Diving In

- Practical Tips for Starting Up and Growing Your Home Based Business

We have a guest post today from Cas McCullough talking about her book Diving In – this is the first author I have had on but will be occasionally spotlighting authors and their books. Think about how what Cas had done with her business can be used to promote your book – when I read through the list practically every one of those points can be applied to assist you in creating your author platform.

Starting a micro business from your dining room table has never been easier within the landscape of social media, but it takes more than a Facebook Page to turn your business into a viable and sustainable enterprise.

So, what happens is, people give up. Given the large number of all small businesses that are home based enterprises, and that home based enterprises are the fastest growing economic sector in the global economy, this is a travesty.

After taking on Support a WAHP (Work at Home Person) in early 2011, it became clear to me that there were few reliable and credible resources out there for people who work from home. I had to learn everything the hard way, (including how to write and publish an ebook), but you can get a massive head-start with the help of this book, saving you time and money.

Whether you’re a mum starting-up a small craft enterprise or an entrepreneur planning to be the next Richard Branson,“Diving In” provides practical tips and resources to empower the tiniest business to become a roaring success.

Here’s what you’ll learn:

• how to write a practical business plan.
• considerations for working around your family and lifestyle needs.
• tips for creating your elevator pitch, keyword tags for SEO and brand/corporate identity (trust me, these do relate to each other)
• reasons why you need to focus on creating a responsive culture.
• tips for marketing your business online.
• tips for marketing your business in the real world.
• why networking is crucial to your marketing mix and how to go about getting yourself out there.
• why you should be generating publicity and tips on how to do it.
• tips for selling your products and services on and offline.
• the key social media marketing concepts you will need to be a social media success story.
• how to generate content and feed your followers’ appetite for original content.
• how to use social media as a networking tool.
• how to increase your engagement with followers, and generate more shares.
• why “likes” should not be your ultimate goal on Facebook.
• tips on interpreting data so you know when to post and how often.
• how to leveraging your page for sales.

All of these things I have learned through trial and error, reading, researching, formal and informal study. Using this book you can jump-start your home based business, start your success story and save yourself time and money in the process. I look forward to your feedback and, more importantly, on hearing how this book has helped you.

Download a free chapter of the book here!

About the Author:

Cas McCullough started her first home-based business at nine-years-old, making $20 a week selling home-made felt bookmarks and toys for a local craft shop in her home-town of Hahndorf, South Australia.

Cas is an entrepreneur and social media, marketing and communication specialist. With 20 years experience in graphic design, public relations, marketing and communication strategy and research, major event management, media relations, editing and publishing, blogging, speaking and most recently social media, she has lived and worked through everything you need to know to start a home-based business. Cas has also learned from the best in the social media business in order to share the most up-to-date, quality information and resources with other WAHPs.

Aside from her work with Support a WAHP, Cas has a passion for supporting women in childbirth as a doula through her local social enterprise Mumatopia. Cas is the former Editor of Birth Matters Journal, a past President of national consumer organization Maternity Coalition and co-founder of Caesarean Awareness Network Australia. Since 2008 she has also been listed in Who’s Who of Australian Women. Cas has presented at conferences and workshops on childbirth alongside notable activists such as Sheila Kitzinger, and former American talk-show host Ricki Lake.

Now, as a work at home mum, Cas is privileged to be able to explore her two passions side by side: women’s wellbeing and supporting other small home-based businesses.