Do You Like Yourself Well Enough to Succeed?
So, do you like yourself well enough to succeed? I was asking myself this as I drove to work this morning. I’d started off thinking, "How much do you have to like yourself to succeed?" And, of course, I was thinking about what it takes to start a home business, in this case a solely Internet based business. It seems to me that before you even start thinking about business planning, if you need to ask yourself at least once if you like yourself enough to succeed–to stick it out through the teething of starting your own home business.
And yes, up above I mentioned that I was driving to work, because I do work. The truth is, there are some conveniences to keeping the day job. For one thing, inspite of the aggravations, I do like many of the people I work with. And second, more practically, it solves the health insurance problem. I also work in an area that I know quite a bit about, and that also has some advantages. Now, having said that, there I was driving to work on a day that I really did not want to be going to work. And that conflict is what many of us–you and I–bump up against. In having the "job," we lose certain choices. Or rather, the choice to have a job entails certain consequences and obligations that restrict other choices.
I know many, me included, may sometimes say that having a job isn’t a choice, but to my way of thinking, no matter how coerced I may feel by necessity, nevertheless, at some point I do choose. It is a hard pill to swallow, having to accept responsibility for what we often seem to have no control over.
Choosing to start your own home business is not the same choice to quit your day job. I suspect that many reading this are motivated to think about starting an Internet business as a replacement of their day job, but that doesn’t have to be the case. What motivates you to want to quit your day job? Bad pay? Lousy boss? Dull and repetitive? At odds with your personality? You want more money? A bigger game? More responsibility? Just what is it that makes you want to fire your boss?
Are you successful at what you do? I’m making a guess here that people who are generally successful, or at least good at what they do are probably more confident and more likely to like themselves enough to allow themselves the chance to succeed. Let me ask you this, "Do you feel too big for your job?" In that case, perhaps it is time for a change. The question is, then, do you have an exit strategy?
Hmm, exit strategies . . . . I do not recommend burning bridges, if possible. I say that because I, personally, am a bridge burner. I’ve tried to change over the years, and I think I’m better about this, but there is a part of me that wants to do Sherman’s march to the sea when I leave a job. We bridge burners do not always do the best exit planning. So, a word a caution, before you dynamite the "bridge", have something waiting for you on the other side.
How Do I Get a Tax Identification Number?
Burning question for those wanting to make money online by starging their own Internet home-based business.
How do I get a tax identification number? The answer is short and sweet. After you read the answer, please pay attention as I explain why this may not be necessary for you.
Here it is. The SBA (Small Business Association) says,
For a Federal Tax ID number, please contact the Internal Revenue Service for Form SS4. This Form is available through their web site at http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fss4.pdf. You may call the IRS at 1-800-829-1040 and ask for the Small Business Tax Kit #454.
Tax information for starting a business can be found by going to http://www.irs.gov/businesses/index.html. You will need to contact the Department of Revenue for state taxes (if any). Please consult your local telephone directory in the "State Government" section for the office in your state.
That last line about consulting your own Department of Revenue is pretty important if you are going to need a sale tax permit. I won’t go into this right now, but getting such a permit is free and generally very easy. In many cases, such as in my State, Iowa, you can get it online and be up and running in 15 minutes.
Why you may not need a Tax ID number. Generally speaking, a small home business that does not have employees will not need a Federal Tax ID. A sole proprietorship generally does not need an EIN, or Employer Identification Number. If you are going to incorporate, you may need an EIN, or Federal Tax ID. Most of us, operating as single or two person home, Internet businesses, will not need an EIN to start with.
Also, do not automatically buy the general advice about incorporating as an LLC. Although there is no harm in doing so, it may simply not be necessary. Just about all of the business advice I see out there for Internet marketers tells you to incorporate. Talk your plans over with an business attorney to figure out the best course of action for you. Starting a business, especially your own home Internet business, is not a case of one size fits all. Every situation is a little bit different. Please don’t let the self confessed Internet pundits tell you otherwise.
Help Me Get Rid of My Job!
Is having a job really such a good idea? I am of such a perverse turn of mind, that I have never liked the idea of having a job. I have had many jobs and truth be told, I have a job now in addition to my online income. But I am never easy with the idea of employment and the bigger the employer, the less easy I am with the whole idea.
