Well, imagine yourself in a roomful of creative thinkers who all hold the intention of propelling their own dreams into reality and are also excited about your ideas and have suggestions and solutions for you as well.

You can read books, take home study courses, hire a coach, participate in tele-classes and webinars but there is nothing as powerful as being in a room full of supportive people who share a common goal and the desire to make it happen.

Are you sitting on an idea that you haven’t nurtured because something else always takes priority? Do you find your enthusiasm for it waxes and wanes, the idea keeps coming back but you just don’t know where to begin to make it happen?
Georffrey James in a recent Inc.com article titled “14 Easy Ways to Get Insanely Motivated” says, “Seek out the similarly motivated. Their positive energy will rub off on you and you can imitate their success strategies.”

Most people need supporters to birth a new project and advisors to bring it to fruition. As small business owners, we don’t have a board of directors. The advantage is that we get to captain our own ship. The downside is that we have no sounding board and often feel discouraged if we don’t surround ourselves with a tribe of inspired entrepreneurs to brainstorm and problem solve with.

If you’re tired of putting your dream on the back burner and you are ready to move forward , what better time than the New Year to commit to making it happen.

What if you could sit down with two lifelong entrepreneurs and focus on your idea, address the challenges and obstacles that have held you back,  brainstorm solutions and design concrete steps to make it real? What if in addition to two self-employment muses and problem solvers, you also had a small group of enthusiastic supporters who were committed to nurturing their ideas while also helping you grow yours?

Well, that’s exactly what Barbara Winter and I will be doing in January and if you register right away you’ll save with the early bird special and qualify for a private phone consult to get crystal clear on your idea. If you want to be part of this select group, find out more HERE

For years I’ve bucked the adage “don’t re-invent the wheel” because I believe some of the most creative and inspired ideas and businesses are a result of doing it differently, putting your own spin on an existing concept. If you find an existing business that you love and that has a sound track record of profit, ask yourself the following questions:

• How could I take this idea and make it even better?
• Is this business missing a demographic that I could target with a similar model if I tweak it or add something to it?
• Do I like the service or product they offer but not the location?
• Would this concept or model work with a different product?

Here’s an example:
Last week, I spotted a unique business in the parking lot of the community swimming pool. A young man was making crepes on the back of a cool little teardrop-shaped trailer. Of course, I had to interrogate him as I always do when I discover a business I haven’t seen before. I learned that he sets up every Thursday in the summer at this location and at a different location every day of the week. He takes his portable creperie to local soccer games and other community events.
As I continued my walk, I thought of other items this concept could be applied to and taken to various locations where the ideal customers gather. The list of products someone could peddle this way is endless: candy, ice cream and even non-food products.  OR,  what if you loved the idea of starting a crepes business but not moving a trailer to a different location every day? Could you set up on a college campus permanently?
If you spotted this business on vacation and loved the idea, you might consider  duplicating in your own community. Do you know enough or could you research and learn about it to start up on your own or would it make sense to approach the entrepreneur who’s already doing this about hiring him as a consultant to help you start your own traveling crepe cart? Or purchase recipes from him?

While I generally encourage people to start their own business, there are times when it makes sense to purchase an existing business.

Years ago, my partner and I sold our home furnishings business to our controller.  Since he had all the inside information about vendors, advertising, employees and the systems of the business, he probably could have started from scratch, particularly since that business was not dependent on repeat customers. He chose instead to purchase the existing business because we had ideal locations and all the suppliers, vendors and personnel in place, saving him a lot of time which  meant he could immediately begin earning.

If you’re considering starting a personal service business, it might be best to start from scratch. When I decided to discontinue bodywork, it would have been foolish for another therapist to purchase the practice because I WAS the business. My clients liked my style and may have been unhappy with the work of another therapist. The same would hold true for some other very personal services like hairstylist or aesthetician. It is possible to  profit from your knowledge, however, when you are ready to close a business that isn’t really salable and I’ll address that in a future post.

So, when does it make sense to buy rather than start up on your own?

The couple who purchased my contemporary craft gallery made a wise choice to buy rather than start from scratch because I had a favorable lease on a building in an ideal location which was a valuable asset in that community. I had also established strong relationships and exclusive agreements with artist and vendors. I’d already figured out what works and doesn’t so they benefited from my early mistakes which saved them a lot of money. The gallery had a loyal following with locals and was a destination for tourists. All of those factors made it a wise choice for this couple to purchase rather than start a business on their own.

If you’re not sure whether to purchase an existing business or start your own, ask yourself these questions about any business you are considering.

