Made Moon Blog

Many people decide to start their own business because they think it is a great alternative to having to work for someone else. Some even think it is the next step in the evolution for one to go from rags to riches. However, some people think that engaging in such is a piece of pie. There are many myths that go roundabout, deceiving people into starting their business with unreasonable expectations.

The result? Closed businesses and frustrated entrepreneurs.

Before you jump into small business entrepreneurship, consider first the following myths which we will debunk.

1. Starting a Small Business is Easier Work

This isnt true. You’ll probably work harder. A small business needs more work to survive. However, the potential to earn is more. The difference is, at work you would balk at overtime. With your small business, you may actually enjoy working overtime because you are caring for your own business.

2. MYTH: I’ll be the boss. You may be the boss of your company. But you will still have to please someone else: the client. So in truth, they are the boss. Make sure you keep them happy and well served.

3. MYTH: I Can Now Ratchet Up My Asking Price

We often think that we work too much and are paid too little. When starting a small business we may be tempted to think that we can now push for a price more befitting our skills. However, we should remember that we have competition who might be offering their services for a pretty low amount. We always have to be competitive and practical. And exorbitant pricing may not help our small business any much.

4. MYTH: I Dont Have to Deal with People I Dont Like Anymore!

Unfortunately, no. You might find that the clients you now have may be pushier than your boss. And as we said in number 1, your clients are your boss. The goal here is for you to have more and more clients. So from here does it follow that the more the clients, the more the bosses, the more the headaches?

5. MYTH: I Own My Time!

Yes, you do own your time. Unfortunately you will find yourself using more and more of this time to tend to your business. So ultimately, no, you wont gain much in the time department.

6. MYTH: I can’t work any harder. I can’t do all this.

Do you know that they most managers give more jobs to busy employees because they seem to know how to balance and allocate their time? The key to working more is to work smarter, not harder.

This will take a lot of organization, but being able to accomplish much in less time will prove to be its own reward.

7. MYTH: Freedom at Last!

Free from what? And free to do what. Yes, you will have more leeway to do things when you want to. But this does not mean that you will be free to do nothing. Or be free to do something else than tend to your business when you have to.

8. MYTH: Im in Charge. Therell be No Mismanagement from Me.

You may think that your boss was foolish not to listen to your suggestions regarding work. But unless you are on the hot seat, you will not appreciate how hard management really is.

9. MYTH: If I’m good, I’ll be a success immediately. The unfortunate reality of life is that sometimes, talent and hard work are not rewarded. However, if one is patient with his or her small business, the chance that that business will turn out to be a success increases. So always be practical in your expectations of success. Dont count your chicks when the eggs havent hatched yet.

10. MYTH: I Can Motivate Myself

No man is an island, remember? In any business, your first line of security is your friends and family members. They will help you assess yourself and should be ready with a kind word or two to motivate you to start your own business. But aside from them you should be driven yourself. Without this drive you might not find the fortitude needed to weather the trials that beset starting businesses.

The most important part of setting up an online work at home business is obtaining customers and getting work. Customers generally want to hire an expert, so you need to market yourself and your online work at home business as being the best. You need to establish a worthy reputation for your business.

First of all, publish a book or write some articles regarding your field of knowledge. The Internet has made it possible for everyone to publish his or her own articles through ezines or you can distribute an ebook. Internet newsletters are another way of showing you are knowledgeable in your area. Once you create an online newsletter, you can send the link to potential and existing customers. An ongoing newsletter is a good way to keep your name in front of your customers and show your authority in your field. Press releases that end up being published can also show your authority in your business field. Send out press releases regarding your work at home business.

Creating a website to promote your work at home online business is a cheap investment to showcase your talents. Updating your site regularly with good information will keep your customers coming back. Hire a work at home freelance web designer if you are not familiar with building and maintaining websites.

Become a member of an association in your business field. Associations are great places to network and make new contacts and can also add credibility for your online work at home business. Associations are useful for keeping informed about industry news. Being active in industry associations will put your name in front of many potential clients.

Volunteer for public speaking events even if it’s just for a local group. Speaking in front of audiences is a great way to build your online work at home business. Likewise, teaching workshops or seminars can build your reputation as an authority on your subject area and also help you make new contacts. Potential customers will feel connected to you after hearing you speak at an event or at a workshop. These people might refer you to other potential clients as well.

