If you’ve been thinking that this is a great time to start your own business, I congratulate you. It’s a wonderful way to take responsibility for your financial future. But you’ll need to think carefully about what kind of business to start.
Today’s Indianapolis Star had an article from the Associated Press explaining how some entrepreneurs find a rough road ahead of them when first getting started. Both of the guys featured in the story chose retail, brick & mortar shops with relatively high fixed expenses. They both invested much of their savings into their new ventures. And both are struggling with high monthly overhead expenses and customer retention issues.
While I wish them well, this is not the business model I recommend to most people for maximizing their chances of success.
I strongly suggest that you begin your entrepreneurial endeavors with a home-based, service oriented, low-operating-cost enterprise. Providing coaching, consulting, or training programs in your area of expertise is usually a good way to get started. As Brian Clark of Teaching Sells (TS) says, “… people need constant training and education…the world is changing way too fast to keep up otherwise…we’ve entered an age that powers a creative economy…an environment that requires continuous learning from all of us…”
Brian’s getting ready to re-open his TS training program and I urge you to sign up for his notification list. Even if you don’t plan to participate in his program, you’ll get some great free content that he’s sharing in the days before he begins accepting new members (including three case studies of folks who have been successful in various types of training ventures).
Sign up here. You’ll be glad you did.
I can personally vouch for the value of Teaching Sells. I became a charter member in October 2007 and became a life member last year.
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