• Does it have an established loyal following or clientele?
• Is the location ideal or would you be able to start-up in a better spot?
• Are there a number of years left on the existing lease and is it transferable to a new owner?
• Does the seller have exclusive agreements with vendors or sources?
• How much time would it take before you would be able to generate income if you started up on your own?
• Does the existing business have a strong reputation in the community?
• Does the market warrant another like business?

What if you spot a business you love but want to open your own in a different location? I’ll address that in a future post.

Many fledgling entrepreneurs make the mistake of trying to make everyone their customer. Motivated to grow their business quickly, they fear turning any business away so are too general and don’t take the time to define and target their ideal customer.

I see this in every kind of business from coaching to retail to service. In fact, I just heard a story this morning about a young woman who in an attempt to build a Mary Kay business, held a party for all her friends, college students who are mostly on financial aid.  No one at the first party purchased except the host who received a huge discount. But the representative wanted to build her customer list so she asked each of the girls attending to host a party. The idea is for each of them to bring in other friends who will purchase and bring their friends who will refer their friends and become repeat customers. But, if none of them purchased at the first party and they each have a party to get the free hostess gifts she is going to waste more time and effort doing several more presentations to the same girls who will do nothing to grow her business. She’s wasting energy wooing the wrong client.

I saw this in my own businesses as well. Years ago I studied massage and wanted to grow a practice quickly so gave discount coupons to everyone I knew in hopes that some would become regular clients. Thinking I should practice all the different bodywork I had learned,  I would do whatever type of massage the client wanted. What I saw very quickly was that many of them enjoyed the massage but couldn’t afford weekly or even monthly bodywork. Then I sat down and wrote out criteria for my ideal client.  I decided to specialize in one modality and only target clients who could benefit from upper body, neck and shoulder work and who could afford to pay for the work regularly. Then I made a list of people I knew who either fit that profile or who were in a position to refer my target client. Rather than offer discount coupons, I gave this targeted group gift certificates for a free session. Instead of attracting clients who were only taking advantage of a free or discounted service, these were chiropractors, physicians and people with the means to pay and refer. By putting my time and effort into targeting a very specific profile rather than courting everyone,  I very quickly built up a thriving practice.

When I opened a gallery of contemporary american craft in a tourist town, I realized that the majority of people walking down the street patronized the shops that sold souvenirs and imported nicknacks. I quickly learned that only a small percentage of the visitors either valued or would pay for handmade items. I knew in order to make it, I would have to adjust my inventory to appeal to at least twenty percent of the foot traffic. I could have started carrying chinese knock-offs and thus brought in more customers but I had made a commitment to support American crafts people. Also, if I carried the same old trinkets everyone else did, I would appeal to a larger population but what would differentiate me from the other shops in town? So, I made the decision to stay focused on a specific client and added in some more affordable pieces that were still handmade and continued to target the customer who would refer and return. Yes, I missed eighty percent of the foot traffic but the twenty percent who I did reach were my ideal client and became loyal, long-term customers.

If you’re you working too hard to be everything to everyone and finding it frustrating and unprofitable, ask yourself the following questions about your client list:

Can most of them afford to pay you fairly for your product or service?

Do they come in regular contact, either in person or virtually, with others who are your ideal client?

Are they people you enjoy working with who will tell their friends or clients about you?

Will they become long-term repeat clients?

Are they likely to purchase other products or services you offer in the future?

If you answered no to any of the above questions, you are courting the wrong client. Stop and make a list of the qualities your ideal client possesses and then figure out how you can reach those people. If you stop trying to reach the eighty percent who won’t become long-term paying clients, you’ll find the twenty percent you do target will bring in the majority of your income.

The Vibrant Nation post is titled, “The secret to being your own boss?  Routine!”  However, when I read the article, author Kay Strom’s day is anything but tedious. Her “routine” includes scheduling time for soaking in the tub, a mid-day tea break, coffee dates with friends, daily river walks,  and speaking engagements on cruise ships. Hardly monotonous.

What Kay does that makes her writing life a success is schedule her days so that the things she wants to do have a time slot everyday along with the work she must do, including writing a chapter every single day.

Thinking back to times I’ve been most productive, I realize there was a lot of routine in my day. A couple of years ago, I spent several months in Florida  where I had an investment property. Daily beach walks, the primary constant in my day, had nothing and everything to do with productivity. Each Sunday evening, I checked the tide charts for the following week. Then I scheduled my work day, including appointments and phone calls around low tide. It was a different time each day, of course, but those beach walks were so important to me that I made sure I scheduled everything else I wanted to accomplish that day around them.  Not only were my walks good for my mental and physical well-being but often, my best ideas were born during those walks so I considered them a business necessity.

