Home Based Secretarial Business

Pricing is often a challenge when setting up a home based secretarial business. Knowing how much to charge for your services is a tricky area for the beginner. Here are some basic guidelines to follow.

• Find out the going rate for this type of work in your area. What are other work at home typists and secretaries charging? Use this as guide to set your rates. There are some good resources available for pricing information. Your local Small Business Administration District Office Business Information Center(BIC) has reference material to guide you in pricing your services. Go to http://sba.gov to find your nearest BIC. Look at adverts in your local paper that are offering a similar service. Phone a local temporary employment agency and enquire what the going hourly rate is for a temporary typist. Ask businesses what they have paid for this type of service previously.
• Calculate all your costs. The point where you are able to meet all your costs and expenses is the amount at which you will break even. The prices you set for your home based seceretarial business must reflect what it costs you to start the business and the running expenses of doing secretarial work from home. Once off start up costs include any office equipment and software you may have to buy, business cards and a business licence. For a service business such as this you need to factor in the following running expenses - office supplies such as paper, printer cartridges and stationery, electricity costs, internet charges, telephone costs, postage, copying, equipment hiring costs such as a fax machine if applicable, advertising costs, equipment maintenance costs, travel costs if you are collecting and delivering work to companies, taxes, and very importantly your time.
• Set your rates. Once you have determined your costs and expenses, you can now decide on a cost per unit (eg. page of typing), an hourly rate, a flat fee per typing job, a contract price or other formula that suits your particular home business. Don't underprice your services. Often new businesses charge less than the going rate for their services to try and get customers. This usually fails because you need to be seen to be competitive and you need to cover your expenses. Have confidence in yourself and the service you are providing.
• Review your budget regularly. Stay current with your overhead expenses like office supplies. You may need to adjust your pricing according to updated business costs.

More about a home based secretarial business

Advertising and marketing your home secretarial business

Choosing your business name

Register a business name

Data entry work from home

If doing secretarial work from home is not the right home based business for you there are other potentially successful home business ideas and opportunties. View more home business ideas at Home Computer Business Opportunties.

Starting your own home based secretarial business can be the beginning of a whole new life! With hard work and determination you can build a profitable and rewarding work at home career.

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