How to start your business when you know what you want but have no idea where to begin

I’m getting excited about the workshop that Barbara Winter and I will be facilitating next weekend in Las Vegas. The attendees have some phenomenal business ideas and we’ll be working through what’s been holding them back so they can make those dreams happen now.

I’ve heard from a several aspiring entrepreneurs who said they wanted to join us but had scheduling conflicts.  They all said the same thing. “I have this great business idea but don’t know where to get started.”

Here are a few tips to help you begin working on your dream business.

• Research people who have already done what you want to do or something similar.
  Read their blogs, study their websites, listen to podcasts and read books by people who are doing what you want to do. Not so that you can mimmic them but so that you can learn from their journey and do your own version and share your unique gifts.
• Talk to people who have been successful at what you are trying to do or something like it. Ask what mistakes they made in the beginning and what they learned in the process. Most entrepreneurs love to share. We don’t see start-ups as competition but complimentary. When I meet a new self-employment guide, I take note of what qualities they possess that I do not and will frequently refer a client to someone who I think might be a better fit. By connecting with someone who has already done what you want to do, you may not only gain a mentor but a friend who you can do some co-operative projects with as well.
• Don’t let the things you don’t know how to do keep you from beginning. A smart entrepreneur admits what she doesn’t know and recognizes that learning is a life-long pursuit. You can always outsource or barter the skills you lack or don’t enjoy performing.
  Or partner with someone who has complimentary gifts.
• Hire a coach or consultant to guide you. Be careful to find someone who has had their own business, not someone who was trained as a business coach but never started a business. Don’t worry about certification. What matters is that they have learned by doing and can share their experience with you.
• Attend seminars or workshops with other entrepreneurs. You’ll learn from the facilitators and the other attendees will share resources and valuable insight with you. You’ll find your tribe and source of ongoing support. (We still have a couple of spaces left. Find out more HERE.)
• Start with baby steps. Even if your dream is big, start small. I’m not an advocate of the 5-year plan because I believe your business will evolve in ways you can’t even imagine now. It’s great to have a vision of the big goal but it’s easiest to make it happen by taking small steps every day.

What first small step can you take today to move forward toward your dream business?

Do you have so many ideas for starting a new business that you have trouble focusing on any of them?

Do you have so many ideas that you have trouble focusing on any of them? If so, you have a lot of creative company. This past week, I’ve spoken with each of the attendees of the upcoming Inspired Livelihood Obstacle Busting Mastermind.
Every one of them had more than one idea, some had many.

“I have too many ideas” is a common complaint of creative entrepreneurs. Being an idea generator is a gift but it can have you running in place if you aren’t able to effectively launch any of them because you are too scattered. It is absolutely possible to run several businesses successfully but just like juggling oranges, you have to start with what you can handle and add more as your confidence and competence grow.

I helped each of the attendees choose one idea to start with and we focused on fine tuning the vision of what that one business will look like. When they show up at the workshop in Las Vegas, we will focus on making that one idea a viable business. Once that business is running and they are seeing profit, it will be easier to launch the next idea, and the next. It’s kind of like when you have a baby. You give that first your undivided attention. Then, when that first child is a couple of years old and you’ve kind of got the hang of that parenting thing, you’re more able to parent a second. Maybe add a few more? Imagine if you gave birth to all your children at once? You’d be like the old woman in the shoe, right? Well just like kids,  you shouldn’t launch all your ideas at the same time.

If you’ve been sitting on a few projects or business ideas for awhile and haven’t been able to make any of them profitable, you are probably suffering from “refusal to choose” syndrome. But you know what? You did choose. By choosing to try to do them all, you’ve chosen to dilute your energy and get nothing done, right?

I know this first hand because the last several months, I’ve been thinking about several new businesses I want to launch. I’ve done research and some initial steps on all of them but mostly been ineffective moving forward with any of them because my attention was too scattered.

Then a few weeks ago, I realized something. If three months ago, I had chosen to focus on just one new project, I’d now have it successfully launched and be starting on the next. Instead, I haven’t launched any of them.

If you’ve been sitting on several ideas for the past year and feel frustrated because you’ve launched none, I’d like to offer you a challenge. Give yourself permission to put all but one on the back burner. Not forever. Just right now while you get that first one crystal clear and moving forward. Try it for three months. Remember, you aren’t neglecting the other ideas. You are just giving each idea the attention it deserves. Once that’s rolling, spend three months on your next idea. Imagine where you’ll be at the end of the year if you do that. You’ll have launched four new ideas successfully.

