Tag Archives: running your own business

Are You Seriously Supportive of Your Entrepreneurial Spouse?

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This article is intended for probably your significant other or spouse to read… I felt compelled to write it talking to them about your needs since my marriage went south due to the lack of much of this. If you currently don’t have one, give it to a family member or friend and/or save for Mr. Right later! Enjoy and hope it helps!

Did you know (you, meaning the non-entrepreneurial spouse of an entrepreneur) that your entrepreneurial spouse (or significant other – just as important in this scenario) takes on a huge responsibility when they start their own business?

Granted, some of the smaller, home based type business owners could be out there just to make a few extra bucks for fun or they’re doing their business for a hobby, not truly a serious business venture.

However, I’m not talking about them here, I’m talking about actual entrepreneurs (home based or not) who are in business to turn a profit AND provide products and services they are passionate about.

I’m also talking about the ones who are your significant others or spouses (so forward this to them if this is the other party – you’ll be glad you did) in which case YOU are also NOT an entrepreneur yourself and frankly wouldn’t want to be….is this you? Did you know that your spouse may not be getting the kind of support they need in order to be fully confident and successful in their business? (yes, by you) And in order to be completely successful at running your own business CONFIDENCE is the key!

When you have a job working for someone else, often you can succeed without that much confidence but when it’s your own business…there’s absolutely NO way.

Did you know that your spouse may not know how to communicate this need to you?

Now, two things can happen here….

1 – you won’t care and you’ll stop reading this or 2 – you’ll care but you’ll have no idea if this is true or even how to find out what your spouse needs exactly (hopefully you’re still reading…)

If #1 occurred then you’re probably on your way to divorce anyway so your situation is most likely not fixable.

If you’re in alignment with #2 though then GREAT! But now what?

There are basically 2 things you can do to support your spouse in business (even if you don’t have any involvement in their business, know what they do or want to know).

You can either take Action or Non-Actions. Actions consist of ways to physically help out or support your spouse.

Non-Actions consist of ways to emotionally and mentally help out or support your spouse.

Your spouse unfortunately needs both in order to feel fully supported, loved and encouraged (that’s the hard part, it requires some work).

But let’s break it down…

Actions

o helping – when asked for help

o learning – about what they do and how else you can support them

o listening – to requests, feelings, emotions and needs o loving – at all times in various ways that are noticeable

Non-actions o understanding – they need to do it ‘their way’

o giving – of your energy when they need it the most regardless if asked

o sharing – feelings, emotions, questions and concerns

o expecting – nothing but complete and utter happiness among all

Of course there’s so much more to it than this but that’s what marriage counselors are for right?

No, seriously…the one way to learn better how to communicate and support your entrepreneurial spouse is to start the dialog, practice this stuff, ask what they need, learn more about what others are doing and then get help as needed

((c) Copyright 2009 K. Sawa Marketing International. Katrina Sawa is an Award-Winning Author & Speaker who’s helped hundreds of small business owners take dramatic steps in their businesses to get them to the next level in business, revenues & their personal life. Get her Free Entrepreneur’s Success Kit at http://www.JumpStartYourMarketing.com !

Become Your Own Boss For Less Than $10K

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By Niki Irmal

As 81 million American baby boomers begin to move into their retirement years, they are redefining what retirement means. For many, it doesn’t mean they’ve stopped working, but rather that they are exercising more choice over how they work. According to a 2009 survey, some 75 percent of people who chose to engage in some form of work found the work satisfying, and in four out of five cases, they were able to find white collar jobs for what are known as “encore careers.”

Picking the perfect second act for your career can involve trying a field that’s always interested you, helping out with a cause that you believe in, or getting a chance to run your own business.

If it’s running your own business that appeals to you, chances are you don’t want to sink a large chunk of your retirement savings into a new venture at this point. Therefore, the key is getting started with minimal investment up front. This is very possible these days, depending on how you set up your business, and what type of business you choose to go into.

Getting Started with a Shoestring Budget

To start a business with relatively little up front capital, the key is to minimize fixed costs. Variable costs–expenses of the pay-as-you-go variety–are preferable because they allow you to ramp up or scale back investment depending on how the business is going.

Here are some key tools for keeping fixed costs to a minimum:

- E-commerce Solutions. Who needs a business location when you have the Internet? The ultimate low-overhead storefront, the Internet gives you access to a world of potential customers. Utilizing e-commerce solutions is much cheaper than having a physical place of business where you receive customers. For example, it allows you to avoid the many expenses of having a retail outlet, such as rent, utilities, staffing, and insurance.

- Outsourcing Back Office Infrastructure. Rather than building a complete organization from scratch, try to outsource anything that isn’t central to the unique value proposition of your business. For example, functions such as customer support, credit card processing and human resources are only needed occasionally or periodically. Therefore, it makes more sense to utilize outsourced call center services for telemarketing or customer support or HR outsourcing for human resource activities than to try to staff it internally.

