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Summary:

Grabbing opportunities with open arms is often easier to talk about than to actually do. Most people find themselves dreaming about being rich but never actually doing anything about it. A combination of procrastination and ‘what if’ syndrome can cripple your creative spirit and might mean your idea will never become a reality.

Keywords:

becoming your own boss, being your own boss, home based business, entrepreneur

Article Body:

Grabbing opportunities with open arms is often easier to talk about than to actually do. Most people find themselves dreaming about being rich but never actually doing anything about it. A combination of procrastination and ‘what if’ syndrome can cripple your creative spirit and might mean your idea will never become a reality.

Socrates said “Action equals knowledge’. He was one of the greatest philosophers of our time. What he meant was that it is through action that we achieve results.

For example, you could think about learning Spanish for months, imagining the holidays you will take and the people you will communicate with. You can dream forever but accomplish nothing unless you actually make the effort to start taking lessons.

Much like the martial arts approach – the idea is to take action immediately and avoid over analyzing the situation.

Do you want to start your own business but are afraid of what kinds of things can go wrong? What if your initial investment doesn’t pay off? There are millions of things that could go wrong but likewise there are many things that can go right! Fear can be paralyzing. When thinking about starting a business particularly if you keep waiting for the right time. There will never be a perfect time. It’s now or never when it comes to starting your own business.

Overcoming your fear is a step by step process.

- Do you have a clear idea of what kind of business you want to start? A clear plan will help keep your worries at bay.

- Do you have access to the resources you will need? This includes the necessary start up cash as well as anything else you will need.

- Do you have access to clients or do you know enough about marketing basics to ensure you will have enough interest in what you are offering?

Just like anything – taking action is the most important part. Make an itemized list of what you feel needs to be done in order for you to start that business you always dreamed of.

Prioritizing your list will help too. Don’t wait for all your ducks to be in a proverbial row before you begin but make sure you have all the basics covered. Don’t wait for that ‘perfect someday’. Make an imperfect start.

Don’t over think everything. Sometimes the best approach is to just jump into the deep end.

Don’t wait to start discovering your own entrepreneurial spirit. Take action today!

Online or off, a time tested method of succeeding in business is to focus on an unexploited area. You are probably wondering how. Here is your answer.

Finding Your Nook and Cranny

When we talk about a nook, we are simply identified a very focused area of business. There are a zillion sites selling movies, but very few selling French movies from the 1960s. If there is sufficient interest in such movies, you could build a business around selling such classic movies. This concept applies to any business area regardless of whether you are selling products or offering services.

You need to do some daydreaming. Most people make the mistake of focusing on a subject that they think will make a ton of money. Problems can occur with this approach because if you have no inherent interest in the area besides money, you will eventually grow disillusioned with it. If you are going to start a business, you want it be enjoyable. If it is just another job, you have made a bad mistake. This brings us back to daydreaming.

You need to give serious thought to your interests, and not just your interests today. What have you always been interested in? Don’t worry about how you will make money, just focus on the subject matter. Remember the cliché – find something you love and the money will follow. This is exactly what you want to do. Once you have an idea, it is time to figure out how to make money off of it.

For a web business, you want to focus on something known as keyword research. Keyword research is crucial because you can type in a phrase and see the exact phrases people have used to search on Google, Yahoo and MSN that incorporate the world. Even better, you can see how many people use the phrase each day. Doing keyword research lets you determine if there is enough interest in your area and the exact phrases your prospects are using to find things in the area. It doesn’t get much better than that!

There are a variety of tools you can use. Overture offers a free tool that will give you a general idea, but is not the most accurate. Wordtracker is much better, but will set you back a few bucks. Keyword Discovery is similar, but runs a few more dollars yet. Regardless of your choice, make sure to use one of these for keyword research.

Once you identify the phrases used by your prospects, you can determine if there is enough interest in your nook. You can also identify the exact phrases they are using and tailor your site and marketing to those phrases.

Chris Johns is the founder of SupportSave – a US company based in the Philippines. They offer business outsourcing to companies worldwide. His office may comprise of 200 employees for 8-10 hours a day.

His electricity bills have been terrifying!

“In Manila the humidity means that we need to provide air conditioning at all times. We must keep the working environment comfortable so that our staff can be effective but it was always a worry when our monthly electricity bills arrived at the end of the month.”

