Tag: Business

The Benefits of Self-Employment
In addition to the extra money, there are other potential benefits to part-time and full-time self-employment.
- Meet interesting people. Usually your business takes you out into the world or brings interesting people into your office that you never would have met any other way.
- Life-long learning. Learning is valued when you work for yourself. You get to decide what formal and informal learning is necessary for your success.
- Ongoing personal growth. Your business will encourage you to keep growing and discovering new talents and wisdom.
- Talent management. Self-discovery leads to finding your greatest assets and making the most of them.
- Keep your imagination. You can continue to use your imagination and be rewarded for it. Your creativity will not just be useful it may be absolutely essential.
- Better mental health. The research clearly shows that problem solving is better for you than complaining about things.
- Longevity. Ongoing research is showing that self discovery, using our skills and talents, solving problems, and staying active especially if combined with less stress and less fast food often leads to a longer, healthier, life.
- Learn personal responsibility. If your parents or teachers did not teach you this essential lesson, a business will.
- Be a positive role model. If you follow your dreams, you set an example to your children and others. They make take inspiration from you without ever realizing it.
- Live your passion and purpose. People want to be appreciated, useful, and know that their lives have meaning. Discovering your passion is often a prelude to finding your purpose. A life inspired by purpose means you have discovered what truly matters to you, makes you authentically happy, and allows you to serve others in great and small ways.
September 13, 2013
How Coworking Will Improve Your Career and Life

Post Author: Gerard.

I’m a writer and when I tell people I rent office space, I can tell they’re often thinking, “what a waste of money.” I mean, sure, I could work at home and save a little cash. We have an extra room with a door and everything. But, honestly, there are so many benefits to my coworking membership that I wouldn’t give it up any sooner than my iPhone.

Here are just a few of the ways coworking can change your life and career:

1. You’ll get twice as much work done at your new co-working desk than you did at home. Really and truly. It’s reverse peer pressure or something.

2. That side project you’re trying to launch? Now you work side-by-side with a bunch of writers, designers, developers and video people who can help you make it happen.

3. Your client needs a big website? But you can only handle part of the project? See number two. Now you can assemble a team to meet those needs in a flash. Or earn some brownie points with a referral.

4. Avoid elderly shut-in syndrome. Seriously, there’s magic just to getting out of the house and talking with real people. Your cat has already heard ALL your best stories.

5. Keep work from bleeding into every corner of your personal life. It’s easier to create a healthy work/life balance when “leaving it at the office” doesn’t refer to the spare bedroom.

6. You’ll effortlessly keep up with all the latest Internet memes. Like this one. Or maybe this one. And I’ll go ahead and throw in a totally self-serving link.

7. It solves annoying business problems. After whining about bookkeeping, my office mates introduced me to a wondrous thing known as Fresh Books.

8. You’ll build and expand your professional network. Even when you’re too busy to make it to that Meetup/event/cocktail thing-y that you didn’t really want to go to anyway.

9. Your grandma will start to think you have a real job. Maybe your mom, too. It’s something about going to an office that impresses the older relatives.

10. Have you looked at your tax bill yet? Your co-working membership is one more awesome thing to decrease your taxable income.

11. Creative energy is contagious. Being around other people working on awesome projects makes you more excited about your awesome projects.

12. If you’re a parent with kids at home, I hear it’s delightful to work in an adults-only space. No crying or tantrums or impromptu Candyland games (well, most of the time).

13. You’ll have people to bounce ideas off in real time. Not sure if that headline is too nutty? Or need advice on a client issue? Ask your desk neighbor.

14. There’s almost always beer and wine in the fridge. And no one cares if you break it out at, say, 3:30 on a Friday afternoon.

15. Wow, you now have two conference rooms at your disposal for client meetings. Or just to take a private phone call. Aren’t you fancy?

16. When you do decide to go to a Meetup/event/cocktail thing-y to network, you won’t have to go far. We host a bunch of them right here in the space.