- Use Online, Social Media Strategies to Promote Your Business. Developing a full scale online social media strategy can seem overwhelming at first. But you can implement simple things by hiring interns to do the leg work such as starting a blog or using Twitter, and tracking different programs making adjustments along the way.


Low-Cost Small Business Ideas

If the above are some techniques for structuring a business with minimum up front investment, what are some lines of business which lend themselves to getting started with minimal capital? One rule of thumb is that services generally require less investment than manufacturers or retailers, though with e-commerce some re-sellers can operate cheaply if they have tight supply lines and add value in the process. Focusing on services, the following are some examples of businesses that might be right for the current environment, and can be started on a shoestring.

- Business consulting. If many retiring boomers are going to be starting their own businesses, why not use your business experience to help show them how to do it?

- Green consulting. People are striving to become more energy-efficient, for economic and environmental reasons. If you have expertise in this area, consulting with businesses and homeowners on how to reduce their consumption is a natural.

- Public relations. If you have media and promotional experience, you could be in demand with the new wave of entrepreneurs starting their own businesses. In particular, bringing knowledge of modern promotional techniques such as social media strategies could be valuable to these new businesses.

- Employment counseling. Between a weak economy and an aging population, there are many people facing a career crossroads these days. Helping them find the right niche can be a good way to make use of any personnel experience you have.

- Online Lead Generation. Sales Lead Generation is growing by leaps and bounds as far as start up industries are concerned. This is a very special industry that affords flexibility and freedom that is unparalleled. And, there is even a significant demand for highly specialized lead generation consultants to help companies generate qualified sales leads in this market.

Running your own business may not have been your parents’ idea of retirement, but things are very different today. If you have the entrepreneurial itch, starting a venture might just give you the satisfaction and extra income to make your “golden years” more than just an expression.

I am very passionate about every small business and its positive impact to our local communities and the overall economy. A must visit site for small business owners and entrpreneurs looking for sales leads and business opportunities to grow their business.

Small Business Success: You Must Have A Clear Personal Philosophy

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1170027_peacock_blueMention the subject of philosophy and many people will react somewhere between mild disinterest to a yawn. Philosophy takes hard work. It takes hard work because you have to think.

And to have the small business growth you desire you must have a clear personal philosophy. After all, how you think will determine how you feel. How you feel will determine how you act. How you act will determine your results. And, ultimately your results will determine your life.

Yes, having a strong personal philosophy is critical to success. You can’t build a house without a foundation. And, the foundation for your success is your philosophy. What is your philosophy?

Your philosophy comes from what you know and from the process of how you came to know all that you currently know. Having the right philosophy is critical to your business success. Why? As each day goes by, you will choose to do whatever you think is valuable. What you accomplish at the end of the day depends on what you think is important.

In the process of owning our own businesses the winds of circumstance will blow over all of us. We have all experienced the blowing winds of heartbreak, disappointment and despair. We all begin at the same point in life. Why is it that when we all have the same destination in mind that our ship of life ends up in many different ports?

Have we not all sailed the same sea? Have we not all been blown by the same winds of circumstance and turbulent discontent?

What guides us to different destinations in life is how we have chosen to set the sail. How we choose to set the sail is our philosophy. The way each of us thinks makes the major difference in where each of us arrives. The major difference is not circumstance. It is the set of our sail. It is our philosophy.

In the final analysis it is not what happens that determines the quality of our lives. It is what we choose to do when we have set the sail and then discover, after all our efforts, that the wind has changed direction.

When the winds change, whether you are starting your own business or running your own business, you must change. Learning to reset the sail with the changing winds requires the development of a whole new discipline.

It may require a new performance strategy or a new marketing business plan. Remember, success, whether you are starting your own business or running your own business, will always involve going to work on developing a powerful personal philosophy. A powerful personal philosophy that will help to influence in a positive way all that we do, and all that we think and decide.

What about all those counter productive beliefs and choices? Where do they come from? They come from misinformation we have accumulated over the years. We must recognize when we are around the wrong sources of information.

Only when we recognize that our sources of our information are incorrect can we shut them off. Only then can we reset the sail with correct information to move toward having our small business successful. Correct information will strengthen your personal philosophy and allow you to sail to your desired destination.

But understand one thing. This will take time. You can change your direction immediately to take yourself to a better destination. But, arriving at that destination will still take time. And, the best part is that when you know you are headed to the right destination you build positive momentum for more opportunities for success.

Steve Scott is a business design and development coach who collaborates with and supports business owners and professionals who are committed to having more from their businesses and lives. And, who understand that to have it that different isn’t necessarily better, but that better is always different. http://www.stevescottcoaching.com