Many people around the world are now trying their luck in starting their home based business. Everyone seems to be trying the free home based business opportunities that are being offered. Everyday new businesses are arising in many homes around the world. These businesses are being operated entirely from a simple home computer. Some also find jobs that are at home and earning money while rendering services online at the comfort of their home. Staying at home and earning money is now becoming a lifestyle among many people. Most of them are quitting their office jobs because they are wasting a lot of time in the office but they are not earning enough for their family. People always want to have quality time with their loved ones and at the same time earn more money. Having a home business gives people the means to achieve their goals of a stable source of income and at the same time the flexibility to spend quality time with family.Aside from improving personal lifestyle, there are other reasons why more and more people are looking to free home based business opportunities. Most people want to run a business wherein they can employ their own business strategies. Home based businesses allow them to work on their business personally and use their creativity and learned business strategies to increase their profit. Moreover, people whose business is based at home are just working for themselves; they don’t have a boss to whom they are liable. It gives them freedom from the pressure of a corporate lifestyle.Financially speaking, home based businesses allow them to earn more money while spending less, and sometimes it will not even require them to shell out money to start the business. Most of the businesses started from home are born out of creativity and passion of the business owner alone. With all the massive layoffs, employee downsizing, increasing gas prices, etc.; it is now more practical for many people to start a home business or do a home based job to cut off personal expenditures and earn more at the comfort of their home.It is really rewarding to make money from home because it gives people flexibility in their lifestyle and how they spend their money and time. Free home based business opportunities are out there waiting to be found by people who want a productive business and a happy life with their family.

There are many things to consider when thinking of starting and running a home based business, including where the start up money will come from, if the business will succeed, and also things like whether you have the personal work ethic to succeed at your business and deciding on short and long term goals for it. What you need to know though is the many benefits of having a home based business or data network affiliates.Financial FreedomOne of the biggest benefits of having and running a business based out of your home is the incredible financial freedom it can sometimes bring. Depending on which type of business you start, you can begin earning what is called passive income, which is basically money that comes in with little effort or work. This leads to financial freedom – the ability to live as you want to without the fear of debt and living from paycheck to paycheck.FlexibilityAnother major benefit of running a business based out of your home is that you can run it in your spare time rather than every second of every day. Because you run it, you control when you run it. There’s no answering to a boss, only your customers, and it is your business so you set the hours. Data network affiliates and home based businesses are notoriously flexible in their very nature. Depending on what type of business you run from home, you can concentrate more on your health and wellness, or concentrate on working toward a passive income so that you have more spare time.WellnessIt may sound a little odd, but this truly is one of the most reported benefits of owning and running a home based business – improved overall wellness. The reduced stress of not having a boss to answer to, as well as the extra spare time you often get with the flexibility and financial freedom that home based businesses come with both help home business owners have an overall better wellness and health than those who work 40 hour weeks under a stressful boss, etc. Again, odd but true for real home based business owners.

I want you to think about the term “Fundraising Auction”.

A “Fundraising Auction” is an event where items of value are gathered, and then sold in a competitive bidding situation, either in a Silent Auction format, or in a Live Auction format by a Live Auctioneer. And since typically the best items are saved for the Live Auction, arguably it is the Live Auction that should generate a significant portion of the proceeds in any Fundraising Auction.

So why do so many non-profit groups consider the Fundraising Auctioneer to be the least valuable component in a Fundraising Auction?

The Hosting Facility gets paid.
The Printer gets paid.
The Caterer gets paid.
The Liquor Store gets paid.
The DJ gets paid.
The Florist gets paid.
But the Auctioneer … the individual who is expected to raise the lion’s share of the event’s proceeds… is expected to work for Free. And is usually under-appreciated for the professional services he/she provides.

I’m not trying to underscore the value of the invitations & programs, food, booze, music, and decorations. All are important in their own way. But each of these are “Expenses”. It is the Auctioneer who is going to bring “Revenue”… and thus, the “Profits”… into any event. Which is the ultimate objective of any Fundraising Auction.

Here is a real-life example of how under-appreciated the Auctioneer can be. In two comparable events we worked last year, during the dinner portion of the event one non-profit group sat the Auctioneer (me) at a table with the DJ, the Interns, the Volunteer Staff, and other event “Help”. The 2nd non-profit group sat the Auctioneer (me) directly next to the CEO of their organization, where we chatted about how important the pending revenue would be to their organization. Which group do you think valued the services of the Fundraising Auctioneer more?

Don’t ever under-estimate the value that a professional Fundraising Auctioneer can bring to your event. The Auctioneer adds value as a pre-event consultant. And the Auctioneer can change an event from a moderate to a huge success.

A Case Study Once I was scheduled to call an Auction for a major local non-profit group. They represented a very good cause and they had a strong and dedicated following. Their event was sold out, quality Live & Silent Auction items had been solicited, and the Special Pledge Appeal had been choreographed and was ready to go. The facility was first class, the appropriate caterer was booked, and the food was ready to cook.

But quite unexpectedly, some unseasonably inclement weather forced the event’s cancellation. Despite all of the committee’s hard work, cancelling the event was the proper decision considering the circumstances.

So the Event Committee scrambled to re-schedule the event for the following weekend.

They confirmed with the Hosting Facility.
They confirmed with the Caterer.
They confirmed with the Liquor Store.
They confirmed with the DJ.
They confirmed with the Florist.
Since they already had the Mailing List of those scheduled to attend, no new invitations had to be printed as all were contacted by email or telephone. So with everything in place, the group went ahead and re-scheduled the event for the following weekend.

But guess who they failed to confirm? You got it… the Professional Auctioneer. They thought so little of the Auctioneer’s contribution that they “assumed” that the Auctioneer would be available and at their beck and call.

But the Auctioneer already had another Fundraising Auction booked for that date with another non-profit group. It was only hour away from the re-scheduled event, and things could have been easily worked out. All Group #1 had to do was start their event one hour earlier, or one hour later, than the Group #2, and the Auctioneer could have helped both groups on the same day.

But because Group #1 failed to anticipate a possible Auctioneer conflict, because they failed to confirm with the Auctioneer before re-scheduling their event, their preferred Auctioneer had to bow out and they had to scramble to locate substitute “Volunteer” Auctioneer only days before their event.

And it cost them.

Learning Points

The Live Auction is usually where the profits are made at any Fundraising Auction.
A Professional Fundraising Auctioneer can be vital to the success of any Fundraising Auction.
The better Fundraising Auctioneers usually get booked quickly.
You need to recognize the important contributions that a good Auctioneer can make to your event.
Michael Ivankovich is a Bucks County Fundraising Auctioneer based in Doylestown PA, and serves the Great Philadelphia PA area. He has been a professionally licensed and bonded Auctioneer in Pennsylvania for nearly 20 years, has been named Pennsylvania’s Auctioneer of the Year, and has considerable experience in conducting Fundraising Auctions. Michael loves helping groups raise needed funds for good causes and one of his specialties is the “Special Pledge Appeal” or “Fund-A-Cause Appeal” which usually enables clients to double their revenue in a single evening.