17. Want to hold an event for you own industry or professional group? Your membership gives you 24/7 access to the space, and you can hold those events here for free.

18. Umm, sunshine=happiness. And we work in an awesome light-filled loft in a historic building. We’re even convinced there might be a secrete passageway somewhere.

19. You’ll sound (and be smarter) in all those client meetings. It’s easier to keep up with what’s going on in the business and tech worlds when you have office mates.

20. You can still work at home when you feel like it. I do it a couple days a week. A coworking membership doesn’t cost all that much, so you don’t have to feel bad about not going every day.

21. You’ll have real-life co-workers again, but no boss. Or weird corporate rules about what you can put on your desk. It’s the best of both worlds.

22. We know all the awesome lunch spots. And want you to come with us. Just be prepared to hear about the latest Internet meme (see # 6).

23. Co-workers are better than a personal cheerleading squad. They want your business—and your most offbeat side projects—to be smashing successes.

Did you make it all the way to the end of this post? You should definitely set up a time to drop inand work with us. We’re even better in person.

– Written by Michelle Taute, Cincinnati Coworks Member, @michelletaute

September 11, 2013
Why Having Multiple Streams of Income May Be Your Next Career Path
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:
1. full time job or two or three employers with whom you have contracted.
2. a business that supplements your regular income.
3. one or more businesses that you are cultivating to see if they are right for you.
4. a source of income you are building for “retirement.”
5. 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.
Interested in monetizing your passions, interests, natural talents click on Services, or visit www.career-development-services.com, or call 508-752-2600

This article was originally printed in ezine May 2010
September 6, 2013
Location, Location, Location

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

September 4, 2013
A Business Plan – Does a Halfpreneur Need One?

My Business Plan

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

August 19, 2013
Job Loss After Age 50 – FRET or Start FRETTING

change

Recently at a lay-lead service at a local Unitarian Universalist church, the lay leader, Don Rawding, gave a sermon on “Change”. After discussing some less than adequate ways of dealing with change such as deny it, lash out at every person, situation and event involved with it, ignore it and hope it will go away, get stubborn and refuse to change, he suggested the best thing to do was FRET: Face reality, Reflect, Evolve, and Thrive.

Job loss and “forced retirement” are changes that many older but not old workers must deal with. Many workers need to have income throughout their 50s and 60s and maybe even into their 70s. Others want to work for a variety of reasons: colleagues, they still enjoy their professional work, their job gives their life meaning, structure. If we have a job at this age we’re advised to keep it since we will see more SSI income if we wait and retire at 70!

Hit with job loss, many do take these less than adequate strategies.   “Those higher ups will see their mistake and hire me back in no time.” “It’s all the fault of ______ (fill in the blank).” “I’ll just keep posting resumes on Monster and someone will eventually hire me.” “One of these days my lucky number will come up.”

FRET struck me as a good model for dealing with this change. Face reality. Older workers with great up-to-date, in demand skills do sometimes get new jobs in their fields at pay comparable to their former jobs. But age discrimination is real. Older workers are seen as more expensive, not up-to- date on skills, and 30 and 40 year old managers do not want to hire someone who is the age of their parents! If you want a job, the research suggests that nonprofits are the most likely to hire you, but your skills must still be a good fit.

own your own business

Face Reality – I have a collection of books going back at least 20 years. The advice in almost all these books is that if you lose your job in your late 50s or 60s, start your own business.   A few books published between 2004 and 2007 projected that older workers would be needed and ageism would become a thing of the past within a few years because of the smaller generation that is coming along. The authors of these books did not foresee outsourcing, the potential of computers, or the Great Recession.

accomplishments

Reflect – What have you accomplished thus far in your life? What gives you a sense of pride and accomplishment? It does not have to be what you did in the work force? It may be the family you raised or what you have contributed to a church or some other organization. It may be a hardship or a trauma that you have overcome. What skills have you used? Is it important that you continue to exercise these skills? It may be useful to write down your accomplishment s and skills. There is something about seeing things in writing. Is there anything that is unfinished that is still important to complete?   Are there areas of life that need to be enlarged? Maybe you were a workaholic and have forgotten what leisure and play feel like!

