Howard Figler, nationally known speaker, writer and career counselor suggests that “today’s career success may carry five business cards and be serious about all of them….If one source of income is good, then five sources may be even better.”
Working at more than one job was once known as “moonlighting;” more recently working simultaneously at several jobs became know as the portfolio career. For most people, however, it is easier to understand the “moonlighter” working for needed extra money than to understand why someone might have several “jobs” to which they are committed. Holding simultaneous multiple jobs is not the norm, and those who do, find that they are frequently accused of being unfocused, scattered, unable to set priorities, or maybe even suffering from undiagnosed ADHD.
Barbara Sher in Refuse to Choose, put in a good word for some of these individuals and called them “scanners.” A scanner has intense curiosity about numerous unrelated subjects. Committing to just one career just is not possible unless it includes incredible variety. More than 50 years ago, Donald Super, a pioneer in the field of the psychology of career development stated that we are all multi-potential and one job or career may not satisfy us.
In this challenging new economy, having several simultaneous sources of income may be the way to achieve career success. Now that periods of unemployment are becoming common for many workers, your career success might come from having several career identities.
This may mean that you must learn to think like an entrepreneur. It is quite possible to keep your day job and start a home business on the side. Your entrepreneurial pursuits might be part time or seasonal. With the internet, micro-entrepreneurs can start very small businesses with virtually no monetary risk.
What does a Portfolio Career or 5+ Business Card Career look like? With this career style you may have:
full time job or two or three employers with whom you have contracted.
a business that supplements your regular income.
one or more businesses that you are cultivating to see if they are right for you.
a source of income you are building for “retirement.”
a part time business you use when you are between jobs.
Your career identities may come from your “five-plus” businesses that are all related to one theme or industry or your identities may spring from monetizing your passions, interests, or natural talents. Having a 5+ Business Card Career can provide:
increased income variety that can replace income lost by unemployment or retirement.
a way of taking advantage of all your interests.
a better position to take advantage of changes in the market place.
When you are buying or selling a house only three things count. Location, Location, and Location.
Is location a factor if you are starting a business?
Location Factor #1 – Mindset: Your location may make a difference in terms of what you think and know about small businesses. I have only lived in Massachusetts, so I will mainly use my state as an example. In the medium –sized cities, especially in the central area of the state, I see few examples of small businesses; a few small restaurants usually owned by immigrants, insurance agencies, psychologists and counselors. In the smaller the cities and towns I see more examples or small businesses and seasonal businesses, especially in western Massachusetts, on the North Shore and on Cape Cod .
In Worcester, my current hometown, my resume clients want jobs, even those well over 60 years who have been out of work for several years. If I suggest that they start their own business – I get a response of “NO…. never heard of anyone doing such a thing successfully.” They don’t even notice the examples that do exist – solitary massage therapists, yoga studios, in which one owner began slowly ant then hired additional instructors. In the small towns to the west, my older clients are more likely to look around and see people who have started a “Boomer” business – Photographer, Handyman, Mideastern pastries, computer repair.
Gallery
Last week I was on vacation on Cape Cod. Small businesses
Gift Store -consignment
are everywhere. Mini art galleries, gift stores, gift stores that sell gifts and crafts on a consignment basis, (fairy doors and accessories, any one?) photographers, wood carvings, all kinds of jewelry businesses, massage therapists working out of colonial homes, and many homes that apparently convinced their owners to start bed and breakfasts. On the Hyannis waterfront, fishing shacks have become the artist’s
Artist Shanty
shanties.
Fairy Door
Location Factor #2 – Working from Home: If you are just beginning it is convenient and you can’t beat the low price. For some part time businesses, it is ideal: an internet business, landscaping, dog walking, coaching, some types of crafts. Since no customers visit your business, all you need is some space, a telephone number, and your lap top.
Your home may not be suitable for businesses in which you will be having face-to-face contact with your clients, unless you have a separate space for your business. I run my resume business, halfpreneur.com, and my college teaching profession from what used to be our dining room. I can easily block off the room from the rest of the house, if clients enter through my front door. Unused In-law apartments can become a business space, a friend ran her Reiki and hypnosis business from the “apartment” that no relative needed.
If you plan on seeing customers, you also need to check on the zoning requirements of your city/town.
