When is the best time to start a business?

Do you keep thinking you want to start a business but the time isn’t right, the economy isn’t right or you don’t have enough free time right now?

The best answer I’ve ever heard to the question, “When is the best time to start a business?” came from Gordon Moore co-founder of Intel. He said “The best time to start a business is when you have a good idea.”

If the current economic situation is holding you back, remember that some extremely successful enterprises were started in a weak economy. There are actually advantages to starting when the economy is sluggish.  You have a greater pool of resources because there is less competition. Vendors are more willing to negotiate and work with you. If you need to hire employees or even virtual assistants, they are hungrier for work right now so you get good rates and choice of the best. Also you have time to start off slowly and learn as you go, get the kinks out and be running at full swing when the economy strengthens. You will be well positioned to take advantage of the recovery.

I often hear “I want to start a business but I’m waiting until my kids start school” or start college, or finish college.  What they don’t realize is that there is never a perfect time. When the kids are in school, there will be more time commitments with after school sports and activities. If you wait until your kids start college, you may be taking care of elderly parents. The best answer I know is to start now so that when your kids are in school or college or you have elderly parents to care for, you will have some years in business already and have the funds to help your  kids and parents and the success to hire help or outsource some of your business tasks.

Not enough free-time? That used to be my excuse for not getting things done too. Then I met Sandy Dempsey of the Dreaming Cafe. And I felt like a wimp saying I didn’t have enough time for a particular project. Sandy has a demanding job, the responsibility for a seriously ill mother and she not only manages to do all the housework, shopping, cooking, cleaning, yard work, laundry and snow removal, she also makes time to write, paint and art journal. With all this, she still started her own business in her “spare time.” In other words, she MADE time.

Another excuse I hear is “I’m afraid to leave the security of my job in this slow economy.” First of all, I am NOT suggesting you quit your job. But think about this for a minute: Is there really any security in working for someone else? My advise is to hold onto your job while you are getting your business up and running. Then you will have real security because you will be the master of your own ship. When you need a raise to pay for college, add a new product and you make more money.

In the next post, we’ll talk about money. Can you start up even if you don’t have start-up capital? If you missed it, scroll down to read the last article about not knowing where to start.

1. Tell people who you are with a Website…

◦ In today’s world every business, service or product based, needs an online presence.  Your website can be a single, information only page, or several pages providing basic information about who you are, what you do, and what service or product you offer.  A lot of people today use a web presence to validate that your product or service is legitimate.

◦ Today the cost of having your own website can be zero to less than $75 per year. All of the following free and low cost options do not require any programming or web design skills. They all offer free templates and themes to get you started.

◦ Options -

▪ Free options – check out WordPress.com and Blogger.com.

▪ Low cost options- GoDaddy’s Website Tonight -  and Intuit Small Business.

2. Publish a Newsletter…

◦ Offer a free online/email based newsletter.  A newsletter is perfect for both online and offline businesses whether you are a restaurant, independent pet supply store, an online retailer or a coach or consultant.

◦ Newsletters give you an opportunity to share what you know, what is happening in your business and your industry and establish an ongoing relationship with your customers and clients. Use your newsletter to share articles, tips, business specials, offer coupons or tell your customer/client about upcoming events.

◦ Build your contact list, but make sure you do it the right way. Ask people to join your list; ask them for permission to contact them. You never want to be considered ‘spam’, so ask first.

▪ Collect your customer and client email addresses both online and off. If you have a home demonstration or party, pass out information cards for your visitors to complete, including their email addresses. Have a sign up sheet in your store or restaurant for people to sign up. And, always have an opt-in box, or sign-up box on your website.

◦ Options for sending out your newsletter -

▪ Free option – You can begin by using your own contact database in your email program and use a simple email letter like you would for a friend. It doesn’t have to be fancy to begin with. This is how I started. Just remember, when you use your own email program make sure you ‘BCC’ your customers to protect their email addresses and identities.

▪ Low cost option – Depending on the number of people on your list the cost for using an email marketing program can vary. Constant Contact and Aweber are two of the leaders in this area.

▪ (Note – I use Constant Contact. If you decide to try them, let me know and I will send you an invite. This will give you and me a $30 credit.)