Evolve – Make some changes in your life. Do you need to develop your computer skills, exercise, lose weight, get training or a certification? Is it time to try something new or go back and enjoy some activity that you have not done in years?   You may very well have 20 to 30 years of good health ahead of you.

Thrive – What will happen if you successfully combine the fruits of your reflection and evolving actions.

OOPS – For some individuals, there may be too much of a gap between FRE and T. What if you have no idea what thriving will look like for you?   Keep the idea of thriving in mind and add “TING”. Start FRETTING.

sitting meditation

Take Time (the second T) More reflection. Give yourself the time to figure things out. Don’t rush into any decisions.   What do you want your life to look like at this point?    Where do you want to live? Is it time to downsize to a smaller house? Move to another area of the country or the world. You need or want income, how much do you need or want?   How much work time and leisure time do you want? Is there something that you have always wanted to do? Do you have a passion, expertise, talent that can become a new career?   Are there problems that you see in your community, your region, your country, the world that you can solve?   If you have never figured out what you want to do when you grow up, now is the time!   If this is too much to consider on your own, some career counselors, and many life, career, and retirement coaches can help you with your self-assessment.

Innovate. If you do not want to be underemployed, you probably have to consider starting your own business. Consider the problem that you can solve, the service that you can deliver, the craft that you make. What makes it different from the other solutions, services, crafts that are there?    How can you make yourself standout? Better service, a more targeted niche? Some type of customization?   Check out your competitors on line in and in real time.   It is good to have competitors – it means that people are willing to spend money on what you are offering!

Network. Use your virtual and real time connections. There is FaceBook, LinkedIn, and Twitter as well as Blogs. There are the associations and organizations that you belong to in real time.   Networking can help you market and sell or get any help you may need.

giving

Give.   Give of yourself. Give samples; have a free gift on your website. Let people know who you are. Practice generosity. When you are thriving adopt a charity. Give a percentage of your sales to Trickle Up or a similar organization. According to the psychologist Eric Ericson you are at the psychosocial stage known as generativity, a stage of life characterized by finding meaning through enriching the lives of others. A generative person constantly envisions a better world for themselves, their families, and their society. What do you imagine when you picture the good that will outlive you?

What Do You Imagine?

August 9, 2013
Passion, Purpose, Problems, People – Starting a Part-Time Business

With the 2008 recession and it’s effects, self-employment, home-based businesses and an entrepreneurial spirit have emerging as an economic trend. This trend is not new, but it has accelerated in recent years with statistics now showing that 61% of all Americans want to start their own business (Parkinomics, 2010).

If you are in this 61%, how do you make the transition from employee to being your own boss? Websites, books, e-books, and magazines may be helpful or they may leave you absolutely confused. Is it as simple as find your purpose and the money will follow? Do you really need to talk to your lawyer, your accountant, the volunteers at SCORE and then develop a business plan, decide on the legal form your business will take, and choose a domain name before getting started?

It is NOT as simple as just find your passion and the money will follow, but with the Internet, businesses are easier to start than ever before. Of course, if you are buying a business or a franchise then your lawyer and accountant definitely should be involved!

“Businesses are easier to start than ever before!” What if you want your own business but you don’t know what you want to do or where to begin? Get started by considering the FIVE Ps: Passion, Purpose, Problems, People, and Part-Time. For many individuals Passion and Purpose go together. Although they are different issues, the Problems you will solve and the People you will target are related. Your business is YOUR business, and it is your choice as to whether to pursue it on a full-time or part-time basis. If you are just starting out, there are good reasons to begin Part-time.

