When is the best time to start a business?

This is the second in a series about what might be holding you back from starting your own business.

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 Read more

Find your Life Purpose or Calling in Your Life Theme?

Recently, I’ve been thinking a lot about life purpose and calling.  I have a birthday this month and for obvious reason, birthdays trigger the “ am I doing enough with my life”  syndrome.

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?

Workshops, Conferences, Expos, Oh My

Today’s post is by guest blogger Sandy Dempsey of .thedreamingcafe.com

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.)

How Well Do you Really Know Yourself?

I apologize for being so quiet recently and will explain in a future email. Much has been happening in my personal and business life and one tool that’s been an enormous help to me through this transition is journaling. I’ve been journaling for years but a few months ago, I took an online “Journaling for Self Discovery” workshop with my good friend Sandy Dempsey, founder of the Dreaming Café. The 4-week workshop. gave me fresh new insight into who I am and what really matters now. So, I’ve invited Sandy to write a guest post today and I want to encourage you to take advantage of the great deal she’s offering on the last workshop of 2009. Even if you’ve been journaling for years, you’ll gain valuable insight into your life purpose through this guided journaling process.
Thank you for the generous opportunity to tell your readers about The Dreaming Café’s 4-week online Journaling for Self-Discovery workshop.

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