Home-Based Business Entrepreneur: Your First Step to Financial Freedom
Starting a home business is the first step of a 10,000 mile journey that will challenge you as a person, test your strength and will, and lead you into the unknown. You are guaranteed to find yourself in situations in which you will be frightened, uncomfortable, and wishing you had never started. Do not despair, for if you undertake that journey, and persist, you will find yourself growing as a person, stronger and smarter than you have ever been, and eventually, after enduring many hardships, you just might end up extremely rich. So start now, with no money down, and learn to sell yourself in the whatever business that makes sense for you now; even as you keep one eye always fixed on the big picture and the rewards that lie ahead.
Keep it Simple
Your new business shouldn’t require re-inventing the wheel. Instead, try by starting with every-day problems that people you already know face. The process of brainstorming for your new business consists of three simple steps. Step one, determine what people need. Step two, dream up a solution to their problems. Make sure that is that it is simple, affordable, and that you are able to provide it. Step Three, the most important step, determine if they really would pay for it.
If you are looking for inspiration, make a list of your strengths, interests, and skills. Then do some brainstorming of ways you could use these talents to serve others. Finally, take a look at the listings for Craigslist of various large cities and see what services people are offering. Chances are great that you’ll find someone doing something that will make you say, “now why didn’t I think of that?” Then contact that person, flatter the hell out of them, and ask them for advice. Most people love a good sucking up to, and are happy to help out someone interested in what they do, especially if they plan to work in a market that doesn’t directly compete with their own!
Start it Cheap
I have a buddy that is an excellent chef and loves food. Of course, he dreams of owning his own restaurant someday. So what’s the problem? Well, he never can come up with the capital that a restaurant would require. The reality is that he is just a dreamer that will always use the cost issue as an excuse for not actually doing anything.
If you put your mind to it, you could easily think of dozens of businesses that a talented guy with a genius for food could start up for almost no capital and make some cash. He could teach guys how to put together a meal (complete with wine) guaranteed to impress a date or the future in-laws, he could teach people how to cook specialty items, he could cater parties, he could make up recipes that take advantage of hot current interests like organic food, local food, vegan food, raw food, instant gourmet foods, etc. He could write about food, he could sell specialty kitchen products for the at-home gourmet. Wow, I almost wish that I knew how to cook! The point is, your creativity and willingness to work are the product here, take advantage and build the business from the ground up.
Be Ready to Sell Yourself
One of the greatest challenges to new entrepreneurs in making the transition from employee to business owner is in selling themselves and their business. Whatever your business is, you will have to be prepared to do some selling and self-promotion, you will have to speak with potential clients and you will have to get the word out about what you are offering. If the idea of this strikes terror in your heart, relax, because you’re not alone. Do, however, be prepared to conquer this fear before you can achieve success as an entrepreneur. There are lots of ways to do this, but perhaps the most effective of them is to get out there with a product or service that you believe in and look for opportunities to tell people about it.
Start Small, Think Big
The biggest misconception is that starting small means thinking small. Exactly the opposite is true, almost all great entrepreneurs started with a small business that they build up into something huge. In fact, the first product is usually only the first step to becoming an entrepreneur, a way for you to get experience and learn the ropes. As Robert Kiyosaki says, “there are no bad business and investment opportunities, but there are bad entrepreneurs and investors.” As you gain experience, keep tweaking and improving your business and challenging yourself as an entrepreneur and bigger and bigger opportunities will present themselves.
There Will Never Be a Better Time than NOW!
The economy sucks, junior was just born, we’re getting ready to move, we don’t have enough money, we don’t have enough time; there are always dozens of reasons to put things off until later, to plan and dream without taking real and concrete action. Excuses, I hate them and don’t want to hear them. I’ve got enough of my own to get past! Kiyosaki, true to form, also has great advice for starting now, “your future is created by what you do today, not tomorrow.”
About the Author:
Tyler Wells, C.P.A. is a practicing accountant with a passion for helping entrepreneurs realize their dreams. He is also the owner of WebBizFinance.com, your source for solutions to your accounting, finance, and business problems.
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admin | Jul 30, 2010 | Comments 1
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