Passion: Yes, you do need to discover your passions or passions. If you feel that you have no passions or that this word seems too strong, what about your interests, skills, abilities or talents? If you won a lottery that would pay you for life with just one stipulation that you had to “work” at something until you were at least 65, what would you do? Dream a little – If you had your own business what would you be doing? If you can’t envision what you would be doing, ask yourself – would I be working by myself or with others? Where would I be working – from my home? In an office? On a stage? Would I be writing, talking, painting, walking dogs, arranging flowers, designing solar homes? Start off dreaming and brainstorming. Don’t be concerned yet as to how this passion will make money. Figuring out how to monetize your passion is a later step.

Purpose: Do your feel that you have a mission in life? A calling? A purpose? Some career coaches and counselors believe that having a purpose is essential, but it may be that a purpose is only discovered after one has had some life experiences. At this point, maybe you just want to make money, and there are plenty of young wealthy Internet marketers who know that they don’t want to work 40 hours per week. Knowing your purpose may make it easier to discover your passion. Purpose is related to the sense that your life is fulfilling and abundant, but a stool can stand very well on three legs or four legs. You can start a business without knowing your purpose or mission in life.

Problems: Businesses exist because they solve problems. Fixing cars, computers, plumbing… providing food, toys, and electronics from other areas of the world… assisting people to heal from sickness, find jobs, train their dog… Successful business continue to exist because they solve problems better than others do. These businesses or individuals make promises and then they over deliver. The solutions they provide are bigger than the promise that they offer so customers repeatedly return. What problem or problems will you solve? What can you offer that no one else is offering? Try dreaming or brainstorming again or look around your community and to see if there are any problems that no one is trying to solve. Do you have the passion or expertise to solve it?

People: Who, what niche or market, has the problems that you will solve? Do they have a common interest or need such as they need to lose weight or they’re technophobic? Are they members of a particular demographic group – working parents, baby boomers, etc. How will you market to this target group? An important aspect of monetizing a passion is to know who needs or wants what you have. This means your target may not be individuals; rather it maybe small or large businesses who need what you are offering.

Part-time: If you still have a job, build your new career on the side. When it is established, you can jump into it full time, or sell it, or keep it part-time. It’s your business! Starting part-time allows you to figure out whether this business really is for you, test the market for demand, master any web based technologies that you need, attend trainings and conferences that will improve your knowledge base.

Originally published by the author of this blog on June 14, 2010. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mary_Ann_Nalbandian

Profiting From Your Passions Coaching is available through http://www.career-development-services.com and this blog http://www.halfpreneur.com/services/

August 5, 2013
Entrepreneurial Ideas for Boomers and Others
In my last post, I mentioned that one thing that the Boomers had not questioned was the concept of work and employment.

This is perhaps because during the last 60 years, we have transitioned from the Industrial or Manufacturing Age into the Post Industrial or Information Age. The industrial world of their parents and the one they might have entered was not the demanding, dangerous Industrial Age but the end of the era when many workers had secure jobs for their entire work lives.

A job in this not so long ago age, was defined as continuous long-term employment with an organization that provided a regular salary, health benefits, a pension plan and the assurance of a continuing need for the worker’s skills. This relationship between employers and individuals was called “the social contract.” Basically it meant that an employer in return for the good service and productivity of an employee, offered lifetime employment with an inherent potential for promotion, regular increases in salary, a good fringe benefit plan and an assured retirement package. It was a given that the organization that offered employment was stable and would be around “forever.”

Since the 1980s corporate America has dramatically altered the context of work and the “social contract” is a relationship of the past. The Information Age (or PostIndustrial Age) is defined by the ease and rapidity of worldwide communication. Wireless communication, computer networks, the World Wide Web make almost instantaneous communication possible.

Manufacturing still occurs even in the US, but it is driven by computer technologies including robotics and nanotechnologies. The stability and long-term endurance of companies is no longer a given. Even profitable, highly regarded organizations can be sold or merged.