Finally, online forums are another place to show your area of expertise. Answering questions about your business area can drum up customers for your online work at home business. Building a strong reputation will help build your website traffic and develop your online work at home business.

The question every small business owner should ask … look at the total debt load and ROI, whether the industry as a whole is in a slump, whether there are too many partner or legal problems, whether future demand will materialize and so on and so forth. While these questions are certainly relevant, the most important question that a small or medium-sized business owner should ask him/herself is:

“How else can I make a living and would I like it?”

Yes, the advantages of being a corporate employee are great. Easy work, fewer hours, no stress, more security and all for more money than your struggling business (for now) can provide. But do you really want to go back to that?

My grandfather was an architect who built boring glass boxes in overcrowded and polluted cities for obnoxious, cheap and arrogant millionaire and billionaire bosses and clients. My grandfather was also a poet who loved to write short, life-affirming sayings that raised the soul and redeemed the human spirit.

He was on his way to making large amounts of money building these glass boxes, until one day he could no longer handle it another minute, so he stood up in a meeting while the billionaires were bickering, declared that he was quitting, packed up his office and drove home to my grandmother and their two young children.

The conversation at home went something like this:

“What the heck were you thinking?”

“I cant go back Alice, I just cant. That world is slowly killing my soul by the minute. I want to breathe, I want to live, I want to smile and I want to laugh.”

“How are we going to afford the mortgage and the BMWs and the vacation home and the kids college funds and …”

“We will figure it out tomorrow.”

They figured it out. Grandpa turned his love for poetry into cute little life affirming sayings that he wrote in greeting cards and on the headings of agendas and in small self- published books that barely sold enough copies to pay for the paper they were printed on. In his best year, my grandfather made just enough money to barely creep over the poverty line.

Many years afterwards, seeing me stressed out over some inane thing or the other at the big corporation I worked for (in one of those big glass boxes), my grandfather said:

“Are they killing your soul Charlie? Are they taking away what makes your heart fly and your mind shine and your eyes sing?” (I told you Grandpa was a poet).

“I think they are, Grandpa.” I said, almost in tears.

“You will only be here for a short time, Charlie. Dont let anyone take away your joy for even one minute of your precious life.” (Once again, I told you Grandpa was a poet)

This brings me back to the topic of this article. Yes, Business owner, you should do all the analysis that you can to decide if you should keep your business alive. There are lots of services, ranging in price from free to millions of dollars, that will help you decide if there is a future for your business.

But in your analysis, when adding up the pluses and minuses and comparing financial and personal gains and losses, do one thing. Add the issue of “How else can I make a living and would I like it?” to the equation and give that topic an important score in your analysis.

Grandpa never regretted having less money for a much more fulfilling life. Nor did grandma once she realized how much happier the whole family was once they were living a less stressful and more simplified life in a healthy and scenic part of the country. One year after his decision, and in celebration, my grandparents burned their “___ Hours til the weekend” and “___ Days til retirement” gag calendars they had received when Grandpa had started his corporate career.

So dear reader, before you throw in the towel, I, the business consultant, and my grandfather, the lover of life, professionally advise you to make sure the towel remaining is better than the one you want to throw away.

About The Author

Charles McCaron is the founder and owner of My Guru Knows, a group of professional consultants for small to medium-sized businesses. Visit http://www.myguruknows.com for more information.

Do you ever find yourself looking for a great promotional idea? Or staring at a blank computer screen, trying to come up with just the right words for marketing copy? Do what savvy marketers do: Consult your idea box.

If you don’t have an idea box, start one today. The next time you see an ad that really seems to work, or you read copy that makes you sit up and take notice, put a copy in your idea box. The things you save don’t have to be related to your industry or for products or services that are similar to yours. They should simply be examples of great marketing.

Then, use your idea box as brain food. The next time you are stuck, pull out the idea box and review the items you have there. Your idea box may include books, sales letters, clever advertising specialties, print outs of Web sites or emails, and other materials.

The point is not to copy the items in your idea box, it is to use them as inspiration. See how they are constructed, what buttons they press, and how they present benefits, and learn from them. Use bits and pieces of ideas from several to create something that is uniquely yours.