Chris has been spending over $5,500 every month on his power costs. Each member of staff works in front of a computer, over 70 air conditions may work at one time and printers, photocopiers and faxes are constantly being pushed to capacity.

Since February however Chris tested the Power Saver 7 to see if it really could cut down his costs.

Power Savers are little boxes you plug straight into your plug socket at home, at work, or in a factory. As soon as you do this your electricity costs will decrease. You leave this device plugged in 24 hours a day and by the end of the month you will see a saving of up to 40% on your electricity bill. There is no need for maintenance, results are immediate and the unit can pay for itself in a few days of industrial use.

Power Savers are completely legal, using strong scientific means of improving the efficiency of your electrical circuits. There are many models on the market catering to students in studio apartments to large industrial units suitable for factories. Power Savers cost between $100 and $200 for quality export-quality units. They are expected to last for over 4 years so they make a very effective investment for all users.

Chris’s average monthly bill has now stabilized at an average of $3,940 – saving him 31% every month.

“The $1750 I’m saving each month would enable my business to employ over 7 full-time workers. I’m delighted with the results and expect this product is going to improve profits for a lot of businesses”.

Power Savers have grown in popularity in Asia however they have not yet become common in developed countries. Products such as the Power Saver require extensive testing before they can be sold outside of Asia and these tests have only recently been completed.

Now that users are seeing immediate results from Power Savers it is likely that the popularity of Power Savers will continue to grow for many years to come and average costs for electricity will drop dramatically.

What is it about running a business that fears many people – is it the initial start up cost, is it not knowing the business basics or is it the thought of the financial freedom that comes with it because that is exactly what you get after involving yourself with the Ebay Business Opportunity. Financial freedom is there for the taking if you want it.

Two of the fear factors mentioned above are partially behind why people choose to ignore the Ebay Business Opportunity. Not knowing how to run a business and worry about start up costs can be put to the back of your mind right now if you crave financial freedom. This is definitely a win win situation if you want it to be.

There are no large amounts of money to hand over to start up and as for knowledge – well you learn as you go along. This is exactly how other Ebay entrepreneurs began and are still reaping in the rewards

The Ebay Business Opportunity is not just for the hungry who have decided enough is enough and wants out of the rat race – it is also a second income for many people on a budget.

Remember the Ebay Business Opportunity is a risk free venture so what are you waiting for – all that is required from you is sheer determination and a little time. Any knowledge on how to run your Ebay business can be found through the Ebay support system or from fellow Ebayers. Beginners gather information by visiting the forums. You will find many Ebay entrepreneurs willing to share what they know with you but remember if you are competition for them then you may not get the help you need. The internet is larger than life so what you need to know can be found elsewhere online.

If you are new to the Ebay Business Opportunity and money is your biggest worry then fret not – have a trial run selling second hand goods that you may have stored in the loft, attic or garage. What you see as trash will bring in cash. So before you go discarding any old items for the refuse man think on how it may be of use to someone else.

The cost to list items on Ebay can vary thus depending on the size of the item you are selling – for example if it be a car then expect to pay more than that of a salt and pepper set. Your dummy run at selling for the first time can include book sales even an e-book on a hobby of yours – the list is endless as to what you can sell. The Ebay Business Opportunity will have restrictions and guidelines on certain articles or items they allow to be sold on the auctions – as in i.e. offensive materials etc.

What other business besides the Ebay Business Opportunity gives you the chance to change the way you live without taking away your second income if you are already holding down a couple of jobs to make ends meet.

To be a successful entrepreneur you are going to have to learn to deal with failure. There is no way around it. Thomas Edison tried over ten thousand different experiments before he finally demonstrated the first incandescent light bulb on October 21, 1879. Bill Gates’ first company, Traf-O-Data, was a failure. Michael Jordan was once quoted as saying: “I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot; And missed. I’ve failed over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”

In my short stint as an entrepreneur I’ve failed more times than I can count. I have also had my share of success, but it’s not even close to equal. The failures far outweigh the successes, and I’m sure I have a lot more failure ahead of me. I’m OK with that because I know that as soon as I stop failing, I have stopped trying to innovate. It’s the nature of the business of being an entrepreneur, and of success in general.