3. Engage your customers and clients using free Social Media tools…

◦ Free Social media tools like Twitter, Facebook and Linkedin help you expand your business beyond your physical geography, meet new people, discover new resources, and stay in touch daily with your customer and clients.

◦ If you have a restaurant, coffee shop, or retail store you can share specials of the day with your friends and followers, let customers know of holiday hours, or closings due to inclement weather.

◦ There are so many ways that social media can help grow your business that it is impossible to share them all today. I will be covering this topic in much more depth in the coming weeks and months. (If you have specific questions please email me.)

4. Create your own Information Products…

◦ Regardless of your product or service, you want to create some information products for your clients/customers to purchase.  These can be self-learning guides and/or how to guides, audio CD’s of taped seminars or lectures or interviews (you and/or other experts), workbooks, e-learning courses, etc.

◦ These provide an additional revenue stream that once up and going requires limited time and effort on your part.

◦ If you are a consultant or coach these products can provide valuable information for clients or customers to get to know you better before deciding to work with you. And, some people or companies are just ‘do-it-yourselfers’ and just want the expert information you are providing.

5. Investigate Memberships and Premium Services…

◦ Exclusivity sells and attracts.  People like to belong to a select group.

◦ Memberships – This option allows you to sell to and work more closely with your best and most adoring customers and fans. Some memberships are free, while others are for a fee. Either way it is very important to provide premium benefits to your customer and clients such as discounts, sample merchandise, invitations for special member only events, member only access to information and resources and other member only products and services related to your particular business.

◦ Premium Services – This option works best for consultants and coaches. Provide a prescreening ‘application’. The ‘application lets potential clients know that due to the demands on your time and your expertise you must verify that your services and their needs are match.  This technique allows you to charge a premium/top rate for your services, improves the lead conversion rate and provides you an opportunity to work with companies or individuals that more closely fit your ideal client profile.

An article by my friend Sandy Dempsey @sandydfromnj in The Dreaming Cafe Newsletter got me thinking even more about how a calling isn’t necessarily something we do for a living (although, I believe life’s even richer if it is) but an element that should be present in every aspect of our lives.

Because I help people create business that make a living and a difference, I naturally attract clients who talk a lot about finding their life purpose. Sadly, what I hear too frequently is that they are either afraid of not identifying their true calling or they don’t see how they can make a big enough impact to make a difference, so they do nothing.  My job, and I believe this is my calling but not my sole life purpose, is to show them the possibilities, that they aren’t limited to a single calling and that making a difference in their own community or even a change in one life may be what they are here to do. Not everyone, in fact almost no one, was truly born to change the world.

Life purpose isn’t about identifying your calling and doing one thing for the rest of your life.  I believe we can and do embrace our purpose in many different ways that evolve over a lifetime. Those of us with many interests have struggled with this at times because, particularly  for scanner types, we experience each new passion as “oh, I am really in my element.”

It’s only recently that I’ve recognized the different shapes that my purpose has taken over the years. Reviewing a mental inventory of my life portfolio, the common thread has been the call to teach and to help people to see their potential and recognize their options. I like to think of this as my life “theme”.   I know now that in many different roles as a sister, friend, mother, employer, both personally and in business, I have been embracing my calling to educate and inspire.

Until my early twenties, I manifested the call to teach in a more traditional sense. As a young child, I loved to help my little sister navigate the world and playing school  with my friends was one of my favorite after school activities. As a teen, I was a camp counselor, teaching arts and swimming. In college, I majored in Art Education with the dream of having my own creative arts school to inspire and encourage creativity. Then in my twenties, I got sidetracked by a challenge to create businesses. In each new business, I believed i had found my calling. In advertising and home furnishings, I had a knack for taking people who were uncomfortable with selling and teaching them how to sell authentically. When I had an art and contemporary craft gallery, I enjoyed and was good at teaching artists to market their work but I don’t see my life purpose as sales training. When I went to massage school and then started a body work business,  clients told me I was a gifted healer and I began to believe that was my calling. Then I fell and broke my hand so couldn’t do any bodywork for two months.  My colleagues began asking me for help building their healing arts practices so I developed my “Full Practice Formula” and wondered if my purpose was in fact teaching people to see the possibilities, value their art and market their skills.  It wasn’t until my fifties that I recognized how all these seemingly unrelated endeavors, from advertising, to retail, body work, home furnishings and art were just different forms of fulfilling my calling to educate and inspire.