If you are over 50, you may remember the “olden days.” If you are over 60, you may have begun your work life expecting the continuance of the “social contract” or a hybrid version of it where employers honored the “social contract” but employees, especially early in their careers, would change jobs several times before settling into a good job and a good company.

So we are now in the 21^st century looking for meaning in our work in a work world characterized by: a reduced workforce due to downsizing, a reduced workforce due to outsourcing, a reduced workforce due to automation and robotization, increased customization, increased hiring of temporary employees, a increasingly diverse workforce, globalization, fewer corporations, long-distance collaboration, an emphasis of skills not job titles, and an increased need for continuing education.

As Stephen R. Covey describes it …..

“We live in a new economy that is moving from the Industrial Age, top-down, command-and-control, hierarchical model to the Knowledge Worker Age of empowerment and courage and creativity. We also live at a difficult recessionary time, but that does not mean we a fundamentally a product of our environment. We are not victims of circumstances. We are the creative force of our own lives.

Unfortunately I do not think most of us were raised to think creatively about the economy and the role that we play in the economy. I sense a longing in many of my clients for the so-called good old days when everyone knew where they fit-in in often paternalistic corporations. In an evolving, creative, empowering, what are we supposed to do era, what are our new roles? Will we hold a job or be an entrepreneur or some combination of both?”

With a job loss after age 50, an individual can wait and hope that they will find employment in their field. Many become underemployed taking jobs in retail and telemarketing, Some cannot find work and live off their savings and spouse’s income. Some enthusiastically become the entrepreneurs they always wanted to be while others reluctantly begin to look at their entrepreneurial options.

By age 50, your employment, your leisure time, and your everyday life have given you a wide variety of skills and expertise. To identify potential areas of self-employments, I would interview a reluctant entrepreneur about their skills and expertise.

Here are some questions I might put to them if they are searching for business ideas and a niche.
1. What opportunities in the market place did you last employer seem to be missing? EG: parts for older models, refurbishing equipment, custom orders
2. What skills can you sell as a freelancer? EG: project management, website design, accounting, computer programming
3. Do you have the knowledge and experience to buy out an existing business? EG: gift shop, home security installation, photography studio, print framing shop
4. Do you have a manual skill that others would pay for? EG: laminate and hardwood floor installation, stained glass design and installation, bricklaying
5. Do you have a hobby product you can offer as a business? EG: knit goods, jewelry, customized wooden signs, Christmas decorations
6. Do you have friends who rave about your cooking or baking? EG: ethnic deserts, chocolate specialties, wedding cakes, catering for small groups, pre-cooked meals
7. Can you sell your talent in a sport? EG: canoeing/kayaking trips, running soccer or tennis camps
8. Do you possess talent in graphic or fine arts design? EG: Designing websites, designing logos, custom painting clothing or shoes.
9. Is there a service you need personally but cannot find? EG: taking children to after school activities, driving elderly relatives to doctor’s appointments, locating pieces of silverware or china
10. Can you provide a product or service your friends can’t find? EG: pet sitter, home delivery of live seafood, genealogical research
11. Do you do something as a volunteer that others would pay for? EG: teach ESL, transport elderly shopping or to medical visits, visit elder who are home-bound
12. Do you have experience in importing or exporting? EG: used machinery to India and other countries, scientific equipment to Eastern Europe, craft items from Africa, Asia, Central and South America
13. What knowledge do you have that you can put into a special report or book? EG: internet marketing, raising a child with ADHD, foreign travel with children
14. Are you experienced and talented in teaching or training? EG: English or foreign languages, music, job social skills, negotiation and mediation
15. Do you have experience in “New Age” disciplines or alternative health practices? EG: Tapping (EFT), Reiki, Reflexology, Fung Shui, card reading, past life regression analysis
August 3, 2013

The Perfect Home Business for Mothers and Others

Wednesdays are R days for this blog: Resources, Reports, Referrals, Reviews, ….. Why ? Because my internet savvy daughter informed me that I should blog at least three times a week. She blogs five to seven days per week (www.thehunchblog.com) and makes money with her Squidoo lens.