One of the jobs I did, in fact, truly love was when, many years ago, I worked as deckhand on a commercial fishing vessel. This was a 54 foot single ended bottom fisher working out of Newport, Oregon. Those of you from Oregon familiar with this part of the coast line may have an idea of just how long a go this was. Anyway, it was just the skipper and me and maybe another deckhand or two, and we were the kings of the ocean when we were on the water. Loved the job. We owed no one. We were free and independant.
The other day, I ran across a 2006 blog post from Steve Pavlina titled, "Ten Reasons You Should Never Get a Job." I'm writing about this because I think it is very relevant for anyone seeking greater business/financial/job independance. Basically, Steve breaks it As the title makes clear, Steve has 10 main reasons for not getting a job, and here are some of the highlights:
Income for Dummies Why is getting a job so dumb? Because you only get paid when you’re working. Don’t you see a problem with that, or have you been so thoroughly brainwashed into thinking it’s reasonable and intelligent to only earn income when you’re working? Have you never considered that it might be better to be paid even when you’re not working?
Limited experience The problem with getting experience from a job is that you usually just repeat the same limited experience over and over. You learn a lot in the beginning and then stagnate. This forces you to miss other experiences that would be much more valuable.
Too many mouths to feed Employee income is the most heavily taxed there is. In the USA you can expect that about half your salary will go to taxes. The tax system is designed to disguise how much you’re really giving up because some of those taxes are paid by your employer, and some are deducted from your paycheck. But you can bet that from your employer’s perspective, all of those taxes are considered part of your pay, as well as any other compensation you receive such as benefits.
Way too risky Many employees believe getting a job is the safest and most secure way to support themselves.
I think you get the idea. Steve's ninth reason is truest for me: "Loss of freedom." To some degree, we spend much of our lives and education beging trained to accept the loss of freedom that comes with most employment. Steve's article may very well be a classic of blogging, and I enourage you to check out, "Ten Reasons You Should Never Get a Job."
If any of this resonates as true, if you feel a little bit of tug at your guts, don't give up. If you have any dream at all of working for yourself, don't give up. Keep at it, step by step. Just keep going.
Online Business Opportunity v.s. Online Jobs
The number of Internet searches related to "online jobs," "work at home jobs," and "work at home Internet jobs" is staggering. I mean, this is a very popular search request, and I suspect there is a certain amount of desparation driving what might be considered a frenzy of interest. The phrase, "online job" gets 450,000 local searches on the Google external keyword tool.
When you examine what people are searching for in the way of jobs, you see a phenomenal number searches for data entry, typing, customer service, survey, envelope stuffing, transcription, and the like. Survey and envelope stuffing "job" are generally scams, and these days "data entry" has been co-opted and corrupted to mean buying into a course that teaches pay per click advertising, such as Google Adwords. Probably the most common legitimate online job areas are customer service, transcription, medical billing, and virtual clerical/assistant work.
My impression of the interest frenzy in online jobs is that the job searchers see themselves as relatively unskilled and are looking to the Internet for low to medium wage employment. Stay at home mothers and senior citizens make up much of the group searching for such jobs.
I did a quick search on Yahoo Answers and found a really good answer to a question asking about the top ten work at home Internet jobs. Here is an excerpt from one respondant:
Ok, when you say you are looking for a work at home job, what are you really meaning? Are you looking to telecommute for a company that will pay you for data entry, etc?
Or do you mean that you are looking for an online business opportunity? Meaning that you promote products online and make a commission on sales?
Just to make something clear, the paid to read email or paid to take surveys programs are not anything that you will be able to make any money with. You will be lucky to be able to cover the cost of your internet access with those. Trust me, I did those back in 1997 and it is not the same today.
If you are looking for a legitimate home based business opportunity, there are many companies that you can join. Many are the typical home party type companies like Tupperware, Mary Kay, Candles, etc. With these types of opportunities you are required to purchase a kit. You are also responsible for advertising your business and getting leads and customers. Many of these types of companies allow you to run your business online exclusively.
The reason I like this reply is because the writer spells out the difference between online telecommuting, business opportunity, and quasi scams such as surveys, email reading, and data entry. Actually, data entry–if you are talking about a salaried telecommuting job may be legitimate. However, more and more often I see PPC scams being advertised as "data entry" in order to fool people into thinking they are "buying" into a legitimate job.