Location Factor # 3 – Choosing a Location: If you cannot work from home for some reason, you will have to rent, lease, or share space. Subletting an office or using a space that specializes in new businesses (sometimes referred to as incubators) may give you some instant visibility, and the price will be lower than renting a place on your own, which as a part-time entrepreneur you probably do not even need.
If you are making a food item, you may need to rent time in a commercial kitchen. Check the laws in your area, if you a producing a version of your family’s famous salsa or fudge. Before renting or leasing a store for you craft items, check the market by starting at craft fairs or specialty consignment shops. Look at trends in your area, you may want to run your craft business only during the summer in an area that has tourist traffic and use the internet and craft fairs the rest of the year.
For any small business, especially for one serving actual customers in real time, you first must determine that there is a need for your product or service. Location will make a difference in terms of attracting business and what you can charge. If my resume service were located in Boston or New York, I could be charging much higher prices for my services! www.career-development-services.com
The first Labor Day holiday was celebrated in New York City in 1882, by 1885 the holiday was being celebrated in a number of industrial centers, and in 1894 Congress made it a national holiday. There is some doubt as to who proposed this holiday for workers. Some claim that Peter J. McGuire, general secretary of the Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners and cofounder of the American Federation of Labor proposed the holiday while others believe the founder was Peter McGuire a machinist and secretary of the Central Labor Union in New York. Peter McGuire’s proposal did include appointing a committee to plan a demonstration and picnic.
Labor Day
In the early years of this holiday, street parades were common in cities and towns to show the strength of their community’s trade and labor organizations. Well the parades are a thing of the past and American workers participation in labor unions peaked in the 1950s and has gone into decline. What are we celebrating in 2013? According to the United States Department of Labor, Secretary Thomas E. Perez, Labor Day is a ”yearly, national tribute to the contribution workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well being of our country.” Besides the doubt as to who proposed this holiday, perhaps there is now another doubt about Labor Day. Is American labor valued? Interestingly the statement from the Secretary of Labor is in the past tense. Is labor still valued? Are American workers somehow at risk?
Unemployed
According to the Catholic News Service, “The economy is not creating an adequate number of jobs that allow workers to provide for themselves and their families. More than 4 million people have been jobless for over six months, and that does not include the millions more who have simply lost hope. For every available job, there are often five unemployed and underemployed people actively vying for it. This jobs gap pushes wages down. Half of the jobs in this country pay less than $27,000 per year. More than 46 million people live in poverty, including 16 million children.”tinyurl.com/oxs9rqm#laborday
Just a remnant of the Great Recession? Probably not. Time Magazine reports in its 9/9/13 edition that “According to a study published by the Reserve Bank of Chicago, by the end of last year U.S. manufacturing had recovered 75% of the output lost in the Great Recession but only about 21% of the lost jobs.” How is this possible? The use of new technologies brings greater efficiency and computer technology and robotics is likely to further reduce the need for labor. According to Erik Brynjolfsson and Andrew McAfee, authors of Race Against the Machine, “The root of our problems is not that we’re in aGreat Recession or a Great Stagnation, but rather we are in the early throes of a Great Restructuring.” This restructuring is that computer hardware, software, and networks are going to get more powerful and capable in the future and have an even bigger impact on skills, jobs, and the economy.
WARNING: If your job involves learning a set of logical rules or a statistical model that you apply task after task you are ripe for replacement by a robot. This includes not only jobs like issuing boarding passes and grilling hamburgers but jobs like completing tax returns. Professional jobs will not be safe either. Medicine, nursing, sales, teaching, stock trading all have aspects that can be automated.
artist
HELPFUL SUGGESTION: Learn the skills to migrate to occupations that are genuinely nonroutine and thus protected from automation. Successful, productive work will be based on mastering creative, analytical, or intuitive skills. Hair styling, plumbing, designing buildings, and plotting corporate strategy are all going to be difficult to automate. And low paying work will still be available in jobs that are currently low paying and not worth automating: cleaning hotel rooms, cutting shrubs. Jobs that require working with new information and solving unstructured problems will also remain.
If this is the direction of the Great Restructuring, more unemployment looks inevitable, but we are in the early stages of this restructuring and we don’t know how it will evolve or what role we can play in its evolution.
OTHER PERCEPTIONS: Many of the endeavors that part-time entrepreneurs take on are those that can’t easily be automated or that we would not want automated. A robot tour leader? A robot fitness or yoga instructor!!!! A robot wedding planner that does the wedding photography as well????? What are your creative, intuitive, or analytical skills? Build your part-time business around these skills.