Don’t copy the words, and don’t duplicate what someone else has done, but do learn from what has worked for others.

Copyright Cathy Stucker. As the IdeaLady, Cathy Stucker helps authors, entrepreneurs and professionals attract customers and make themselves famous. To learn more about marketing and publicity and get free articles and tips, visit Cathy at http://www.IdeaLady.com/

With a hot summer in the air Matches is the finest retailer to see those great summer dresses. Of which there are tons of sensational clothing items this season as there are every other season. The very best things about purchasing from this fashionable boutique store is that the fashion company now have the sensational summer sale on. Hundreds of reduced sandals that are just dying for you to wear as part of this seasons sexiest items and can often give you the confidence to buy with the corporation again and again.

The designer company is still regarded as a small chain but this doesn’t mean anything. The fashion firm have celebrated over 17 years of sales and now has a number of numerous designer clothing retail shops situated in popular areas such as Notting Hill. Along with this the corporation recently enjoyed the launch of the chic website. Now you do not even need to live in trendy London to purchase the best dresses.

In fact it has been seen that since the start of the designer store’s website the store has let more and more shoppers to become aware of the designer organisation and the tremendous shirts the designer shop stock from brands such as Florian and Heidi Klien along with a myriad of others.

The fashion corporation philosophy has constantly been to dress girls and males in trends and clothes that suit their own style, to always give you the confidence to wear something more different but allow you to wear the designer clothes, not for the clothes to wear you.

Every season the highly fashionable workers at Matches buy what they believe are going to visit and be the key sandals of each season, this is a fashion talent that lots of clothing buyers lack but year after year the corporation keep coming up with best t shirts. Just like every other great season, we know 2008/2009 Autumn at the firm is going to be something to look out for. For Christian Louboutin hot off the catwalk visit Matches Fashion.

The world of business startups is rife with option. You can buy a franchise or set up your own business from scratch. Both have benefits and downfalls.

The world is rife with franchise opportunities. Many companies you use are probably franchises, from restaurants to cleaning services. A key benefit in buying into a franchise is that you essentially get a readymade business. When you buy into a franchise, many aspects of the business including marketing are taken care of off. There are many different franchises available. Some will give you the business name, equipment and everything you need for start up, others only give you the basics and you still have to buy or lease a location, purchase equipment and the inventory you will need.

The two main downsides of buying a franchise however are that There is little room for creativity on your part, and of course the initial outlay. Visit the Key Mergers website for more information or if you would like to f you would like to buy a business or even to sell one.

Building your very own company from the bottom up however means that you can grow the business organically over time, you can limit your initial outlay and you can be as creative with the direction of your business as you like. However, your model may not be tried and tested and you will likely have to develop your own support network from the ground up along with your business.

the reality is, the rational for choosing whether to buy a franchise or start a business from scratch are dependent on what your want to get out of the enterprise. There is no one size fits all advise.

Sooner or later, every business will need financing to grow. Most owners will try to qualify for venture capital or angel financing. Others will try to get a business loan or line of credit, since business loans are popular with business owners.

All these business financing tools work well, but they also have a very important trait in common. They are hard to get and out of reach for most owners.

There is an alternative way of financing your business growth. Financing that is easy to qualify for, quick to set up and very cost effective. Not only that, it’s financing that grows with your business. And most of the time, you won’t get it from your local bank. This form of financing is called invoice factoring and you can get it from a factoring company.

Factoring is different than a bank loan and it works well if your biggest problem is that you can’t wait the 30 to 60 days that commercial clients take to pay their invoices. Basically, invoice factoring cuts the payment time to two days.

Factoring is simple. The factoring company buys your invoices (at a small discount) and pays you for them immediately. Then, the factoring company waits to get paid by your client. The net result: you get immediate working capital to pay business expenses and grow. You also eliminate the stress of having to wait to get paid and can count on a predictable cash flow.

As a form of financing, factoring offers two very distinct advantages over bank loans. First, it’s very easy to qualify for. Your main requirement is that you do business with strong commercial clients (or the government). Second, factoring financing grows with your business. As your invoicing grows, so does your financing. This enables you to easily cover the increasing costs of running a business that is growing.