This site is really about business opportunity. Because many of the people coming to Simpleocity are coming from an Internet marketing context, I will be discussing much of what by now may be considered a sort of standard repetoire of Internet marketing. In other words, affiliate marketing, ecommerce, EBay, selling information products, blogging, site flipping, free lancing, article marketing, and so forth.
However, when you and I talk about online jobs from the perspective of creating our own business, then really there is no limit to the end of possibilities. Generally speaking, online business–just as any business anywhere–breaks down into two categories, goods and services. So one question is what are you offering–goods, services, or both? Wherever you can identify a niche demand, you have a potential business, whether it be web design, a lawn vacuuming service, dog walking, pinball machine repair, or anything else. I mean, the field is wide open.
I’ll say it again, the field is wide open. I repeat this because I know a lot of people who see this are skipping around Internet marketing sites, and the discussion in Internet marketing it tightly manipulated by very successful, very clever marketers. And in IM, the talk is all about Google Adwords, article marketing, and niche affiliate sites, and blog flipping. Before you know it, you might find yourself thinking that there is nothing else. Well, those are all fine money makers if you take the time to really learn the skills, but they are just a tiny part of the potential for online home business.
The Internet is a great tool and does change the landscape a bit. Because affiliate marketing, article marketing, eommerce, and blogging are areas I know something about, I’ll spend time with them and provide resources to learn about them in greater depth. These are area where virtually anyone can get a toe hold. However, as I mentioned above, the spectrum of possibility when it comes to home Internet business is mind boggling, and I caution you to not let yourself be manipulated into thinking that affiliate marketing, for example, is all there is to business opportunity.
All for now. Thank you for reading. There is more on the way . . .
Update on Writing Your Business Plan
No matter if you are running a tiny, one person, closet-based Internet home business, you can still benefit from writing a business plan. In fact, having a business plan (at least of some sort) is generally considered essential to long term success.
I wanted to mention that I’ve uploaded a series of articles explaining the parts of a business plan and why the individual sections are important.
The business plan is generally something you write with the idea of presenting it to financial advisors and prospective funding sources to outline the business and its factors for success.
However, there is another reason for writing a business plan. The business plan is an excellent analytical tool. Whether you have already started your business or are still in the thinking stages, a business plan will force you to think and analyze it in detailed, crystal clear clarity.
If the whole idea of a business plan sounds too intimidating, no problem. Just start setting up your business and get on with making money online. Business, after all, is action. Writing a business plan should not be something that bogs you down. Just start putting the plan as it exists in your head into action. Over time, you will begin thinking of your project in terms of a business and writing a business plan will begin to make more sense and no longer be so intimidating.
Update and Stumbling Onward
This blog really is about starting your own home business online and developing its profitability. However, I’ve been sidetracked thinking about motivational issues that might underly your/my business success. And I’ve also been trying to put together some software but ran into a few snags that I’ll have to unbug.
One of the things I want to do is offer a number really simple, easy to use applications to help with various aspects of business organization. I was working on a scheduling program but ran into problems with the installation. Anyway, I want to make these so inexpensive that they’ll cost little more than pocket change.
I have some great video course material that I need to upload on how to use the Internet to make money, and I also want to get the small business basics series of articles up. And then, of course, there is the programming problem. Anyway, my point is that I have to go step by step, persist, and not be distracted from immediate goal. Reaching the long term goal/s depends on meeting the more immediate short term goals.
Ok, so that has the ring of platitude. Still, identifying short term goals and meeting them does help chart the course toward your primary target, and as you and I recognize the completion of the smaller goals, we are able to mark our progress along the way.
I thnk one of the big obstacles for single person setting up his or her own business, whether online or off, is staying motivated and not getting discouraged. It is one thing if you have an MBA and funding sources and quite another if you are somewhat in the dark about business practice and trying to start your business by pulling yourself up by your own bootstraps, as it were.
Getting Rich–Are We Missing the Point?
