Archive for August, 2009
10 Ways To Stay Motivated While Running Your Own Business
Owning your own business can be invigorating exciting lonely infuriating inspiring and much more…all in the same the day. I have found it important to do certain things for myself to keep things exciting while I go through the daily tasks that all business owners must.
1. Schedule breaks for yourself. If I didn’t do this I would literally forget to eat check up on my kids and stretch my bones. Sitting in a chair all day is not the best for your back and legs. It is so important to walk away from your desk and office for even a few minutes and clear your mind and see what is happening in the world or even down your street.
2. Friends and family who? Exactly. Make sure you keep in touch with your friends. Go bowling hit a movie knit. It can’t all be about work. And when it comes to your family remind them how special they are and thank them for allowing you to do what you love. It will mean a lot to them. I like to tuck notes in my son’s backpack so that he finds them when he’s heading out to school.
3. Turn up the music. You can’t look at spreadsheets all day and talk on the phone to clients nonstop. Well I guess you can but you shouldn’t. Close your door turn on some music and stimulate your brain. Get lost in your favorite song. Do you have a cheerleader song? You know one of those songs that carry you away? A song that just makes you feel good? Well play it every day sit back in your chair and close your eyes or if it is a retro disco pop rock n’ roll or heavy metal then get up and go wild! It’s one song and no one will see you. And if they do I have no doubt it will put a smile on their face.
4. Just remember…things can and will go wrong. Motivating? You better believe it is! You can’t control everything in your universe. Don’t get down when things don’t go as planned. Face it correct it and move on. Stuff happens!
5. Treat yourself. Rewarding yourself is like getting that gold star when you were in grade school. It makes you feel good for a great job. Gifts for yourself don’t have to be expensive or lavish. Although that would be nice! Treating yourself to a double fudge sundae or a couple of songs for your iPod is not a bad way to let yourself know that you’ve “done good”.
6. Set attainable goals. It’s true that we should all dream large and expect to have multimillion dollar revenue streams in the first year and why not?! We aren’t working for free but I have learned the importance of setting goals that lead up to those loftier ambitions. With each success it is crossed off my list and I get to see what my next plateau is. There is nothing like having multiple successes. It is good for the ego and a true motivator.
7. Keep a business diary. I know this sounds a bit juvenile but I often return to my notes to see what I was doing on a given day. Usually I will write something that sparks something else and lead to a pitch an idea an Aha! moment. You just never know what will come from writing your thoughts down. If nothing else it will be cathartic and oftentimes funny.
8. Join a professional group of likeminded business people. I am a member of several different business groups that meet regularly throughout the year. And I make it my business to get connect with them as often as I can. These groups encompass entrepreneurial brainstorming sessions as well as referral networking and public speaking. It’s great to have the ability to meet other entrepreneurs in my city that are going through the same things I am. I learn so much and have become friends with many other members.
9. Create a spreadsheet with your monthly monetary goals. Get the Excel out. If nothing motivates you this surely will. Periodically reviewing your budget and monetary goals will tell you what you have to do and by when whether it’s dialing for dollars or cutting back on your marketing expenses.
10. Surround yourself with people you admire. Learn from the best. Read their blogs and books attend their speaking events get coaching advice from them. You will be surprised how often busy people will email you back or in some instances meet you in their office for an informational interview.
Have Fun and Be Profitable!
About the writer:nbsp;nbsp;Marley Majcher is the CEO of The Party Goddess! a nationally acclaimed full service event planning and catering company and is a regular on air contributor to national TV shows discussing all things lifestyle entertaining and how she assists small businesses solopreneurs and entrepreneurs go from 0 to profitable in record time. Majcher currently spends any free time she might have usually between 10:45pm and 11:15pm on Tuesdays planning her own annual blowout party every November.Take a look at the company’s website at http://www.thepartygoddess.com to see what The Party Goddess! does for clients and get some great ideas for your next party or event.If you are thinking of becoming a party or event planner or just want to learn more about it go to: http://www.howtobeapartygoddess.com. Here you will learn what it takes to be a rockin’ party planner and how to start a new and profitable business.If you are a small business owner entrepreneur or solopreneur and want to take your online service oriented manufacturing or creative company from 0 to profitable in record time check out Marley’s much followed business site at http://www.butareyoumakinganymoney.com.You can always email Marley at infothepartygoddess.com
5 Best Ways To Start A New Business On A Shoestring Budget
Just over 32 percent of new business owners needed less than 5000 to start or acquire their business. Amazingly enough 25 percent of business owners needed no dollar amount to start up. The following is just a small list of some ways to start your new business with little or no money.
