Hate Your Job? Start Your Own Business.

I know — it's scary. But here are the facts: 1. There's never been a better time to start a business. Corporate life is uncertain and with technology and the market's ever-increasing needs, you have to get out there. I know it's not the best economy — but many successful businesses were started in a downturn.

2. Start slowly. Do it on the side. Build up clients and then make your break. Small steps lead to big gains. That's how I did it — I started slowly and coached at night. I proved that I could make money — and then I left my company.

3. Pick your area and then MEET people in that field. How is it? Up? Down? Do they like it? What don't they like? Be an information vacuum — learn about the industry, business, and all the small machinations.

4. Many businesses today don't need a lot of capital to start. Years ago, you needed a storefront, loans, etc. Today, all you might need is a website, a business card, and a lot of chutzpah!

5. Learn how to sell. Unless you have a lot of money to market your business — YOU will have to get out there and sell. If you don't know how to do it or are ambivalent — hire a coach or teach yourself how to sell by reading books.

6. Just do it. A lot of people out there HATE their job and wish they were more in control of their life and career. HERE'S YOUR CHANCE. Every year, corporate positions are drying up, bosses are becoming bi-polar, and you are at the whim of the balance sheet. Make a move before they do.

Many of my clients have made the move successfully from a corporate position to running their own business. And guess what? They LOVE it.

P.S. Are you interested in starting a business? Let’s talk. I've worked with people from all over the world who wanted to take aggressive steps in their career — call me to schedule a complimentary session.

"I Can't Find A Job!"

The title of this post is so often repeated in the media — all the way from college students who have just graduated to middle managers who have lost their job to workers in the sunset of their career. "I get up — I check out the job market — I send out a few resumes — and I never get a call back!" "What should I do?"

TAKE CHARGE OF YOUR LIFE.

It's easier said than done. But the reality is, there are more workers than jobs out there right now. And the premium jobs (management) are disappearing at a rapid pace due to productivity gains, technology, and the current economy. Check out this article.

BUT WHAT CAN I DO?

One option is to start your own business. It's never been easier in the history of people working. To start your own business, you need to clearly understand a number of areas:

• Knowledge of the Marketplace - is this needed?, is there a market for this?, are people willing to pay you for it?
• Drive & Hustle - a 'get off your ass' attitude to make it happen AND a drive to help you through the hard and complex times.
• A Vision - what is the future of this business?, where is it going?, who is your competition?
• A Mission - what are you going to do . . . exactly?
• A Plan - what are the steps, the timing, the resources, - the who, what, where, when, why and how?

Now you might say — "Start a business? How will I make money?" Let me give you an example:

There's a small shop in Kentucky called Gil Hibben Knives. You might have heard about them. Gil makes knives. Really good knives.

In addition to manufacturing his own knives, he runs classes where he teaches people to make their own knives:

• It's only offered once a month.
• The class runs for one week, each day from 9 AM to 5:30 PM.
• He only allows four people in each class. (he can probably run the class by himself)
• The classes are held at his shop in LaGrange, KY. (hotel, travel, food, etc. are your responsibility)
• He charges $995 for each participant.

The classes are FULL for the rest of the year.

Let's do a little broad math here: $1000 X 4 Students X 12 = $48,000/year.

And that's only working one week per month! This model allows him to work on manufacturing and other projects the other three weeks of the month! And let's be honest here — his site is pretty basic — it does the job, but anyone can do the same thing to market their services and wares. What I'm really saying is that it's pretty easy — don't let your mind develop obstacles.

And let me hazard a guess . . . he probably LOVES what he does.

So if the corporation work environment is slowly collapsing/changing — maybe you should strike out on your own and start that business?

It will be hard — it will tax you — but in the end, it will be well worth it.

P.S. I know there will be commenters who will say, "He's a famous knifemaker!" or "He's had his business for years!" or "Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah". You may be right, but from my viewpoint, they're just more obstacles you're putting in your way — moving you from success to mediocrity and failure. Get out there and do something!

Why I Attended My Coaching Session This Morning.