Yes, we keep hearing and reading that “The economy is not expanding” and “No one is hiring or creating jobs” Being a halfpreneur does not mean that you have to work alone. Mahatma Gandhi once said, “Be the change that you hope to see in the world.” You can be the one that hires the fitness trainers or yoga instructors for your studio. You can plan and organize the garden tours or restaurant tasting tours, or the ghost tours but you can hire others to actually run the tours. It is possible for you to be a job creator.
In this “Restructuring” not only computers will become more powerful but also networks. We should maintain our interpersonal skills for in-person and online communication. I suspect a personal touch and knowing one’s customers by name and preferences may become even more valuable for a small business person. News already travels almost instantaneously, maintain high standards of customer service and honesty.
Martin Luther King Jr
If this “Restructuring” is going to continue to accelerate the gap between the rich and the poor, we need to consider the consequences of not valuing labor. “Work and love are the two essential ingredients of a well-adjusted personality.” (Sigmund Freud) We are currently seeing the stressful lives lived by the long-term unemployed. But with some creativity and concern it seems like we can use robots or automated devices to do dangerous jobs and still provide work that people will find meaningful or at least capable of providing support to themselves and their families. Maybe we need a society that will actively encourage more people to become entrepreneurs. Those who own homes, those who own their own businesses are more likely to be committed to their communities.
Those at the top of business and industry need to figure out that they cannot pay their workers like paupers and have them spend like princes”. (paraphrased from John C. Médaille, Toward a Truly FreeMarket), OK, we tried having it both ways for a while – an economy based on credit cards and unaffordable mortgages did not work out well for most of us.
Celebrating labor, supporting labor is not being against capitalism. “Labor without capitalism is unemployment; capitalism without labor is sterile.” (John C. Médaille )
Coaching and blogging are supposedly activities that you can do from any location (provided you have phone and internet access) So I decided that one of my posts this week would be done from my vacation location – Cape Cod. Should it be one of my typical blogs or something different? A visit today to the Truro Vineyards resolved my dilemma.
Grape Vines – Truro, MA
It’s not quite a story of halfpreneurs but it will do. In 1990, two women familiar with the wine industry of New York’s Finger Lakes region visited Cape Cod and saw the property that was for sale. At that time it was an old dairy farm. The gently sloping south-facing fields caught their attention as the perfect orientation for the grape plants. They checked soil conditions and rainfall information and decided the farmhouse and barn would make a good location for a winery. They were thinking a starting a winery in the Finger Lakes region but there were many new wineries being started there. What about being the only winery on the outer (lower) Cape – was their thought.
They bought the property and turned the farmhouse into a Bed and Breakfast to bring in an income until wines were being produced. They planted grapes and turned the barn into the winery. Three years later they were producing three varieties of wine. More fields were planted and contacts were made to buy grapes grown in other areas of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and New York. Eventually grapes from California made the long truck journey from the Pacific coast to the Atlantic coast. The bed and breakfast continued to supplement their income. More income came from a gift store/wine store.
Red Wine – In Process
More grapes, more wine. Red wines typically take more time to produce often 18 to 24 months, while some white wines are ready in only a few months. Some September grapes are bottled white wine by Memorial Day, and the future red wines are still fermenting in their second oak barrels.
Seven years ago, these two women decided it was time to move on. One of the frequent visitors to the winery who was in the beverage trade was intrigued. He knew one side of the industry and he was approaching retirement age. Time for a new challenge and an economic opportunity for his family! The beer brewing son learned a new process and took over the winery. The bed and breakfast is gone but tours of the property and wine tastings are available. 19 wines are now produced, and if I remember this afternoon’s lecture tour 12,000 cases of wine are produced annually. A winery with not even four acres of grapes is one of the leading wineries in New England.
As for my vacation – we had one beach day and are now experiencing “GRAPE WEATHER.” Grape weather is cool, foggy summer weather that grapes love! Maritime species of grapes can absorb water and minerals through their skins. Great weather for the grapes and wine, but another gray day with temperatures in the 60s F; and an Internet connection that makes me long for the days of dial-ups, and I may start to WHINE!
If you are in business, even in a small part-time business, you need a website.
There are three pages that your website must have: The Home Page/Welcome Page, About Me/Contact Page, Products and Services Page.