1. Work from home Starting a home business is easier and much less expensive than renting commercial space. Most small business does not require a special location. Benefits to home businesses include flexibility in hours less travel expense no rent great inhome tax advantages and being able to comfortably work in your PJs. If you can start your new business from home do it; there will be enough expenses without the added cost of commercial rental space.
2. Online business The newest explosion in the business world is on the internet. Online sales will excel beyond persontoperson sales of nearly all types by 2020. There is very little you cant purchase on the World Wide Web. Websites can be created for free with the most basic computer skills and voila youre in business. Research what type of business you want and search the internet for related websites to get ideas.
3. Start small No business starts BIG; they all start small and grow successful over time. A prosperous business has a sound foundation and has grown and expanded from one seed to its full potential. The founder of Dell Computers was a college dropout. Starting out of his garage he managed to excel above all of the worlds top computer manufacturers. One in three computers sold today is a Dell.
4. Drop shipment Retail sales generally require a storefront but with a drop shipment retail business there is no inventory to prepurchase stock and store and no shipping expense. Many wholesalers are more than willing to drop ship directly to the retailers end user. Your job is to simply locate the buyer confirm availability of the item accept payment and place the order with the wholesaler. The wholesaler will ship the order directly to your customer and send the billing to you. Now you just need to decide what items you want to sell!
5. Offer a lease option Its not always easy to sell an established business and owners can become frustrated with the effort. Many dont immediately see other options to get out and often times they just liquidate and close down their business out of pure impatience. Sellers may become receptive to the idea of a lease option sale when they reach this crushing state. Many may not have previously considered or even be aware of this option to them. Basically you walk in with little or no down payment take over and continue operations as usual and for a predetermined length of time the seller receives a monthly lease fee from your new business. Once the set time frame has elapsed you automatically own the business. There are potential risks taken by both partners but with an airtight lease contract and a good understanding of each others position these type of business purchases can benefit all involved and get a new owner into his desired business with less stress and without as great a financial burden.
69 percent of new businesses were started or acquired without any need to borrow money. Being one those who didnt borrow money could mean the difference between a successful business and just another failed statistic.
About the writer: Carol Denbow is a business startup expert and the author of three books including Are You Ready to Be Your Own Boss? 2006. To learn more about this book and how to start and grow a successful business visit http://www.BooksByDenbow.Weebly.com
Work At Home : Tips On How To Be Successful To Make A Living At Home
When you work at home you often need some ready cash in order to get started. The financial backing may be to pay more a membership in a listing service or to receive some needed training or the purchase an ebook that tells you about methods or procedures that will help you toward your financial goals. You may even need to purchase additional equipment in order to do the job you want to do. If you are as strapped for cash as many people who begin the journey toward financial freedom at home you are probably looking for a way to get started in your chosen business. Here are some ways you can use to get that initial boost financially in order to get started quickly.
Use your nest egg
When you work at home you can plan ahead for your project by setting aside a few dollars from each paycheck or by cutting back on a less than vital expenditure and dedicating the savings toward your new project. After all the enjoyment of anything that you succeed at is in direct proportion of the effort that is required to achieve the success. It is surprising how much can be put toward savings when you make a dedicated effort toward a goal.
Sell something you don’t need
Would you sell an unneeded item to provide the needed equipment and resources to work at home? Most people would rank their priorities so that they could accomplish something by getting rid of an item they no longer need. You could easily have a yard sale and get a few hundred dollars toward your goal in just a single weekend. Some areas have consignment auctions where you take your unwanted goods to an auction house and receive the cash after the sale less the amount for auctioneer’s fees. Of course you can also offer items at one of the online auction sites.
Tap your friends and family
Even if your friends and family can’t come up with cash to help you work at home they may be able to help in other ways. Perhaps their creative talents can be used in designing a web site or a product label. Maybe they will offer to provide labor temporarily to ship your product. Perhaps they have a computer or printer that they are willing to let you use temporarily or permanently. Sometimes family members are willing to come up with a short term low interest loan to you so that you can get your business started properly.
Barter
Barter arrangements or no money down arrangements are more common and easier to obtain than you might think. If you offer to trade services for goods or vice versa you can often set up a scenario where your work at home cash outlay will be much less than you would normally expect. Remember not only do you need to find backers for setting up your business but you must create a cash flow that will allow you to continue your business.
About the writer: Choosing Work from Home or Work at Home as your major information source on work from home programs makes a lot of sense. You’ll find numerous tips as well as other valuable information and a FREE Report here to learn more.