Just received this from one of my oldest clients a few minutes ago — I thought I would publish it verbatim. Enjoy! When I rolled over in bed at 5:45 this morning, my usual weekday wake up time, I began to think about my day and realized I had my normally scheduled coaching session at 7:30, meaning I would have to get out of bed soon.

I was thinking I wish I could just cancel the session and grab another hour of sleep. I felt that the session today was going to be less meaningful than others.  There was no “hot and heavy” issue facing me that needs immediate attention.

Oh well, I thought, I will go through the motions and if it turns out that the session is a bust, so be it.  I decided that I would use the session today to discuss a relatively minor event of the day before that had caused me some temporary angst but passed in short order.

My focus would be to ensure that events like these stayed in the temporary and minor range for me. Wasn’t sure a whole session could be filled with that but would go with the flow.

When I arrived at my meeting, spent the first bit catching up with my coach on personal “stuff”.  While chatting, I found myself staring at the piece of paper my coach always brings to every session, a blank, white sheet waiting to be filled with boxes and circles and lines outlining our discussion.

The sheet even had my name on top today reminding me that I was the focus of the session and needed to figure out what I wanted to go over with him.

My first thought was to go with the outline that my coach provides before every session- what were my accomplishments this week?  That would be easy since I made had contacted two people that were on my list from the last session. My coach provided positive reinforcement for doing this and discussed how the meeting that I had and the one that I was going to have were going to fit into my goals.

Where to go to next for the session, I thought about our prior discussion related to managing people that work for me and that I work with.  It was here I could bring up the event of the other day that I had dealt with. Again, my coach complimented my handling of the situation and offered further thoughts on how to set boundaries and expectations that would help when working with these people.

My coach then reminded me that the conference I was going to attend in two weeks, that I had previously mentioned in another session , would be another potential opportunity to identify additional resources for my business .  He told me to think about possibly inviting out one of the speakers of the conference to breakfast or for a drink.  He said a lot of times the speakers are alone at this type of conference and appreciate someone making an effort to include them in the fold.

As the session was nearing an end, I asked the coach how things were going for him.  He shared with me some of his business ideas he was working on and we chatted further about the potential profitability of these ideas. It got my creative juices flowing always thinking about how it is important to keep coming up with new business ideas to keep your business moving forward and be in the forefront of your profession.

We finished up with  setting up our appointment for the following week and said our goodbyes. As I began to walk to my car to begin my workday I began to smile to myself and though okay today turned out to be a more meaningful session than anticipated.

So why did I attend my coaching session at 7:30 this morning? 

• To hold myself accountable on  a weekly basis
• To feel good about my progress/accomplishments
• To be proactive about my business and continual move it forward
• To have a support mechanism for me and my business (business therapy)

So there it is — my client just made me feel wonderful for the weekend. I owe a lot of what I am today to her. - Rich

Hate Your Job? Start Your Own Business.

I know — it's scary. But here are the facts: 1. There's never been a better time to start a business. Corporate life is uncertain and with technology and the market's ever-increasing needs, you have to get out there. I know it's not the best economy — but many successful businesses were started in a downturn.

2. Start slowly. Do it on the side. Build up clients and then make your break. Small steps lead to big gains.

3. Pick your area and then meet people in that field. How is it? Up? Down? Do they like it? What don't they like? Be an information vacuum — learn about the industry, business, and all the small machinations.

4. Many businesses today don't need a lot of capital to start. Years ago, you needed a storefront, loans, etc. Today, all you might need is a website, a business card, and a lot of chutzpah!

5. Just do it. A lot of people out there HATE their job and wish they were more in control of their life and career. HERE'S YOUR CHANCE. Every year, corporate positions are drying up, bosses are becoming bi-polar, and you are at the whim of the balance sheet. Make a move before they do.

Many of my clients have made the move successfully from a corporate position to running their own business. And guess what? They LOVE it.

POST YOUR QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS BELOW

P.S. Are you interested in starting a business? Let’s talk. I've worked with people from all over the world who wanted to take aggressive steps in their career — call me to schedule a complimentary session.