The Home Page – The purpose of this page is to let your customer know that they have come to the right place and you can help them. On this page you will want to include:
– Who you help
– The problem(s) you solve
– The benefits you provide
– Why they should choose you!
The About Me /Contact Page – Some key points to mention on this page are:
– Your relevant experience
– Passion for your topic
– What you have achieved in your own life or have helped clients achieve
– Anything else that adds to your credibility
– One or two testimonials
– Your email and/or phone number
Services and Products Page – This page should display the goods and services you offer. Tell them the process you use so they will know what to expect if they work with you. One or two short paragraphs on each product or service is sufficient. Your aim is to get them to contact you. Supply phone number and email address again.
Some basic rules for a professional looking website:
-Keep your site basic, clean, and uncluttered.
-Start off with a strong headline that offers a benefit (sorry but “ welcome to my site!” is NOT a good headline.)
-Stress benefits of your product or service not features.
-Include an address and working phone number. This builds trust with your customers.
-Make it easy to use your site. Use consistent, clearly labeled navigation links
-Don’t make customers work to find your links. They should be in blue text and underlined.
-The text should be easy to read. Black text and white background.
-Keep fonts and sizes consistent. A large blue headline followed by a red paragraph, followed by black text with randomly placed blue words causes eyestrain. Your potential customers will leave before they even know what you offer.
-Keep the design consistent throughout the entire site. Your graphic elements are part of your brand. If your graphics are jumbled and confusing, your potential customers may assume that you products are poorly conceived and not worth purchasing.
-Don’t use a flash intro. Just take them to your home page.
-Keep graphics small. The larger they are, the longer it takes to download your page. Do use some graphics; people like breaks in the text.
-If you decide to include advertising on your site, limit the number of flashing banners or animated graphics. They annoy customers and detract from your message.
-Have a method to get each visitor’s email address, which you will use to follow up later. This is the foundation for an online business Two or the most common ways to capture email addresses and send out freebies and newsletters are : www.aweber.com and www.constantcontact.com
Do you need to hire a designer to create your website or should you do It yourself with a template? Many hosting companies offer easy to use templates. WordPress and Weebly Drag and Drop can be readily mastered by someone with basic word processing skills. Both offer ways to customize your site and make it feel more like you. If you have a tendency to write and think at the same time and get new ideas while you are in the act of writing, you may want to create your own site. An experienced web designer will be able to get your website up more quickly and be able to create an unique site. Ideally though you should learn how to update and maintain your site. If you are looking for a reasonably priced free lance web designed try Craig’s List, elance.com and fiverr.com.
Either you or your designer has to come up with the color scheme for your site. Do colors matter?
Why are financial reports often colored green? Why do fast food restaurants use bright orange and yellow? Colors express various feelings and influence our emotions. Not all experts agree about the exact feelings and emotions that each color triggers, but there is some minimum agreement that each color can evoke positive or negative emotions.
Buy Now
Red —strength or aggression
Orange — warmth or frustration
Yellow — optimism or anxiety
Green — peace or boredom
Blue — calm or coldness
Purple — quality or decadence
If you search the Internet looking for ways to make additional money, many sites will point you in the direction of Internet marketing. It’s a great opportunity for some and totally unappealing for others. I will not say that Internet marketing does not help people but what if your ideas of helping others fall more into the areas of listening to them, caring for them, etc. What if one of your goals is to make the world a better place? There are plenty of opportunities for part-time entrepreneurs of all ages in the helping fields. And there are lots of ways to make the world a better place.
Coaches, Wellness Experts, Nannies, and Others ……
Coaching ……
Coach
Coaching. Coaching is not counseling or therapy. Coaching helps motivate people, set goals and make moves in their lives they may not have considered without support. This is a career in which life experience and maturity are major assets.
No state as of yet has certification requirements for coaches. http://www.fabjob.com has guide books on coaching and setting up a coaching practice.
Personal Organizer… Declutter Coach. If you hate clutter and love order, you probably have discovered that some people are clueless when it comes to organizing their belongings and space. Their lack of time or ability could be your next career opportunity. There are organizations for organizers. Visit their sites to discover what a Personal Organizer or Declutter coach does.