When you identify a gift, that doesn’t mean it is your calling. Maybe it’s part of a much larger theme. For example, some young friends of mine call me “the baby whisperer” because I can pick up a baby whose been screaming for hours and instantly he’ll settle down. I don’t see my life purpose as calming colicky babies, but do see it’s part of my larger theme which is sharing things that come easily to me with others so that they see the possibility in themselves.

I believe most people are living their life purpose in one or many forms but may not recognize it or haven’t yet identified the joy and greater purpose in it.

If you feel like you are still searching for your calling, I suggest this exercise to help you identify your purpose or life “theme”.

Write down the different rolls you’ve played over the course of your life so far. Not just professionally but as a child, as a student, a friend and a parent.  Don’t simply list the skills you used or the tasks you performed. Really think about where the joy was in each of those circumstances. What were the “ahah” moments for you?  Where did you touch someone’s life? This could be when you helped your little brother learn to tie his shoes or the way you set the table for your parent’s bridge party.  Maybe you were the one who always knew how to convince the teachers, parents, other kids that something was a great idea. Even if you feel stuck in a boring job right now, you are probably doing something that is in some way manifesting your purpose. Are you always the one to bring order, humor or calm to a situation? Sometimes it’s not obvious but if you spend time really looking and listening, there are probably some similarities between the gifts you bring to your present life and the pieces of your past that brought you joy or made a difference for someone else.

What are the common threads in your history that may be a key to your life theme?

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.

In her weekly newsletter yesterday, Sandy Dempsey posed the question: “What does success look like?”. If you aren’t already a subscriber to Sandy’s newsletter, I invite you to join me Sunday mornings at The Dreaming Cafe..

When I used to travel to attend trade-shows, expos and conferences related to my career no one thought anything of it. Family, friends and coworkers accepted it as the norm, part of my job.

But, now when I tell people I am traveling for a conference or workshop they look at me oddly and ask,“Why? Don’t you work for yourself now?”

Yes. That’s the point. That’s why attending learning and networking events is even more important.

Attending workshops, conferences and/or trade-shows is one of the top investments any self-employed person can make.

And, it doesn’t matter if you have one employee (yourself), five employees, fifty employees or more. It doesn’t matter if you own a brick and mortar business or work from your home.

Lifelong learning, staying on top of industry trends, learning new things, meeting people and making connections are even more important now that you work for yourself. You are 100% responsible for your welfare and the welfare and survival of your company. You really can’t afford not to invest in attending learning and networking events.

In addition, when you combine travel with attending conferences, workshops, expos, etc, you receive the added benefits of getting away from your daily routine, time spent alone, time spent with new people and new scenery.

When you work for yourself you get to choose what type of learning and networking event you want to attend and need to attend.

You can choose industry trade shows, web design conferences, creativity workshops, artist retreats, marketing seminars, EBay expos, etc. You can attend an event in your area of specialty or branch out, learn something new and meet new people.

All of these can be like a breath of fresh air. They clear the cobwebs. You begin to look at problems and obstacles in a new way. You meet new people and form new friendships. Your creativity moves into full throttle and you have tons of new ideas. And, even if you are busy from day one and tired from traveling you will often feel energized and have renewed interest and passion in your business when you return home.

I attribute my own evolution from corporate employee to self-employment to the time, money and effort I have invested over the last three years. I’ve attended events related to entrepreneurship, writing, marketing and painting. Some of these events were directly related to my business, others were to help me learn more about myself. Each one has contributed to my success, both personally and professionally.

Invest in yourself. Invest in your business. Invest in your future. Learn something new. Meet new people. Have fun.

Workshops, Conferences, Expos, Oh My. That’s what it’s all about.

If you are interested here are some upcoming events that you may find beneficial.