Like snowflakes, no two beach walks are ever exactly the same and none of my days was just like the one before. Some days I worked at home in my den. Other times, I checked out different coffee shops with internet access. Several times I brought my work to the clinic where I spent hours between medical appointments. Always, I scheduled my “routine” beach walk.

That same year, I spent months living and traveling in my volkswagon camper van. On the road, no two days are the same because the people and environment change, but I did have a kind of routine. Over breakfast, I’d check and answer emails, read a few favorite blogs, check weather and road conditions and decide on my route for the day. I’d usually drive for a few hours, then stop and make client calls, have group mastermind calls or record a telephone interview for my Inspired Livelihood inspired entrepreneur series. I’d have lunch, take a walk and drive a few more hours. At night, I’d write and schedule posts to appear on my blog.

Thinking back on that time, I realize it wasn’t a routine in the sense that I did the same things in the same place at the same time every day but my days did have structure and I believe it is that structure, the scheduled time for the things that matter, that’s the secret to successful self-employment. And structure does not have to be boring.

I advised him to work during college for a few businesses similar to what he wants to start, note everything that works in the business and most importantly, LISTEN to the customers and pay attention to what they like and what they don’t because his greatest lessons will come from observing how he can improve on what’s already being done in the industry.

I feel confident steering him in this direction based on my own experience over the past 35 years and that of other successful entrepreneurs. Probably more important is that I’ve watched too many business majors graduate with no practical knowledge or real world experience applicable to starting a business.

This was never more clear to me than several years ago when I sold a business to a retired college professor.  The first time we went on a buying trip, he turned to me and said, “Terri, I spent 40 years turning out MBAs and I just realized I don’t know the first thing about running a small business.” Everything he knew and taught in college was strictly theory.

My father on the other hand had to leave school at 14 and peddled fruit from a cart to support his widowed mother and younger siblings. After serving in WW2, he went to work for a few different companies selling products door to door for a commission. No salary. The knowledge he gained from that experience was more valuable than an MBA because earning a living meant really listening to what people wanted and understanding the mindset of his customer. True, he wouldn’t have been hired by a fortune 500 company but he did go on to start and operate several successful companies based on serving the needs of the average working class American. By observing the buying patterns and thought processes of his customers, he figured out what worked and what he could improve on.

If you’re 18, don’t go to college to get a job. Go to college to learn about whatever interests you because that is what will ignite the passion you’ll need to be fired up for success. Get a job working in businesses that intrigue you and study them like they were your masters thesis.  If you are midlife or later and laid off, retired or re-careering don’t spend the time and money going back for an MBA unless you want to work in a large corporation. If you want to start your own business, I urge you to go to work for a short while for businesses that interest you and listen to the customers or clients about what they like, what they don’t and what they would like to see different. Take what you’ve learned and make it better.

Your assignment for success:

Research the industry that interests you.

Select a couple of those businesses and get hired on in any position you can.

Observe. Ask questions.  Listen. Listen. Listen.

Now, ask yourself what you can do to better meet the customers’ needs and get started. Do it better.

You’ve earned something more valuable than an MBA.

If you’ve been following me for awhile, you know that my mission is to help people create meaningful self employment, that I once had a payroll of over one hundred. While I loved knowing that my business was enabling people to earn a living, it broke my heart when the business could no longer support that many employees. I am committed to empowering people to be responsible for their own livelihood and not be at the mercy of a boss.

It’s my conviction that the creation of small businesses will be the cure for a sick economy; that the only real security is self employment. When I put out that call last week for people who love to sew but hate to market, it was in response to all of you who say you are looking for a way to make a living doing what you love. You love to create but not sell. I LOVE marketing, letting people know about cool products, especially handmade items.  So, what I’m looking for are people who want to be self employed, want to have their own business and be their boss. I don’t sew but I have a product that I know will sell if you, the crafters, supply it.  It’s my goal to create a tribe of entrepreneurs who love what they do and have control of their own time, income and environment.

If it’s a job you’re looking for, I’m not your gal.  But, if you’re seeking inspiration and guidance to be your own boss, to join a tribe of inspired entrepreneurs, let’s talk. You have the equipment since you already sew. You can do all the sewing yourself or create your own community, your sewing circle. And we’ll all be making a difference, making income doing what we love. That’s what inspired livelihood is all about.

Naturally, some of the students thought the project was “lame” and did only the required work with little enthusiasm. But what delighted me was seeing the pride on the faces of many others who were so inspired by the work that they far exceeded the obligatory hours. Their Power Point presentations, story boards, scrapbooks, oral or written reports showed they’d put far more time and energy into the project than was required.