National Association of Professional Organizers www.napo.net
Personal Concierge … Get paid for doing all the things a wife used to do and more. Run errands to the bank, post office, pharmacy. Wait around for repairmen. Chaffeur children and older relatives. Get tickets for events. Plan dinners and parties…… Except for all the waiting, you can set your own hours. Information atThe National Association of Professional Organizers www.napo.net
Doula. Doulas help women through labor, childbirth, and the postpartum period using nonmedical interventions including breathing techniques, massage, aromatherapy, and massive amounts of emotional support. Dona has certified more than 7000 birth and postpartum doulas.
Hypnotherapist. Hypnotherapy is a growing area of the mental-health profession.There are plenty of niches for hypnotherapists: weight loss, smoking cessation, pain management, hypnobirthing, stress relief. For articles and information on training …
http://aaph.org American Association of Professional Hypnotists
Personal Trainer. Create a niche for yourself: mature bodies, special needs. Let’s face it; most of us over age 50 don’t have the bodies you see in the fitness ads. Get certified to build, shape, and sculpt. Two sources of training to consider….
http://nfpt.com Personal Trainer and Certification and Fitness Education
Yoga Teacher. Yoga is mainstream and for everyone. Start your search with Yoga Journal Magazine or visit yogasite.com and click on the link for teacher training. One of the best and most respected schools in the country is at the KripaluCenter in Lenox, Massachusetts.
Reiki Practitioner. Reiki is healing energy that facilitates balance, healing and personal insight. Many Reiki practitioners are inspired to share their Reiki energy and training by setting up a practice or a business. Reiki practitioners and teachers impart their love and supportive philosophy through classes and therapy sessions. Setting up a formal business or practice for Reiki is relatively easy to accomplish for an experienced Reiki Master or practitioner; it just involves paperwork and preparation to meet requirements of your state and locale, as well as your customers (clients and students).
Massage Therapist. A growing profession with much job satisfaction. In most states, you will need 500 hours of training to be licensed. Be sure any program that you select is accredited by the Commission on Massage Training. Physical fitness is essential for this job. Practitioners are on their feet all day and some forms of massage require physical strength.
Nanny. Love children but no children or grandchildren of your own yet. Look after other people’s children. There are many internet sites on the topic including the International Nanny Association an umbrella association for the in-home child care industry that provides information, education and guidance to the public and to industry professionals. Nannies work part-time as well as full time.
English Teacher ESL or EFL. English as a second language (ESL) and English as a foreign language (EFL) are in demand in the U.S. and around the world. You can teach English in your community, on-line or by Skype, or satisfy your wanderlust and take a position in a foreign country if you are looking for a seasonal half-time “career” or are one of the working “retired.”. Housing or a host family is usually provided.
Used Book Seller. Sell used books on Amazon.com. If you know what books to sell and the best ways to find them you can develop a profitable business. Some information is available from Thriving Business, but to get the whole story you will need to buy their 28 page special report for $7.00.
Tour Leader. Provide informative and entertaining tours showcasing your areas local attractions. Ghost tours have been popular for years and food tours are beginning to gain popularity. There are restaurant and pub tours, as well as tours to farms that allow picking veggies and fruit. This tour should end with a restaurant meal. Organic!? Garden tours are another option, and recently I met the founder of Boston Pilgrim – tours of some of the most historical religious sites in Boston, MA. www.bostonpilgrim.org For more information on starting a business as a tour leader, there are courses and informational web sites.
Chocolate Maker: Does chocolate make the world a better place? The business of making chocolate candy can improve your bottom line. If you would love to learn how to make chocolate cancy, EcoleChocolat (Chocolate School) offers professional Chocolatier training that consists of an intensive online three month program
Cake Decorating Instructor: Teach cake decorating as a free lance instructor. Or learn to decorate cakes first and then become an instructor. Bilingual English/Spanish instructors are in demand.
Wine Expert: Even wine experts have accreditations. You can become an accredited wine expert through The International Sommelier Guild which offers a six month diploma program. Their training is conducted in a variety of cities in the U.S. and Canada
Most people want to be successful in life and if you are starting a business, you obviously want to be successful in this venture as well. In life or in business, success can mean different things to different people, but all success shares one component – it takes work to reach.
There are many ways to achieve success, so here are tens tips that you can apply.
