If you’re like many aspiring entrepreneurs, you have great ideas but find it difficult to take action on them. Or do you get it rolling but have difficulty staying on task because you know what you want the end result to be but the sequence of necessary steps is unclear? Sometimes, it feels overwhelming. Other times, an idea that seemed brilliant at first begins to feel unattainable or you lose confidence in your own ability to make it happen.

Particularly if your friends and family member are not entrepreneurs, you can lose momentum when you don’t have anyone to run your ideas by or be accountable to. Dreams wither in isolation and if you share them with the wrong people, the seeds are squashed before they’ve had a chance to take root.

That’s why I am an enthusiastic advocate of mastermind groups. Being part of an entrepreneurs mastermind is like having an advisory board  for your business and a support group for your dreams. In his book  “Think and Grow Rich”, author Napoleon Hill defined the mastermind as a “coordination of knowledge and effort, in a spirit of harmony, between two or more people, for the attainment of a definite purpose.”  My experience has been that while having one other person is helpful, having a group of 4 to 6 feels more like putting 8 or 10 heads together.

If you tend to lose confidence, procrastinate or have trouble staying motivated, the accountability of a mastermind will keep you moving in the right direction.  Participants brainstorm ideas, share resources, challenge each other to create and implement goals, give honest input and feedback and fresh perspective.

There is nothing like being in a circle of other entrepreneurs to create forward momentum so that you achieve your goals. That’s why Barbara Winter and I are offering an opportunity for a select group of creative entrepreneurs to join us for a mastermind weekend in Las Vegas. You’ll bring your dream to the circle and get the benefit of our combined 7 decades of self-employment plus the feedback and ongoing support of your tribe. You’ll arrive with questions and leave with answers.  HERE’S THE SCOOP.

Yes, I do listen to the news. I know people are losing jobs and retailers are shutting their doors. And I also know that most of my self employed friends with small businesses are  reporting record breaking sales. Because when you’re self employed, you create your own economy. When something isn’t working , you can make changes quickly without the bureaucracy of a board of directors. On the corporate level, by the time reports are generated and changes approved, it is frequently too late. Too much has been lost. Not so in small business. Results are evident almost immediately so adjustments and corrections are made quickly. . In your own business, it’s much easier to tweak things and keep the cash flowing.

Let’s say you work for a large company and they lose their bread and butter account. You were the brainchild behind the product, and while it was making everyone wealthy, you were a hero. You head up the department that handles that part of the business. The CEO calls a meeting of the board and after lengthy discussions on how this will affect the balance sheet, it is determined that they will cut out your division. They’re sorry, but they have to let you go.

Now, let’s take the self employment scenario. You are a jewelry designer and your line was picked up by a major retail chain. Rather than rent a large studio and hire employees to help you with production, you enlisted the help of some stay-at-home moms to help with the orders. They are paid by the piece and happy for the extra cash. It’s worked out beautifully. Now, that retailer has cut back on the volume they’re ordering and fortunately for you, there’s no lease or payroll to meet and rather than you losing your job, YOU get to choose how to restructure and who gets to stay on. You have the option of doing more of the work yourself and focusing on the numerous other markets for your business. It isn’t likely you’d have this option if you worked for someone else. .

If you are still employed,  Im not suggesting you quit your job tomorrow. But, don’t believe you are indispensable. And don’t lose sleep worrying about what you will do if (when) you lose your job , You’ll be in good shape if you START NOW to plan your safety net.

WHY is right now the best time to start a craft business?

Because if you begin now to build a part time business you’ll bring in extra money and build some savings incase you are laid off. And if you don’t become a “labor statistic tragedy’ you’ll have the option to leave your job eventually if you choose to be a full time entrepreneur.

Right now you have a huge pool of talent to pull from for any subcontract work for your cottage industry-and that IS absolutely the way to go. You can design your line and have people who are out of work help with the production while you continue your day job.

Suppliers are giving better deals right now on materials and lowering their minimums, so you will be able to purchase at prices that were previously reserved for large businesses.

If renting space for a studio, office or retail gallery is pat of the plan, commercial property owners are much more flexible on price and terms of lease because they have high vacancy rates.

Regardless of the economy, people are still buying gifts but they are more conscious than ever of choosing something special that they don’t see everywhere. Consumers are spending wisely and that means a gift or purchase for the home must have meaning .

People, particularly women, still love to shop and now more than ever,  they want it to be an experience. They crave items that make them feel better or connect them to humanity.  Consumers want to know that hands, rather than machines, have created the products they purchase.

While many of us have been conscious of purchasing domestic products, the general public is more aware now of the need to support American made.

So now that you see why a recession is the perfect time to start your craft business, what steps can you take now to begin building your own job security?    I’d love to hear your ideas and help you create a company that will always have a position for YOU?

You’ll be amazed how much less anxiety you’ll feel when you know that YOU are in control of your own financial security.