Inspired Livelihood – Make a Difference, While Making a Living
Sedona, AZ, April 16-17, 2010

Entrepreneur Exposé – A series of motivational events that will present entrepreneurship as one solution to stimulate the economy and provide real options and information for business women
Basking Ridge, NJ, May 1, 2010

Un-Job Fair – A Day-long Exploration of Options and Opportunities for Successful Self-Employment
Denver, CO, May 1, 2010

Sandy Dempsey, writer, artist and entrepreneur publishes one of my favorite weekly newsletters and can enjoyed at http://thedreamingcafe.com

(Please note, I am NOT being paid to promote or advertise any of these events. They are events I have come across that sound interesting, fun and informative.)

I’ve been journaling for more almost thirty years. Journaling has been my constant companion. All of life’s ups downs and everything in between lives in my journals. I have stacks of them. They are wonderful documentaries of my life.

When people think of journaling a lot of times they think about recording the traumatic or painful events in their life. They turn to journaling as an outlet for their overwhelming emotions.

I’ve used journaling for this same purpose, but I’ve also discovered that journaling can be so much more than just a diary of pain; it can be a diary of joy. I discovered the power of positive journaling and journaling for self-discovery.

Journaling has been one of the main keys that have helped to me discover, and accept, who I am, what I am, what I want to be and where I want to go.

The things I have learned and the exercises I have used have been so life changing that I wanted to share them with others.

The Dreaming Cafe’s online Journaling for Self-Discovery workshop is designed to help you achieve greater personal awareness and establish a regular, positive journaling practice through accountability and feedback.

If you were doing these exercises on your own, you may or may not finish them. Knowing that you will post them each week provides accountability. Once posted, I will provide feedback and answer questions to help you dig a little deeper, or just provide a positive mirroring of your responses.

This online workshop is designed to prove a safe, non-judgmental atmosphere where you can explore who you are and what you want.

This is the last workshop for 2009 and will provide a wonderful foundation to meet your dreams head-on in 2010.

Journaling for Self-Discovery is designed to help you:

· Achieve greater personal awareness

· Establish a regular, positive journaling practice

· Identify & define your personal values and life themes

· Acknowledge the things you love and want

· Prepare to choose a dream or goal that aligns with your personal values and life themes

· Begin writing a Life Mission Statement

The next workshop begins November 22, 2009.

Since this is the last workshop of 2009 and to celebrate my Get Inspired Project interview (http://www.getinspiredproject.com/2009/11/06/day-37-sandy-dempsey/) I am taking 50% off the regular price of this workshop.. Use discount code GIP1109 when you register. Go to: http://dreamingcafe.eventbrite.com for more information and to register.

Thank you again and happy journaling!!

Warmest Regards,

Sandy Dempsey

Sandy is the founder of The Dreaming Café – A Destination Oasis on Your Creative Journey to Self Discovery.  If you aren’t already subscribing to her delicious Free newsletter, go here

As a fine arts and art education major, I was immersed in theory and technique. While developing those skills was necessary in order to implement the images dancing around in my head, a focus on “getting it right” got in the way of getting the feeling down. As my work moved towards precision, it moved away from expression, became stiff and too cerebral. In other words, I spent too much studio time in my head instead of my heart. For me, the process of painting became joyless when I began judging my work on outcome. 

I realize that classic elements and theory in visual art, music, dance or writing are vital aspects of a solid education in the arts. I cringe when I read grammatical errors in literature. But how do we balance the mastery of the details with letting the creative light flow from our inner source? 

I recall a conflict with the director of the preschool where I first “taught art” in my early twenties. I used my alloted art instruction time to expose the children to elements of design, showing them how a squiggly line gives a different feel than a straight line and how muddy colors put them in a different mood than bright or pastel colors. I helped them observe how objects further away were less vibrant and smaller than those in the foreground.  Pretty complex concepts for a preschooler, yet they appeared to grasp the basics because we made it fun.  I showed them the color wheel and then let them “play” with mixing colors. Some of the exercises were eatable. Ketchup and mustard make orange. Add mayonnaise and you get peach or what we in those days so socially inappropriately referred to as “skin tone.” 

When introducing the kids to the works of different masters, I tried to make it fun and relevant for them. We had a Jackson Pollack morning when the kids squirted different colored icing all over white sheet cakes and then got to eat their “paintings.”

None of this went over well with the director who said she understood the purpose but wanted to please the parents who didn’t understand why their kids weren’t coming home with identical turkey crafts at Thanksgiving or gingerbread men at Christmas. We butted heads, I stuck to my guns and knew I needed to be self employed soon. 