Blog at least three times a week??? From September to May, I teach at three colleges and year-round I run my two part-time businesses: www.halfpreneur.com and www.career-development-services.com which is having a Resume Sale from July 17 to August 17. Check out the one great price for all resumes.

Since the writer of this blog is a busy lady, savvy daughter suggested that I do something “easy” on one day. This is the origin of R Wednesdays. The R may come from my work or others. Today’s R is a report from Stephen Beck on starting a “perfect” home business.

Starting a Home Business

Starting a home business can be very confusing. That is why I recommend a few criteria for selecting a home business that you and your family can enjoy. In fact, these are my requirements for the “perfect” home business!

#1 – My new home business must not require debt.
Debt makes everything happen too fast. It puts too much pressure on your new business. And it puts someone else in the driver’s seat of your new business, namely your banker. Debt is the #1 reason most businesses fail in the United States.

#2 – My new home business must be something that can start small.
You don’t want to bite off more than you can chew. If you have never had employees, you do not want to start off with 10 of them! Remember, all things need a chance to incubate before they can grow and your family business is no exception.

#3 – My new home business must include my kids.
The whole purpose in starting a family business is to spend more time with your family. If you start a business in your garage and never involve your kids, what is the point?!?

#4 – My new home business must have a low capital investment.
If you had a ga-zillion dollars, you wouldn’t need to start a home business, right?

#5 – My new home business must require a low time investment.
Again, the point is to not go out and quit your day job…yet! Grow your new home business to the point that it eclipses your day job. One day you will wake up and say, “Why am I going to work? I make more money at home!”

#6 – My new home business must generate passive income.
I can’t start creating wealth until my passive income exceeds my monthly expenses. For a great discussion on this concept, read Rich Dad, Poor Dad. I want to earn money when I sleep (or while I’m on vacation!).

#7 – My new home business must give me high reward for little risk.
Hey as long as we are dreaming, I might as well throw this one in as well. I do not want to large risks, but I do want a huge upside potential!

The only home business I know that meets all 7 of my requirements is an online business. Just think, for $15 a year for your domain name and $50 a year for your web hosting, you can own a home business on the internet.

So next time you are looking at home business opportunities, consider an online business. There is no better bang for the buck!
about Stephen Beck
Stephen Beck teaches 7 simple steps to starting a home business. For a free CD explaining those steps, visit Real Home Business

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July 24, 2013

Regular Employment, Self-Employment or Both?

For most of our past history (1945 – 1995) “regular” employment, working for someone and getting a paycheck and benefits has been the norm for most American workers. Since the 1990s this “regular” employment has been slowly fading, to the chagrin of many whose first work value is security. Dan Lacey predicted the decline of steady employment in The Paycheck Disruption, 1990 and Cliff Hakim’s book We Are All Self-Employed, 2003, stated the need for Americans to reassess their place in the marketplace. William Bridges predicted both the fading of steady employment in JobShift, 1994, and that each individual was his or her own enterprise, Creating You and Co., 1998.

So whether or not you start a business, every working person today has to regard themselves as self-employed. Working for a salary is renting your skills; we are all temporary employees. Over the past 15-20 years, more and more individuals have started small businesses as either primary or secondary forms of income.

If you are thinking about starting your own business, you are not only in sync with a number of authors but also in sync with an old tradition and with some of the past leaders of our nation.

Colonial Stores

The more people who own little businesses of their own, the safer our country will be … for the people who have a stake in their country and their community are its best citizens. —– John Hancock

The prudent, penniless beginner in the world labors for wages for a while, saves a surplus with which to buy tools or land for himself, then labors on his own account for another while, and at length hires another new beginner to help him. This … is …the just, and generous, and prosperous system, which opens the way to all, gives hope to all. —— Abraham Lincoln —- “Annual Address before the Wisconsin Agricultural Society”

American Flags

Happy 4^th of July!

July 3, 2013