The February 2009 Women’s Economic Business study is based on an U.S. (85%) and Canadian (15%) representative sample of 3,964 women business owners, entrepreneurs and professionals of companies with fewer than 100 employees. This was an online survey that represents over 600 different business categories in North America. The survey was conducted from February 16 – 24, 2009 by eWomenNetwork, Inc., an organization recognized as one of the premier women’s business networks with more than 500,000 businesswomen connected to the network in 113 chapters across North America. The article states that when asked how businesswomen are feeling about the current economic situation, 72.5% replied that they are “charging ahead and keeping a positive outlook and 73.8% of the women surveyed felt this isa good time to grow their businesses. These are highly successful women who didn’t get where they are by being “Pollyanas.” This isn’t about denial. It IS about staying positive and focussed and flexible.

I’ve found the same attitude among my self-employed friends. Many are not just surviving but are thriving. Yes, in a time when people are losing their jobs and homes, small business owners are having to get more creative. I think of an economic downturn as a colander in which the complacent will slip through the holes and those who embrace change and re-align rise to the top.

Now, I’m not saying this is strictly a female entrepreneur attitude. I have met men in some of the hardest hit segments who are facing on the challenge head-on. While the construction of new homes is down, some ambitious contractors can do very well by marketing themselves as re-model experts, and while many realtors have thrown in the towel because they have to work so much harder to make a sale, those who are willing to do the work can connect with prospective buyers who weren’t willing to pay inflated prices and present them with a portfolio of “great deals” right now. Even with the mortgage industry in such a mess, a broker who’s willing to work harder can have a hay day with refinance now that rates are low. I believe in any small business, it comes down to observing the problems and finding creative solutions that people will pay you for. 

According to Sandra Yancey, ” Now is the time to re-tool, re-think, re-design and re-align your business.”

Taking advantage of the lower interest rates, I  am refinancing my home.  Although  being self employed has never kept me from qualifying for mortgages, I am aware that in the current market, “stated income” is a thing of the past. Despite my excellent FICO score and significant equity, I held my breath after answering that I am an entrepreneur.  Rather than the self employment bias I expected, the young woman taking my phone application, on hearing what I do for a living was so enthusiastic. She started telling me how she always wanted to start her own business and her supportive husband kept telling her to go for it, but the time just never seemed right. She was afraid to give up the security of her job -particularly in this economy! I had to laugh. Can you imagine how hard it was for me not to remind her that her industry was the catalyst for the present economic problems and that she probably had the least secure job of all. I wanted so much to rescue this woman from her JOB and show her all the ways she could make a living doing what she loves, but,  keeping in mind the reason for our call, I brought her back to the topic of approving my “Fast Track” refi. 

After we hung up, I just couldn’t get this woman off my mind. I find it so sad that someone will stay in an unsatisfying job when the economy is good because they don’t want to give up the money, and when things are slow, they are afraid to start something new. 

The truth is, right now is the best time to begin taking the steps to financial freedom that having your own business provides. I hear all my corporate friends worrying about layoffs-but they say they don’t want to leave the “security” of a job. How can they feel “safe” in a position that could be eliminated anytime?  In all my years of self employment, it never occurred to me that I might be found to be ”redundant”. I never worried that if the economy slows down, I would have no income. On the contrary,  I had a boss who had my best interest in mind and whose goal was to keep me “employed.” As an entrepreneur, I have ridden a number of downturns in the economy and felt secure n the knowledge that I had control of my own income. I had the freedom to tailor the business and change with the times to keep myself and my family fed, clothed and sheltered regardless of the state of the economy. 

If you are thinking now is too risky a time to start your own business, consider the risk you are taking by putting your livelihood in someone else’s control. Now is actually the smartest time to be planning your escape. IT’s not frivolous -it’s practical to have your back up plan in place. Most successful businesses start small and many entrepreneurs begin building their business while they are still employed. If you start now, you will at least have a plan in place if you are found to be “superfluous”. Should your job prove to be one that weathers this economic downturn, you will still be ready with your dream plan when you choose to pursue your passion full time. Give yourself the gift of job security. Start thinking about what you love to do and who needs what it is you have to give.  The only truly secure job is the one you create and there is only one boss to whom you are #1. YOU!

Frequently, the mega stores get into trouble because of rapid growth and an overextending of resources. This is the perfect opportunity for a small startup to build slowly and strategically, and this not only true for retail but a boutique service business in almost any sector can take advantage of this opportunity to jump in and gain market share.  It was hours after my coffee-neighbor left with his paper before I was able to search for the article, which gave me plenty of time to appreciate the uncharacteristically optimistic journalism.   How hopeful ,this headline  “Recessions Create Openings.”  When I finally got my hands on the newspaper,I couldn’t find the article in the business section. Tossing the sports section aside (yes, I’m one of those) I spotted the headline. The article was referring to Nascar teams cutting spending and I don’t really know, or honestly care,  how that would make openings for new Nascar teams. I don’t even understand what all the fuss is about Nascar. But what I do know is that snooping to read the paper over a strangers’ shoulder confirmed my belief that small business can not only survive but thrive in this tough economy, even if that wasn’t what the article was about.