Stressed out from the economy and needing a change? Hostile environment in the workplace? Perhaps you see the writing on the wall... and your days are numbered. Well maybe it's time to start a home business and fire your boss! That's right, fire your boss...go on, I dare ya!
I'm a baby-boomer “almost-empty-nester” who was facing tough financial prospects, as the fledgling economy put my husband's insurance career in jeopardy. Poor job prospects for myself + one job already in jeopardy = SCARY!
Does this scenario sound familiar to you or someone you know? It doesn’t matter whether you’re rich, poor or anything in between... if your current standard of living is suddenly eliminated or reduced, it’s traumatic. Everything changes.
In our case, with two kids in college, we had mounting credit card debt and expenses that outpaced our income. Our story sounds like so many others these days, perhaps even yours. Desperate times call for desperate measures.
Wait - not so fast. You don’t really need to act out of desperation. When you come from a place of fear, that’s more of a reaction. When you take action based upon reliable, proven “information”, that’s being proactive. That’s coming from a place of power! It’s time to re-invent yourself.
I’ve always entertained the notion of being an entrepreneur. Who wouldn’t love the idea of being your own boss, setting your own work schedule, doing whatever, whenever, however? Being an entrepreneur definitely appealed to me, but I really wanted to do it from my home.
If I was going to go back into the working world, I wanted it to be on my terms. I knew I didn’t want to trade my time for some piddly minimum wage job, or have to answer to someone else. I didn’t want anyone else to have control over my income, period.
What I still had to consider, though, was what kind of business could I do from my home that had the potential to earn significant income quickly as well as long-term?
Unless you've been living under a rock, it's blatantly obvious that technology has really changed our world. Just watch the advertising on TV for a dizzying array of “Visit us on the web at: www.every-possible-store-you-can-think-of-dot-com”. You don’t even have to get out of your pajamas to shop!
The flip side of that is, you don’t even have to get out of your pajamas to work! BINGO!
The old saying, if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em was never more true than in the internet age. Technology advances so rapidly that you either have to get on board with it, or get left behind, and the really great thing is that the internet levels the playing field for solo-preneurs. We can have a business just like the “Big Boys”. Anyone can be in the game!
Being married to a salesperson, I had a good understanding of the value of residual income. It’s when the hard work is done up front, but you continue to get paid long after that. So I explored ideas that fit that category, as well as what my initial costs would be and I filtered out the ones that didn’t fit my personal situation.
Finally, I had to feel good about it. I knew that whatever business I chose, it would have to meet my criteria. This home business would have to:
- provide value and help others
- allow me flexibility and creativity
- be delivered with integrity
- be F.U.N.
GET THE JUICES FLOWING
What about you? Have you given any thought to starting your own home business? Or if you already have one, do you want to take your home business from offline to online?
What’s your criteria? What are you interested in? What are your passions? What are your talents and skills?
TAKE STOCK
Everyone is different, and your circumstances are unique to you, but it’s important to have a good sense of where you and your family are, in terms of finances, time constraints, family obligations, goals, motivation, etc. Take some time to write down how you’re currently feeling. It’s important to get “out of your head” in order to get at your feelings.
Here are some questions to stimulate your thinking and reveal your feelings about your current situation. Grab yourself a notebook and be really honest and write everything down. Generally, your first instinct is the most closely related to your true feelings.
Take your time, there are no wrong answers. When you’re done, read through your answers again. When you’re done with that, read them again, but this time read them out loud to yourself.
WHAT DOES YOUR CURRENT FINANCIAL PICTURE LOOK LIKE?
- Do you have poor monthly cash flow? Barely hanging on? Are you OK for now, but not looking good in the near term? Or do you have good control of your finances but just need career change?
- What is your current emotional state? eg. Healthy? Stressed? Depressed? Motivated? etc.
- Where do you see yourself in 3 months If you do NOTHING? What about in 6 months? 1 year from now?
- What special knowledge, training, talents or skills do you have?
- What special tools do you have at your disposal?
- What amount of time do you have that you’re willing to devote to a home business?
- List 3 potential home-business ideas that interest you and why.
- Do you feel like you will have the support of loved ones once you start your home business? If not, how will you proceed?
- Do you see anything that could possibly distract you from your goals?
Now you have a starting point to work from. Don’t be afraid or discouraged by what you wrote or how you feel. Sometimes it can be a little shocking to read and hear what your true feelings are. Again, this is more of a starting point. Armed with this information you can now begin to lay out a plan for what direction you want to go.
Soon you’ll be able to set your detailed goals and put the gears in motion to earn profits in your home business. Let me know how it's going for you.
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