A similar type of financing that is also offered by factoring companies is purchase order financing. Purchase order financing provides you with financing based on your purchase orders from large commercial clients. Purchase order financing is ideal for re-sellers and distributors that are growing quickly.

Whether you need financing because your customers pay you in 60 days or because you have a large purchase order from your biggest client, a factoring company will be able to offer alternatives to traditional financing.

About Commercial Capital LLC

Looking to factor your invoices? We can provide you with a no obligation invoice factoring quote. Call Marco Terry at (866) 730 1922. Need more information? Go to our factoring financing information section.

I have a friend who is caught up in some serious ‘paralysis of analysis’ where her business life is concerned. I advised her to simply follow God’s peace and just get moving! She looked at me like I had suggested that she jump off a cliff. I could tell that she was literally frozen by her own fear of missing God.

Missing God is just not something that I’ve ever worried about. What do people mean when they say ‘I’m afraid of missing God?” anyways? It is as though they believe that God has set up a maze for them to figure out and if they go the wrong way - they’ve blown it and will be stuck in some dead end.

I don’t believe for a minute that God is like that.

God created you with unique talents and motivations. He put you together in a way that you would enjoy doing some things more than others. I believe that what you enjoy doing will give you a large clue about what you are called to do - whether that is in ministry, business or even a hobby.

We should be following our heart’s desire when it comes to choosing a business. It should fit us like a glove and cause us to stretch and grow in our skills and our personal relationship with God. (As a business grows, our reliance on God for every decision will grow too!)

My friend told me that she fears that she can’t tell what part of her desire is ‘just her’ and what part of it is ‘God’. I understand the fear of doing something in the flesh - but I don’t think that a spirit filled Christian who earnestly desires to please God needs to worry so much about splitting spiritual hairs over their interests and desires.

Is the desire good? Will it suit your giftings and lifestyle? Will it fit well with your family? Can you do it and bring honor to God? If you can answer yes to all that, it’s good!

Is the desire bad? Is there anything unethical or illegal about it? Will it cause you to abandon your family? Will it cause you to do things that will dishonor God? If you can answer no to all that, it’s good!

Descerning whether something is good or bad is not difficult! So why do we worry so much about whether a desire is ‘just from me’?

God gives us the desires of our heart. Think of that in two ways. Remember, God put you together - so in truth, He knew that the way He created you, you would have this creativity, this desire to stretch and grow and build. You could say that He put those desires in your heart from the beginning.

So when we feel those desires - and what we desire is good - we don’t have to worry that what we desire isn’t from God. I just accept that I am being drawn to the future that He has called me to.

That doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t bathe every decision in prayer. Yes - we do need to pray over every choice. We need to turn to God for guidance on everything - especially for timing. We all know what it is like to try to make something happen before God has ordained it - it’s frustrating!

Rather than getting lost is a cloud of confusion, just take your dreams and desires to God.

“Father God, I feel very drawn to start this business (develop this partnership, release this new product, launch this new service, etc). I don’t want to do anything outside of your will and timing. If I’m missing something, if this is a bad move for me - please close every door. I just lift my ideas up to you and ask you to give me a sense of peace when and if it’s time to move ahead. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”

Such a simple prayer! You don’t have to stop the prayer there though… snuggle up in a comfortable spot and just share your dreams and visions with God. Tell Him what you would do, where you would do it. who you would do it with. Just poor it all out and then take time to listen. He will give you feedback! You’ll find that your vision will sharpen in these times - and you’ll just know what does and doesn’t belong.

Once you’ve shared your vision with God - just follow peace.

Any area of confusion or frustration should be taken as a sign that it isn’t the right timing, person, place or situation for you to move ahead with. Where there is peace - pursue it! Anytime you’re just not sure - wait for that peace.

If you trust God and keep taking your vision back to Him in prayer - you won’t get caught up in anymore paralysis of analysis. You’ll be moving toward God’s best for you - He promised!

“For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jer 29:11 (NIV)

Kelly McCausey is the host of Work at Home Moms Internet Talk Radio - http://www.wahmtalkradio.com and Moderator of the Christian Business Women’s Network on Ryze.