Fast forward three decades and  I missed the creative process. I’d let it go, I believed, in the interest of earning a living selling other artists work. The truth was, I had stopped creating because when I tried to “do it right” it lost it’s joy for me. I enrolled in creative workshops with descriptions like “Intuitive Water Color” and “Painting from the Soul”.  The first day or so in these classes, I was able to get out of my head and connect more with my heart. the expression flowed and it was joyful. Imagines were forming on the paper, bypassing my head. I swear some of them emerged from deep in my bones, almost as if my DNA knew things I couldn’t possibly know. 

Then came the “sharing” and suddenly I was judging my art. In one workshop, the facilitator, a psychologist, had us “act out” our paintings. When I returned to the act of painting after that, the flow was blocked. I knew I’d have to dramatize what I painted and again became attached to outcome. Once I knew what came out of my hand would be analyzed, I froze. 

When my son, Todd, was young, he loved to write. His work had a fresh, open tone. Then an adult in his life began correcting his grammar and punctuation mid stream and he gradually stopped writing for pleasure. He also loved to go to the piano and just “play” as opposed to reading music. Then, lessons meant practice and correction and while he played well once he understood theory, he no longer “composed.” 

We’ve all known kids who after their first ballet lessons were discouraged from continuing because they lacked grace and poise.  I think about how different the experience would have been if the same child had been put in a room without mirrors and encouraged to just “feel” the music and move freely without attachment to appearance. 

I recognize that if someone is planning a career in the arts, it’s vital to master technique but what about all of us who were either discouraged because we weren’t “naturals” or eliminated ourselves from the creative game because we judged our outward appearance? 

Looking back over my teaching and learning experiences, I am convinced we should all spend more time finger painting, drumming on pots and pans and dancing blindfolded. 

What are your creative blocks? What puts you in the flow? When was the last time you made mud pies or painted with your toes?

I’m not talking about a sibling or life long friend you’ve kept in touch with over the years. Their image of you is who you’ve become. The most valuable source for getting back in touch with your core values is someone you shared secrets and dreams with before you you became the responsible, practical adult who put your own dreams on the back burner. If you’re fortunate enough to renew that relationship, you’ll likely uncover some precious pieces of the YOU that have been eluding you.

In the past year, thanks to the internet, several friends from my youth have contacted me. Since  I use social networking sites mainly for business relationships,  I don’t expect to see faces from long ago and definitely don’t go searching them out, so it’s a delightful surprise to hear from these long lost friends.

Because I had supportive parents and wasn’t pressured into being something I’m not, I believed I’d stayed pretty true to my core values and hadn’t really lost touch with my dreams. But decades of marriage and motherhood do change our focus and I also put everyone’s happiness and well being ahead of my own. I think it’s genetic programing. Even self actualized, liberated women can lose a piece of themselves while holding together a family. And connecting with people who knew you before career, mortgage and taxes skewed your life view, can trigger memories of buried dreams.

In recent months, I’ve had the fortune of hearing from a childhood friend, a high school buddy and a college room mate, all people I was close to but lost touch with in adulthood. These are people who knew me when listening to my heart and holding fast to my convictions was still a given. 

Two weeks ago I returned from “Follow Through Camp” with Barbara Winter, Alice Barry, Sandy Dempsey and my tribe of inspired change agents, fired up to recharge the part of my business I’m most passionate about.  As if to confirm that it’s time to focus on that dream, I found in my mailbox a Facebook  message from someone I hadn’t spoken with in over 30 years, a friend who knew me when I still thought of myself as an artist, a teacher and saw life as an enormous canvas on which I would color a better world .  The most valuable insights have been though late night emails about what mattered then. 

I’m not referring to romance here but to two people who are reminding each other of who they each were when making a living, making a life and making a difference was a given not an option. 

If you’re fortunate to have had a friend who knew you then, when your goals were to live from the inside out,  find that friend. If they don’t offer it up, ask questions. What do they remember you talking about?  Do they remember something you got so excited about that you could think of nothing else? Ask then to describe the essence of the YOU they remember. 

Short of finding your childhood diaries, this is the sharpest lens on who you were and the most direct road back to finding your true north.