If it were easy, everyone would do it. It is naive to think that every good idea that you have will result in a successful business venture. I have yet to hear an entrepreneur say “every single idea I come up with seems to work.” More likely, you hear something like “I failed at my first five businesses before this one took off.”

Think about that for a second. Five businesses. Sometimes the number is three, sometimes it’s 20, but the important point is that most entrepreneurs don’t hit a home-run with their first company. It really does amaze me – how many people have the stones to fail five times and still start a sixth business? You have to be supremely confident and treat those previous five times as a learning experience for the sixth. And if number six fails, you have to do the same and move on to number seven.

In my opinion, the most important thing is how you deal with failure. Once you accept that it’s inevitable, you are able to learn from your mistakes and move on. It’s easy to let the failure consume you – not so much because you are pessimistic, but more so because it is hard to see something that you poured your heart and soul into be ignored or rejected. As soon as possible you need to come to the realization that your business is what they are ignoring or rejecting, NOT you. The sooner you do that, the sooner you can objectively analyze why you failed and learn the things necessary for improvement in the future.

Failure isn’t easy and is extremely frustrating, but it’s a necessary part of success. Don’t believe me? Ask Thomas Edison, Bill Gates or Michael Jordan! Ok, asking Thomas Edison might be a little tough, but you get the idea

Numerous businesses are going to offer you the opportunity to become a distributor of their products or service. While many offer this opportunity free of charge, others may charge a fee similar to a franchise fee, due to their willingness to set up a website with you name on it and by offering you instruction on how to make it succeed.

Regardless of their motives behind the willingness to share their knowledge, you do have the opportunity to share in the wealth of internet business operations. Where many people make the mistake in getting involved in a home based business is they believe that just by filling out the online forms and paying the franchise fees they will start making money immediately.

They do not think about they came to be involved in this opportunity, that someone was marketing this plan to them and in order to grow their new business, they are going to have to market it to others.

There are numerous ways to do this, such as old-fashion advertising, handing out business cards or even putting you web address on the side of your vehicle to be seen while you drive to the grocery store. All that may be good to draw a half dozen people or so to your new business venture, but to help it really grow will take network marketing to succeed.

Oil millionaire J. Paul Getty is often quoted as saying he would rather have one percent of the efforts of 100 people than 100 percent of his own efforts, and that is the basis of network marketing. The Kirby vacuum cleaner company devised its own form of network marketing as far back as 1935 before the word was oined and the concept totally understood. That company knew that to sell their sweepers, a personal presentation was needed.They had a few dealers with whom they shared the profits of their sales and using their proven methods they taught others to sell the sweepers and each person who was brought in a sales representative could also share in the profits off the efforts of others.

While a few people may make a lot of money in a short period of time with network marketing, most grow their business slowly. First, they must learn the business and how to market it as their own home based business. By devoting a set number of hours every day or every week they learn from the company sponsoring them how to market the product or service they are selling. They can then train others to be successful, teaching them to market the product or service and make money from their sales as well. The more people they have working under them, the more money they can make.

Business plan outlines vary in their complexity. Depending on your situation you may just want to follow a very basic business plan outline. Regardless, the process of sitting down, creating a business plan outline, and writing a business plan is one of the most valuable exercises you will do.

Basic Business Plan Outline

List your business credentials – why are you qualified to start this business and sell your products and services?

List your staff: Is it going to be just yourself, or do you have a definite plan in terms of when you are going to hire sales, technical, or administrative staff?

Project revenue: Will you be selling services, products, or a combination of both?

How much revenue will come from products? How much profit will come from products?

How much revenue will come from services? How much profit will come from services?

Sales and marketing plan: outline your major sales and marketing activities – the things that you’re going to do to bring in key, sweet spot clients. Talk about what you’re doing on a month-by-month or week-by-week basis. How much time you think it’s going to take up and how much money you think it’s going to cost to execute.

Operations: Where will you be located? Home office or rented space? How will you get to your clients’ places of business? Personal car or leased vehicle? Will you need to rent facilities from time to time for meetings, seminars, etc…

Finance: What capital do you need to start? Where will you get this capital? Where will you get additional capital during your first year in business?

