, you will most likely need real capital to get the business started. Before you start raising capital and/or investing your own funds, the first thing you need to do is determine the total start-up costs.

Step 1

Determine your costs of sales. For most small businesses this means inventory, the cost of raw materials, manufacturing equipment, shipping, packaging, and warehousing. However, not all businesses sell products. In this case, the cost of sales is primarily the direct labor involved in making the sale. For example, to open a small shoe business entails purchasing enough inventory ($10,000) to stock the store.

Step 2

Determine professional fees. Planning your business structure, i.e., limited liability corporation or general partnership, means hiring an attorney. There may also be the need to pay an attorney for help with establishing trademarks, copyrights, and patents. In this scenario, that puts total professional fees at an estimated $20,000.

Step 3

Determine technology costs. Technology can greatly reduce the cost of labor for small business if used effectively. Most small businesses require computers, printers, cell phones, website development, Internet access, software applications, information security, data storage, and outsourced information technology (IT) consulting. If the cost of technology is $10,000 to start, add an additional $5,000 a year for maintenance (hint: maintenance is not included in start-up costs).

Step 4

Determine administrative costs. This varies with business types and may include items such as business insurance, office supplies, product packaging, parking, rent, express shipping, desks, chairs, fax machines, phones, or anything else necessary to operate the business daily. A good estimate for start-up administrative costs would be $5,000 for the first six months.

Step 5

Determine initial sales and marketing costs. Now that you have your product, you need to let folks know about it. Sales and marketing costs generally include marketing materials for presentations, printing stationery, business cards, advertising, trade show events, and public relations. These initial sales and marketing costs can add up to $3,000.

Step 6

Determine the wages and benefits needed to secure a staff. This includes employee salaries, benefits, workers compensation, and payroll taxes. Let's put the cost of wages and benefits estimated at $20,000 for the first three months of business.

Step 7

Add all costs associated with starting the business for a total. Be sure to only include business start-up costs that will be incurred in the first three to six months of operations. For this example, the calculation is: $10,000 + $20,000 + $10,000 + $5,000 + $3,000 + $20,000 = $68,000.

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Saturday, November 1, 2014