I am scrambling to get organized and get material written prior to the upcoming San Diego Writers’ Conference, so I’m bringing you a New Year’s letter from Liz Folger. She has some great insights here for you.
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How To Start Your Home Business, Once and For All, This Year
By Liz Folger, Work-at-Home Mom Expert
Summary: It’s the new year and no better time to make your home business dreams come true.
You’ve thought about it for awhile now.
There’s a good chance you’ve rationalized it and said, “Next year, I’ll get my own business started.” Guess what? It’s next year, and there’s no better time than the present to get your home business started.
So What’s The Secret?
Is there a secret to starting and making money with a home business? What about making lots of money? Are there just a few people out there that can be successful? Or can anyone make it happen? In my research of successful home-based business owners, I’ve found two essential ingredients to success: having a good attitude and lots of determination. Call me crazy, but we can all have these and it isn’t going to cost us a dime.
But I Don’t Have The Money To Start A Home Business
We are often caught up with the situations we find ourselves in, and see no possible way to start a home biz. Maybe you’re broke with barely enough money to survive, let alone to start a home business. You could be a single mom raising your family all by yourself. Maybe you’ve been burned by one too many work-at-home scams and have given up on the idea that you can make a home business work. It’s easy to tell yourself that you could never start, let alone run a home business because of this or that reason. It’s easy to rationalize, “Well, those people who are super successful, they probably had a bunch of money to start their business with, and they probably knew all the right people.” Well, that’s usually not the case. Any self-employed person will tell you how hard it really was to make their business a success. It always comes down to lots of hard work!
What Are You Focused On?
Many years ago I was teaching my youngest daughter to ride her bike without training wheels. She was riding on the side of the road, and was very nervous about running into the curb. Every time she would start to peddle, she’d immediately look at the curb, and sure enough, she’d head straight for it. I explained to her, “Look at where you want to go, not where you don’t want to go.” It’s funny how when you look straight ahead, the bike goes straight ahead, but when you focus on where you DON’T want to go, you end up there. The mind is a wonderful machine and it can be our best friend. If you constantly tell yourself that you can be a success, you can make money doing what you love; your mind will find a way to make it happen. A quote by Edward Vernon Rickenbacker says, “I believe that if you think about disaster, you will get it. Brood about death and you hasten your demise. Think positively and masterfully with confidence and faith, and life becomes more secure, more fraught with action, richer in achievement and experience.”
Make Your Dreams Come True – Make Money Doing What You Love
When you think about the type of business you want to start, think about what it is you love to do. Try not to focus on a business because you are told about all the money you can make. Instead, look at what you enjoy doing, what you are already naturally gifted at doing. All businesses take time to grow and make money. Even the ones you are told will make you a ton of money. Wouldn’t you rather work hard at something you enjoy to make a living?
It’s Up To You
No matter where you are coming from, it’s your attitude and determination that will ultimately decide the fate of your home business. If you want to work-at-home badly enough, then you need to tell yourself on a daily basis that you will find a way to make it happen, and you will be a success at it. Do this and your business will not only get started, but it will also grow and thrive. With a positive attitude and determination, you can move mountains!
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Liz Folger is the founder of http://www.bizymoms.com/ Bizymoms.com is the leading online resource for work-from-home ideas. The site offers home-based business start-up kits, online classes, e-books, chats and enthusiastic support for moms who want to have it all – a family and a career.
The following article is reprinted with permission from Ms. Folger’s newsletter.
Don’t Confuse A Work-at-Home Scam With Hard Work
By Liz Folger, founder of www.bizymoms.com
I received an email from an acquaintance this last week. They wanted me to check out a particular company to see if it was a scam or not. So I clicked on over and saw the site, looked at their ad. It looked to me like it was a legitimate opportunity. You didn’t have to pay anything to start the business; you didn’t have to buy anything to get started either. Basically anyone starting the business would just need to put in some work to make money at this business.
We’ve been reading these crazy work-at-home scams for years now, and I’m afraid we are starting to believe them. It’s been said, that if you read or hear something enough, you start to think it’s the truth, and this could very well be the case. All these scams tout the fact that a home business is EASY, the products simply sell themselves. I don’t ever remember any product just walking up to me, all by itself, and saying, “Hey Liz, buy me, I’m irresistible.” ‘Course, I’m not dead yet, but I just don’t see it happening.
Any business or venture you start is going to take some work, maybe even a little sweat on your part. It doesn’t matter if you’re selling a product or your service; you are going to have to sell. Don’t think a business is a scam, if you don’t sell things overnight. Every business, no matter how wonderful it is, takes time to grow.
You talk to any full-time salesperson and they are going to tell you this, “You’ve got to keep at it. Hearing a no can’t slow your pace.” They say (whoever “they” are) that you might need to contact 10 or more people before you get that one magical YES. This past week I was reading a book called, “The Sales Bible,” By Jeffrey Gitomer. He gave an example of how to deal with all those no’s. He says, “If you hear a no, thank the person and ask them if they know anyone else who might want to say no, because that means you are just that much closer to getting a yes.”
I also think that, as women, we are at a disadvantage. I might ruffle some feathers here, but I work with a LOT of women and I work with men. When women hear a no, they take it VERY personally. Remember it’s the product they are saying no to, not you. For some reason men don’t seem to take it so close to heart. However, women are much prettier than men, so I think everything equals out in the end.
When you’re selling your product or service, keep a positive attitude. This is where really believing in what you are selling comes in handy. If you’re just selling a product because you think you are going to make a ton of money, then you aren’t going to last very long in that business. But, if you are in a business because it’s your passion, and you would basically do the business for free because you love it so much, then you’re much more apt to trudge ahead and work even harder on making your business a success, even when the money isn’t rolling in.
I read a great quote the other day by Ray Kroc, and I’d like to share it with you as I wrap this up. It said, “Luck is a dividend of sweat. The more you sweat, the luckier you get.” When you’re on your path to finding that perfect part- or full-time home business, first look at what you already enjoy doing. Sometimes we don’t even think about starting a business using our talents, interest and hobbies. You already “work” at these interests, so why not get paid for it? The less your business feels like work, the more work you’re going to put into it, and the luckier you’ll be in your home business endeavors.
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Liz Folger is the founder of http://www.bizymoms.com. She is also the author of the book, “The Stay-at-Home Mom’s Guide To Making Money From Home.” She invites you to come check out bizymoms.com and sign up for her free weekly e-newsletter for all the latest in working from home.