1. Dare to Dream but Keep in Mind Your Actual Potential
To succeed, you need to have dreams and aspirations. Be honest with yourself as to what you want out of life and what you want to give of your life. Allow your mind to dream and think big. In order to succeed, however, you need to have the potential to reach your goals. For example, if you want to be a recording artist but have no singing ability, having success in this field is not likely, however you could still work in this field by promoting recording artists. However, if you love working on cars and have a real talent for fixing engines and transmissions, you have the potential to learn more and achieve success in the automobile industry.
2. Focus on Something you Like
To increase your chance of succeeding, you should concentrate your efforts on something you enjoy. When you start out, make a list of everything you find interesting. Then in a second column, write down the skills you have in relation to each of those items. This will help you narrow choices down based on interest and skill, which gets you started in the right direction for success.
3. Have a Plan / Create a Business Plan
Even if it is flimsy to begin with, you should construct a plan to include goal, milestones, deliverables such as contracts, business plans, etc., and accomplishments. This will provide you with a visual as to what you are working for, what milestones you have successfully met, and where you need to do better.
Early in your new business, you may want to create a business plan. You can launch your business without it as long as you are not looking for investors. The value of the business plan, even if you are the only one who reads it, is that it will be the blueprint to your success, because it will consist of market trends, financial planning, competitive analysis, exit strategies, marketing and promotional options, and everything else about your goal. The business plan will allow you to keep track of everything involving your goal.
4. No Shortcuts
An old cliché states, “Anything worth doing is worth doing well.” This should be your motto. When you want to succeed, you cannot afford to take shortcuts. Taking shortcuts leads to imperfection and inadequacies. Always strive for the best, even if it requires a little more time and effort.
5. Don’t Look Back and Don’t Give Up
Everyone has failures or mistakes from the past. To have success, you need to learn from your past and value those difficult lessons but do not every dwell on the past. Simply move forward and make better, more educated decisions from the lessons learned. If you are starting a business, you will make mistakes. Many successful entrepreneurs have failed at least once in earlier businesses. To reach success, you have to persevere. Even Thomas Edison had to learn this. When he was creating the incandescent light bulb, it took him more than 10,000 times to get it right. Keep striving even when it becomes challenging.
6. Getting Past Fear of Failure
Being afraid of failure is a normal emotion for every person on the planet. How you get past that fear is the determining factor between failing and succeeding. You can do that by setting realistic goals and then examining those goals on occasion to do any necessary realignment. Above all, believe in yourself and the desire burning within.
7. Accept Responsibility
You need to accept responsibility if you make a bad decision or fall behind in your plan. Let us say that you have set some firm milestones that need to be accomplished in order for you to move to the next step. However, you got tired of working hard and took some time to play, which is fine as long as it does not affect your goals. Now months have passed and you are way behind schedule. This delay has closed several doors of opportunities. Who is to blame?
8. Have Courage; Don’t Just Settle
Depending on what your specific success is, it may take courage to arrive at your desired destination. For example, if you have a dream of being a writer and to you, that , is success, but according to your long line of family members who have all gone on to be doctors, the only success in their minds is if you follow down the medical path. This means you will have to have courage to stand up for what you believe and desire to do, even if it means disappointing family.
If you have a goal of becoming a world-famous chef with your own restaurant and you know you have both desire and skill, do not just settle to become a short order cook at your local family-style restaurant. While that may be good training ground, do not allow yourself to lose sight of your ultimate goal..
9. Customer Relations
Keep your line of communication open with your customers. If they have a problem, show them the deserved respect and resolve the issue quickly. Make occasional phone calls or send emails to see if they have any needs. This will let your customers know that you are there for them and care about their business. This relationship is what is going to keep you on the road to success. After all, the customer is your link between failure and success.
10. Make Opportunities
Rather than wait for opportunity to find you, you need to find opportunities. This might be watching for business opportunities in the paper regarding small businesses being sold, great real estate opportunities, and investments with stocks, bonds, or mutual funds, taking a talent and turning it into an entrepreneurial adventure. People that have achieved financial success will tell you that they look for ways to seize opportunities, not wait for opportunities to come knocking on their door because it will not happen that way. You must make opportunities or be ready to seize them when they become available.
The name of your business is important. It can refer to your product or service, but more importantly it should be about an identification with your customers singularly or collectively (i.e. your target market). Ideally your name will be easy to pronounce and have a rhythmic flow of sound. If your name stirs emotions, it is even better. Do you go to overstock.com because you just know you’ll find a good deal?