Salary and Payroll: What are your expectations for your personal salary or drawings. Do you have to pay staff as well?

Expertise of principals: What makes you and/or your partners qualified? What kind of skills and experience do you bring to the table that will be of valuable to this business venture and valuable to the clients you want to pursue?

The Bottom Line On Business Plan Outlines

Business plan outlines can be as detailed as you want. The most important aspect is that your business plan outline covers off the basics. Make sure the business plan outline you adopt allows you to answer the five W’s and provides you with a plan for how you will start and operate your business.

How much does a franchise cost? Of course the cost of obtaining and starting a franchise depends on several variables. For instance, the type of industry, size and location are some of the differentiating factors. However, there are some basics that you could keep in mind if you are contemplating becoming a franchisee.

First of all, you will usually have to pay a franchise fee, which averages somewhere between $20,000 and $30,000. However, the fee could be less than $10,000 for businesses such as mobile and home-based businesses, or in some cases could possibly cost $100,000 or more. A few examples of these more expensive franchises include building maintenance businesses and some types of athletic training facilities.

Since you are gaining the advantage of taking part in an already recognizable business name, and usually ongoing support from the franchiser as well, franchisers typically stipulate that a potential franchisee meet other financial requirements. A predetermined amount of readily available funds that are not borrowed is usually a necessity as well as a certain net worth. In order to pay for ongoing expenses that are not covered by revenue you will also need a guaranteed amount of working capital. Depending on the type of business, it is important that the working capital cover a particular length of time, ranging from a few months to possibly two to three years until the business is in full swing. The franchiser typically provides an estimate of the amount needed.

Besides the franchise fee, other up front costs could include professional fees such as legal and accounting services, insurance, and operating licenses. Employee training, inventory, and equipment are usually part of the startup as well. Also plan on, rent and possible leasehold improvements, and other costs involved in setting up a retail location including the purchase of fixtures, signs, and landscaping. You may also incur grand opening and initial promotional expense to get the business going.

Keep in mind that many times a higher initial investment does not necessarily mean a higher return. Often times franchises can be started with a total initial investment of less than $200,000 and sometimes even less than $50,000. Some home-based business such as handyman franchises and marketing franchises provide a decent return with little up front cash.

Ongoing, you will need to be prepared to continuously pay royalties to your franchiser, possibly 4 to 6 percent of your revenue. Also, insurance (liability and health), inventory, and equipment maintenance would be continuous expenses. Of course, there will be employee salary and benefits. Additionally, you may be required to pay into a national advertising fund.

Before making a decision on a franchise, it is important to obtain from the franchiser a copy of the Uniform Franchise Offering Circular (UFOC), also known as the disclosure document. The up front fees are outlined in this circular. The document should describe the initial fee which may be non-refundable as well as the other startup costs. If there are any items that you believe might be a startup costs that are not mentioned in the disclosure, be sure to ask about them.

All in all, you want to be sure your financial situation will cover expenses for you and your family during the time it takes to get the business up and running. This may take several months or a bit longer than that. Keep mind your operating expenses as well as personal expenses for the first year or two in business. In order to have the best chance of success with a franchise, it is recommended you contact a franchise consultant to discuss your goals and finances.

With hundreds of new franchise concepts being started every year, it is nearly impossible to keep track of the freshest ideas. Here is an update of two new franchises and how they have fared in their first several months of franchising.

The Counter – No, this isn’t just another fast food hamburger joint. Besides serving hamburgers, The Counter has as much in common with your local McDonalds or Wendy’s as the World Cup has to do with your child’s weekend soccer game. First opened in Santa Monica in 2003, this trendy update to the classic burger joint serves its burgers with any combination of 10 cheeses, 26 toppings, and 17 sauces. So, go ahead and order that Danish Bleu Cheese Burger topped with dried cranberries and a ginger soy glaze you always wanted.

Since 2003, The Counter has received the type of press that most companies can only dream about. After being listed as one of the top 20 burgers in the country by GQ, the holy grail of endorsers, The Oprah Winfrey Show, named it the “Best Burger in the USA.” (An aside on the power of the O-nod, sales jumped from $44,000/mo to $245,000/mo after the endorsement)

With all of this success, The Counter did the only logical next step and began selling franchises in early 2006 with a $40,000 franchise fee and 6% royalty.