I’m aware that young people often do volunteer community service because their churches encourage benevolence or they know it looks good on a college resume, but whatever their initial motivation, some of these kids discover empathy and purpose that hopefully will give their lives direction. Of course they feel the satisfaction of helping others but they also learn that goodwill and philanthropy isn’t just about volunteering and making charitable donations. That beneficence can be a way of life and a livelihood.

A proponent of socially responsible business, I found it encouraging that these young people gained an appreciation for and interest in environmental,  elder care and youth services careers.  As a life-long entrepreneur and self employment advocate, I was elated that they not only volunteered in civic and  social service agencies but also witnessed adults gleefully earning their livelihood as proprietors of private recycling services and sports camps for disabled children. They discovered that they could be self employed elder advocates, or environmental lobbyists in the private sector. One young man exuberantly reported on his work with a rock band who did a playground improvement project in each town they performed on tour. Another student, a pitcher on the high school baseball team, when asked if he hoped to play professionally, said his project coaching an inner city basketball team inspired him to maybe start a baseball camp for less privileged kids.  A girl whose project was testing river water for impurities, when asked if she wanted to be a researcher said, “No, I’m going to be an author.  I’ve already started writing fictional stories that teach a lesson about our precious natural resources.”

Sure, many of these kids will be job seekers but I’m ecstatic that some are already thinking like entrepreneurs. They know that they don’t have to have a job to do well financially and that volunteering or check writing aren’t the only ways to do good. These grads are heading out into the world knowing that they can make a difference by making a living as a social entrepreneur.  I’m still smiling.

By now you are likely back to work after the holidays. I hope you enjoyed time with family and friends or just relished some quiet solitude, if that’s what you desired.

“Back to work” has a different meaning when you’re self employed, particularly if you love what you do and where you do it. If you are in an area of the country experiencing winter storms, you’re probably feeling extra grateful that you don’t have to bundle up and scrape the ice off your windshield before you brave the icy roads for your longer than usual commute. This morning as the airwaves buzzed with school closures, traffic delays and treacherous road conditions, I sure appreciated my self employed status. If you already work from home, is your business meeting your financial expectations? Are you finding your work fulfilling? How are you dealing with potential isolation?

Maybe you are still working for someone else but have promised yourself that 2010 is the year you’ll break free and start your own business.

Whether you’re looking for ways to supplement your income, increase the volume you are already doing in your business or just starting out, January is the time to map out your immediate and long term business strategies.

What are you doing right now, this week to ensure that you will have income this month?

If you’re thinking that people are not spending after the holidays, you’re missing out. Whether you sell a tangible product, information or service, January can be a strong month if you stay open to thinking differently about your potential clients or customers.

Think about all the people who receive cash gifts for Christmas! They may have been eyeing that handmade piece you showcased in December but were in the giving rather than “self-gifting” mindset before the holidays. Now, they have “me” money but unless you remind them you are still out there making fabulous stuff, that money won’t find it’s way to you.

What about the people whose new year’s resolutions involve eating healthfully or learning a new skill? Now is a better time than pre-holiday to market your personal chef, fitness training or voice coaching services. Let’s say you teach macrobiotic cooking or  jewelry making or sell supplies? Both the recipient of cash gifts and the new student are your potential customers.

There are also a number of little known holidays in January. Just google “January holidays” and you’ll find that today is National Bird Day. Who knew?  I have no idea who comes up with these fairly obscure days of celebration but had you known this earlier and planned ahead, you could have arranged a show and sale of your handmade bird ornaments or bluebird earrings at the Audubon club.

Think of what you could have done had you known that tomorrow is Dia de Reyes.  Tonight, January 5,  figurines of the Three Wise Men are added to the nativity scene. Before bed, Mexican children place their old shoes under their beds, where the Wise Men will leave them presents.

Next week is Japanese Coming of Age Day and the 24th is the Anniversary of Gold Discovery Day in California. (1848). My head is spinning with ideas for marketing your creative services and handmade crafts on those and other January holidays like Chinese New Years and Australia Day, both Jan. 26th. If you’re asking yourself what those  celebrations have to do with you, have you forgotten that you are reading this on the “world wide web”? As my friend Barbara Winter says, “your clientele is no longer limited by geography.” So, go explore what’s being celebrated in your neighborhood and around the world. Rather than thinking you’re too late for Christmas, you’ll find you’re early for some creative offerings or craft selling opportunities. What are you doing now to ensure you’ll have cash flow next month?