If your business has a name and you are working as a “dba” (doing business as), your business needs to be registered with your city or county. Registering your” dba” means no one else in the city/county can use the same name. Of course the name might not be available for your business website. This may not be so bad because on the internet, a business’ reason for being should be apparent in its name. If you intend to do business nationally or internationally on the Internet, you may want to consider trade marking your name.
You can have some fun when trying to come up with your name. Brainstorm, consider a number of names before deciding.
Single Word – Single word business names are easy to remember. (But don’t expect to find a single word domain available) Two words combined also works well. If your consignment shop only sells new, upscale clothing, call it, Upscale. The weekend entrepreneur who tunes pianos can be Intune.
Foreign Words – You can choose a language associated with your business for your name especially if your product is ethnic. Use and Italian or Greek word if you are selling these ethnic foods. In my city, there is a great Italian restaurant called Ciao Bella. If you are importing items from Ecuador you may want a Spanish sounding name.
Play on Words –A business name that is a play on words can be very effective. If your new business is installing home theaters, Sounds Good, Surround In Sound, Vision to Behold plays on sound and meaning, and conveys the idea of home theater.
Some people have come up with very unusual and inventive business names. (not all of these businesses are still in business). Since I promised to do different from usual blogs on Wednesdays, enjoy these business names from http://people.delphiforums.com and other sources.
Many Happy Returns. Tax Preparation, St. Petersburg, Florida A Den of Antiquity. Ashville, North Carolina Crapo Appliance Service, Redmond, Washington Effin Computers. On Site Computer Repair, Connecticut It’s A Crewel World. Salem, Massachusetts Amigone Funeral Home. multiple locations in NY Cane and Able. Mobility products Langhorne PA Sherrill’s Eat Here and Get Gas. Tipton IN Leaven and Earth. Bakery, Berkeley, CA Citizen Canine. Dog Kennel, Oakland, CA Doggie Style. Dog Grooming North Highlands, CA Murphy’s Paw. Doggie Gift Store, Pleasanton, CA Fideaux.Outfitters for Dogs & Cats Napa Valley & Sonoma County Hades Manufacturing Corporation. Temperature Measuring Equipment, Farmingdale, NY Hard Wok Cafe. Chinese Take Away, Melbourne Australia The Yuppy Puppy. Dog Grooming Shop with Velvet Sofas, Melbourne Australia Dirty Dogs Done Dirt Cheap. A Mobile Dog Grooming Service, Melbourne Australia
Choosing your online name (domain) can involve several different problems. Price and Inappropriateness.
Price: One word names are hard to find. www.uniquebusinessnames.com currently has for sale: Burglr ($1934), Fexy ( $12670), Cazy ($5589)
Does a Halfpreneur need a business plan? It is a question that has no right answer. Yes, No, and Maybe are all correct.
YES!
If you will be applying for a business loan, a business plan will be required by the bank.
You will need a business plan if you are seeking business investment. Potential investors invest in people, their ideas, their track record, the market and other factors. Your business plan will define and explain your business and its potential.
If you will work with partners or a team, a business plan defines the agreements between partners. For a management team the business plan establishes where you are starting off and where you intend to take the business.
Last but maybe not least, you will need a business plan to set a value on your business if you sell your business, when you do estate planning, or if you divorce.
NO!
You may not need a business plan if you are running a small business that you are self-funding.
If your business is based on your hours or space and growing it larger is not in your plans, the b plan may not be needed. For instance many coaches do not have business plans. If you are going to walk dogs, board birds when their owners are on vacation, or make and sell custom quilts, the business plan probably is not necessary.
If your plans to be a Halfpreneur are very temporary, such as you will be doing small home repairs until you find full time employment again, a business plan may not be needed.
MAYBE!
If you are a Halfpreneur who wants to sell a product or service, a business plan provides a structure for outlining what will be important for setting up and successfully running your business. It can help with setting reasonable and measurable goals.
If you are starting off part-time as a trial run for full-time entrepreneur or you do not want your profits completely tied to space in your extra room or the 10 hours per week that you have to devote to your business, then a business plan may be useful.
A business plan can start off just a document to guide you and your new business. It may never go any further than your desk, but it gets you off on the right foot, thinking like an entrepreneur of business person.
A business plan generally includes such sections as: Executive Summary, Company Description, Products and Services, Market Analysis, Strategy and Implementation, and Financial Analysis. It might also include sections on Management Team and Web Use. A copy of your resume is often a part of the Executive Summary or just a part of the plan.
