Trina Makes Her Own Success

Do you want to run your own business from home, using a skill that you already possess and doing something that doesn't require a huge investment of cash?

That's exactly how Trina Jones of New Zealand felt. She'd worked for years as a legal secretary but when her children arrived she wanted to focus on caring for them, which meant finding a job which fitted around their needs. She was a school administrator for a while but following a relocation in Auckland she found it very hard to locate another role that met her requirements.

That's when Trina experienced what she calls her 'moment of enlightenment'. She has excellent typing skills and she'd done audio transcription work in the past, so she decided to set up her own business from home, Purple Giraffe Transcription Online.

To her surprise, it worked. Business started to come in. In her first year, ending in late 2009, the turnover was in excess of NZ $25k and Trina is optimistic that business will grow considerably. She's invested NZ $4k and lots of her own time. She's discovered that the most successful form of marketing is by word of mouth and her main frustration is the low return on paid advertising.

Trina has also learned a great deal about herself, the internet and running a business. She's discovered how committed and determined she can be, which helps to overcome the occasional sense of isolation that comes from working at home.

One piece of advice that Trina has for anyone else looking to start up in business is "to keep the down times in perspective". They will come, but it's essential to remain upbeat and proactive and to get through them.

What Trina's really looking forward to, like so many other new entrepreneurs, is doing business in a thriving economy rather than one that's in recession. The good news is that she's been able to set up and maintain a business at a difficult time, putting her in a great position for the future.

Visit the Purple Giraffe Transcription Online website to discover more about the service that Trina supplies.

Did you set up a business in the last few years? Have you got a story to share? Drop me a line via email.

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