Do you need some guidance and support birthing that first idea? If so, check out what Barbara Winter, best selling author of “Making a Living without a Job” and I are doing to help a small group of aspiring entrepreneurs break through the barriers and start their dream businesses NOW.  Find out more HERE

Celebrating Independence Every Day

Every night from May to Labor Day,  crackles, booms and pops echo across the lake as fireworks light up the summer sky above my temporary home.

Because I’ve been self-employed for over three decades,  I probably take my freedom more for granted than many of my clients and friends who are  corporate refugees, so I’m grateful for this nightly reminder to celebrate  independence.

And speaking of celebrating Independence and “bosslessness”, I want to invite you to join me for a celebration of self-employment.  My friends Sandy Dempsey and Alice Barry have gathered together a POSSE to plan the Joyfully Jobless Jamborree.  Sandy initially came up with this idea to honor our friend and mentor Barbara Winter, author of best selling “Making a Living without a Job”.  The theme of the event is “more time, more fun, more money”.  Unlike the typical “pitch-fest” events, this is all about celebration, lifelong learning and the joy of being jobless. I hope to see you there. Read more about the Joyfully Jobless Jamborree here.

Are you sending the message “I am not a good investment.”?

In a blog post earlier this week, titled ‘The Natural Habitat of Winners’ Barbara Winter said, “When you are willing to spend your time and money to expose yourself to new ideas, new techniques for doing things, and new people who can add their enthusiasm to your dreams, you’re also sending a strong message to your subconscious mind about your own worth.”

The past couple of weeks, I’ve been receiving emails from readers saying they’d love to attend the Inspired Livelihood Workshop in Sedona but don’t have (or think they should spend) the money right now.

When I had my last retail business, my friends with neighboring shops used to complain about how slow business was and when they asked why I was doing so well, I cited advertising as one reason I had more customers and better sales. Of course, these merchants would complain that they didn’t have enough money to spend on advertising because business was slow.  They also didn’t have fresh, timely merchandise because they wouldn’t spend the money to attend trade shows and keep up on current trends. This thinking made no sense to me as I watched many of them go out of business. When things are slow, that’s when it’s most important to spend money to make them better.

“In times of change,” said Eric Hoffer, “learners inherit the earth, while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists.“

The *Early Bird price of the workshop is $397.  That’s for 2 days of focus on your business in a small group with three entrepreneurs who’ve made a career of making a living without a job by investing time and money in lifelong learning. While those who use lack of funds as a reason to not invest in themselves are still stuck in unsatisfying careers, even in what the media calls a weak economy,  weekend workshops with price tags of $3000. are full with hundreds of attendees. I’ve met entrepreneurs at those workshops who “couldn’t afford the tuition but couldn’t afford NOT to attend.” It’s no coincidence that the following year, those same entrepreneurs who knew they were worth the investment were back with stories of prosperity and satisfaction.

Not investing this way also sends a strong message. As Sondra Ray says, “When you say, ‘I don’t have enough money to go to that self-improvement seminar or buy that book, it’s almost like saying, ‘I am not a good investment.’ The best way to make money is to invest in yourself.

Are you worth it?

Barbara knows, “If you truly want to join the winner’s circle, take advantage of every  resource you can find. You never know what might happen if you do.

You could be sitting in a roomful of strangers and suddenly meet yourself.”
Read Barbara’s full article here

Thanks for caring about the planet we share.
Terri

PS *After March 15, the price of the workshop goes up to $497
learn more about the event HERE

Find More Meaning in March

My friend Alice Barry  (www.entertainingtheidea.com) calls March the Month of More Meaning.  Throughout the month of March she’ll be focusing on  and exploring the many ways we can contribute to the world in meaningful ways through our businesses.  As you know, the mission of “Inspired Livelihood” is to  support, inspire and encourage artists, musicians, authors and aspiring entrepreneurs to make a living while making a difference in their community or the world.

As Barbara Winter, author of  ”Making a Living Without a Job” said in her recent Joyfully Jobless newsletter the “search for meaningful work that makes a positive impact in the world is a huge motivator” of the successfully self employed. If you are ready to activate your inner activist and add the meaning/purpose piece to your bottom line, the “Inspired Livelihood Workshop” is for you. .

Join Alice, Barbara and me f in Sedona, Arizona on April 16 & 17. With this exquisite community as our backdrop, we’ll explore what it means to create a business that is both profitable and meaningful. Read about this exciting event HERE