If you decide that a business plan is not necessary, you should at least have a plan that contains short and long term goals that you are committed to being accountable for.
The Plan
www.bplan.com offers information on business plans and starting a business, business plans that you can review for free, and business planning software (not free, but reasonably priced).
Need help setting your goals. The Halfpreneur offers coaching. Contact Mary Ann, the Halfpreneur,at 508-752-2600 (Career Development Services) or at thehalfpreneur@gmail.com
This post is for the aspiring part-time entrepreneur who does not really like computers and prefers animals and the great outdoors to working closely with other people. Well, you cannot totally avoid the human animals, but there are plenty of opportunities to work with animals and/or be outside.
Pets …..
Dog Groomer: LearnToGroom offers a video training course. Learn how to hold dogs and properly use the tools needed to properly clip Terrier breeds, Spaniel Breeds, Poodles, Mixed breeds and other breeds (Old English Sheep dog, Bichon Frise, Maltese, etc). A second course is available if you want your business to be mobile groomin.
Pet Sitter: If you love animals Pet Sitters International can prepare you to be a pet sitter or a dog walker. The PSI Accreditation Program is an in-depth educational coursework that has been tailored exclusively for pet sitters. The curriculum includes topics on Pet Care, Health & Nutrition, Additional Services and Business & Office Procedures (37 informative topics in all). The coursework was developed with input from some of the most knowledgeable professionals in the pet-care industry.
Pet Massage: Massage therapy for people is now integrated into traditional Western medicine and wellness care. Massage Therapy and Physical Therapy may soon play a similar role in veterinary medicine and home-based animal care. PetMassage offers basic training and materials for both in-house workshops and Distance Learning courses. Additional courses in energy work and water work are also available.
Equine and Canine Massage: Equissage is the oldest and leading trainer of animal massage therapists in the world. Since 1991, Equissage has graduated more than 10,000 Equine & Companion Animal Massage Technicians, from every state in the US and 20 different countries around the world. As of March 2008, Equissage began it’s nationwide and worldwide expansion of satellite teaching locations.
Equissage offers on-site program for those in the New England and New York area. The five day intensive program provides certification for Equine Sports Massage Therapy. .
Dog Trainer: The Association of Pet Dog Trainers (APDT) has established a series of standards for professional competence. The site lists the various organizations and links so you can begin working to toward the title of Certified Pet Dog Trainer.
Pooper Scooper / Dog Doo Remover. Yes you can do this professionally. Pest waste is a health problem and many cities and towns have laws mandating that owners pick up after their pets when they are on public property. The Pooper Scooper cleans yards and private property, discarding the wastes in receptacles belonging to the pets’ owners. Generally scooping is scheduled for once a week. This is a business a teen-ager can start. Scoopers charge $12.00 to $25.00 per week depending on the number of dogs. There is even a professional organization. The Association of Professional Animal Waste Specialists
Seasonal or Year-Round Work in National Parks: CoolWorks.com is the Portal for more than 70,000 seasonal jobs in national parks. http://www.coolworks.com/older-bolder is for you if you consider yourself “Older & Bolder” and are looking for a seasonal job in a great place, the employers listed in this area are interested in older, bolder workers. Each position has varied accommodations; some have RV spaces, some offer private rooms, and others have rentals nearby.
Seasonal, Year-Long, or Volunteer jobs for nature lovers and others. (for example work or volunteer at retreat centers) Back Door Jobs offers jobs and learning experiences in ecology, sustainable agriculture, teaching English as a Second Language and more.
Rancher: If your love of wildlife includes the animal variety, consider alpaca ranching. The Alpaca Owners and Breeding Association can provide information and contacts.
Professional house sitters / property managers get free board and sometimes a salary. Live on estates, mansions, farms, ranches, resort homes, retreat centers, camps, hunting and fishing lodges, vacation homes, and even private islands. Great work is you want to do something seasonal or if you are one of the “working retired.” Caretaker Gazette is published bimonthly and informs member of new caretaking and house sitting jobs via an email update service.
Organic Farmer, Landscape Company Owner, Winery Owner, Travel Writer, and Archeologist Yes, you canget paid to go on digs. There are E-books telling you how to get started, priced from $15.00 to $30.00 at http://www.fabjob.com/