So how is it going? The company has already inked agreements for 60 restaurants in California alone. Next up is expansion into Florida, New York, Arizona and Nevada followed by the rest of the country. With long range projections of only 400 to 600 units, The Counter is well on its way to franchising stardom.

EQUIPRO – If Santa Monica and The Counter just seem too trendy and hip, this light equipment repair franchise from Wisconsin surely won’t. EQUIPRO, a subsidiary of Wacker Corporation began providing repair service to the light construction equipment industry in 2003. At the same time that the light equipment market is growing at nearly ten percent per year, many large equipment dealers have been cutting back on service support. In response to these trends, EQUIPRO began to build out its network of service centers.

EQUIPRO focuses on providing service for the following manufacturers: ICS, MI-T-M, MK Diamond, Sullair, and Wacker. The franchises are also full-service dealers for Honda, Briggs & Stratton, Robin/Subaru, Wacker and Kohler engines.

For each franchise, the company hires a Metro Service Specialist (MSS). The MSS is an employee of EQUIPRO, Inc. hired on behalf of the franchisee to develop service sales and act as a liaison for EQUIPRO’s OEM partners in the local market. The responsibilities of the MSS include effectively calling on contractor offices and jobsites, equipment and rental dealers, as well as national accounts to promote solutions for equipment repair and parts. In addition, EQUIPRO provides professional training on business operations and technical details both in the classroom and on-site.

Franchising since June 2005, new franchisees can expect to invest between $145,000 and $350,000. EQUIPRO has opened 12 service centers and plans on opening 33 units by the end of 2006 and 150 in the next seven years.

Easy invention ideas? Why easy? Sometimes it’s just too intimidating to think about building a new type of car, television, or other complicated invention. So these are ideas for garage or basement tinkerers. Coming up with a prototype for most of these will cost no more than the money in your pocket. They are not patented yet, as far as I know.

Wild Game Carrier

Deer hunters regularly die of heart attacks while carrying their bucks out of the woods. The invention here would solve that problem. It would have an inflatable wheel, using coated nylon that won’t puncture easily. Once you get your deer, blow up the wheel, and using the clamps on either side, you attach two poles or sticks that you cut on site. Attach the simple nylon sling between the sticks, and you have a wheel-barrow-like device that will carry a deer over even rough trails. Probably weighing no more than two pounds, it could be carried easily in a day pack.

Helium Kites

Perhaps its been done, but I haven’t seen them sold yet. With some lift from the helium, these kites could be flown in any amount of wind. Properly designed, they would still fly something like a kite, and with some maneuverability if designed like a stunt kite. A first prototype could be a kite with a small helium balloon attached. That’s an easy invention.

Ad Kites

This is more of a marketing idea than an invention. Have advertisements on kites and get paid to fly them at the beach or during big outdoor events. In my former small-town home they paid for planes to drag ads around during festivals, so the market might be there.

Disposable Clothing

If dollar stores can keep putting t-shirts on the shelves, we know they are getting cheap to make. So how about a line of shirts that are low-quality, but good enough to use, and cost very little to manufacture? You sell them in boxes of 12, as “disposable clothing.” Where’s the market? Maybe people who want less laundry to do on long trips. I set aside old clothes for just that purpose, which is where the idea came from. Also, some people might want to have some cheap things to wear for doing dirty jobs.

Kayak Shoes

Imagine this: You are wearing two little “kayaks” on your feet. Two more smaller ones at the end of two ski-poles help you balance as you walk across the nearest lake. At 8 feet long and 8 inches around, they would hold about 170 pounds each, by the way. To try this one, remember that to figure the volume of a cylindrical object, you multiply pi (3.14) times the radius squared times the length. Oh, and each cubic foot of air will support about 64 pounds.

Wind Tents

An easy invention idea from childhood. Me and my brothers spent summers at the beach, on Lake Michigan. Many nights, the wind blew steady off the water, and we discovered that we could make a “wind tent” out of an old blanket. With three sides pinned down, using rocks and sand, the wind held the “tent” open. We camped out in these tents, although when the wind died, the tent did. Maybe someone could make and market a plastic version. A colorful square of plastic – this is one of the easiest of the easy invention ideas.