I was thinking about all the money talk in my last post, and that started me thinking about what we all think about when we think about starting our very own online home business and making money online. To wit, getting rich. So, is getting rich the end point? And, what is "rich," anyway? My notion of rich is probably different from your idea of rich, and your definition is probably different than the next guy’s. How much money does it take to be rich, and then when you reach that point, is the game over? If so, what next?
I’m asking you. I don’t know that I have an answer. I know–without defining "rich" or trying to quantify "rich,"–that I want to be rich. So, without ever having been rich, I’m assuming that being rich is good. The point of being rich, in the context of this blog, is to allow you (me) to be free, or more free. So, I see "rich" moving me from some less desirable condition to a more desirable condition. And to me, the point of being in the more desirable condition is to enhance my choices for doing.
If I follow my thinking, if such a thing is possible, the point of being rich or attaining "rich," is really a sort of transition to occur. Or another way of putting it could be that being rich enables expanded options for "doing" or for action. Sort of like a battery needing so much charge before it can "do" anything.
In my last post I said that I associated freedom with an intangible sense of infinite space. If getting rich were to be the end point, then to me that would have to be diametrically opposed to freedom. I mean, the game would be over, and then what do you do, die? Getting rich has to be intimately connected with enhancing the value of our lives, but I don’t see that from just being rich that it automatically follows that my life will be enhanced and have greater value.
Swerving from the subject line just little bit, when I started this post, I was really thinking about self-esteem and what relationship, if any, exists between self-esteem and being rich. How much self-esteem do you need to be rich? Are those of us who have high self-esteem more likely to be rich than our low self-esteem friends? Is self love–and I don’t mean vanity–more of an indicator of success than self loathing? You tell me. Personally, I think self-esteem and confidence are highly correlated, and I suspect there is at least a soupcon of correlation between self-confidence and success.
I think that we have to have a certain measure of self-respect, self-esteem, and confidence to have a greater chance of undertaking a bold, new venture such as starting a home business and turning it into a successful online income. So what do we do to reach that measure of self-love that allows us to see and act on new possibilities?
Your Own Business v.s. Getting the Business
I want to say a few words about my idea for this blog, which really concerns starting your own internet home business. The key words are really, "home business," and the operative action phrase is, "start your own home business." Part of the point is to develope a successful online business so that you actually make money online reliably and predictably.
So, you see that the people I see myself writing for are really the people who do not want a job, per se, or who may not want to be dependent on a job. Some of you may have jobs you love that pay bundles of money, but many of you may see yourselves as a sort of wage slave. You might even view having a job as an undesirable condition, a sort of vice, as it were. Personally, I fall into that category. Unless the "job" is also a calling that you love, I think there has just got to be a better way.
Right now, there is a huge amount of Internet search devoted to finding jobs online. Many people are searching seeking employment that will allow them to work at home. In a sense, they are seeking to replicate their day job at home. Admittedly, there can be many advantages to staying at home, but the problem, at least for me, is that you are still working for someone else and filing W2s. In many cases these work-at-home jobs are barely above minimum wage, and so for me, I’m also back at square one.
If you are one of those seeking an online job you can do at home, more power to you. I wish you the best, but I’m not sure that this blog is really what you are looking for as the basic intent is concerned with moving away from employment. However, having said that, I know that I’ve come across information concerning online "job" jobs, and so now that I’ve written this, maybe I’ll put it up. It may be of use.
One of the pitfalls of publishing a blog discussing starting a home based Internet business or about making money online it being flagged as an Internet marketing site. Well, maybe that’s not such a bad thing, but Internet marketing is so often so far over the top about making money online that all perspective and rationality is lost in the feeding frenzy over getting rich quick. And that, of course, has nothing to do with business. And it’s busines–or blind luck–that makes you rich. If you can do it quickly, then I say "yeehaw!" And it is business, by the way, that seems to get lost or go missing completely in Internet marketing.
My beef with jobs is the existential "huit clos" or no exit. When I talk about starting an Internet business, I’m thinking of the single mom, or single dad, or the single couple unit–even college students in need of more money than a part time minimum wage brings. I’m not thinking about the MBAs who pull down a million bucks in venture capital or someone who gets $500,000 in start up money from a vulture capital investor. I think we can get there. However, we’ll need to turn a deaf ear to hype and understand that without business basics, we’ll be sure to get the "busieness" in the end.