Don’t Decide on a Business In Desperation

You know I love sharing my business flops and fumbles with you and today is no exception.

In my six plus years online I’ve chosen a number of businesses strictly in desperation. It was the mindset of: “I want success now. Why do I have to wait? Look at all the money these people are making. I’ve worked so hard why can’t it just happen now, Now, NOW, NOW, NOW!”

So, I’d hop from one business to the next desperately waiting for my internet marketing cash ship to come in.

BUZZ. NO. ERROR.

Wrong way to decide on a home business!

My desperation came from the pressure I felt to be successful and the disappointment in just not being there yet. To me, success was making a certain amount of money. Now, I’ve learned a lot over the years and I know without a doubt that chasing money is about the best way to never get any!

When you decide on a home business based solely on desperation and dreams of big paydays it’s bound to fail. The mindset you need for business can’t be based on how big your business will be and how much money you will make.

Business is tough, and you’ve got to really love what you do in order to stick it out for the long haul!

That’s why I jumped around from business to business. I was so focused on what kind of a return the business could bring that I never took the time to figure out what I really wanted, what kind of lifestyle I could create from each business that I chose?

So, How Do You Decide What Kind of Business to Start?

Here are some of my best tips, learned from experience, on how to choose a business that you’ll stick with long term:

1. Find Out WHO You Are

During the summer I took a lot of personal development courses. Courses where I found out so much more about who I am than I ever understood before. Now I know how much I thrive on change and how important new challenges to conquer are to me. I also know that I LOVE meeting and getting to know new people and I HATE repetition.

Think that puts me in a much better position to choose a business that’s just perfect for ME? You bet it does!

If you’ve never taken time to work on YOU, I highly, highly recommend you get to know yourself before you start looking for any business.

Where can you start? I suggest reading the book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey, a classic that I just re-read. I also plan on getting Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill for my next step.

Also, look locally to see if there are any self-development courses you can take. I took some courses for free from my local employment center.

2. Find Out What Is Out There

One of the biggest mistakes I made when I decided to start a home business was not doing any research. Time after time I just found something that sounded good and jumped right in (as my ‘challenge’ personality likes to do!).

Before you make a decision that will cost you thousands of dollars and hours do your research. A good place to start is Google. Also, Internet Based Moms has some great information if you’re a mom or even if you’re not. WAHMTalkRadio also features a lot of guests with different businesses you can find more about.

3. Lifestyle Your Business

When doing your research think about what kind of lifestyle each business will provide.

This is so important!

When I decided to start a home business selling RESP’s (Registered Education Savings Plans) I gave no though at all to the lifestyle it would involve. My mentor in that business taught me to go out to festivals and fairs to get leads and then visit the homes of those leads to make the sale. This was NOT the lifestyle I wanted with a 1 year old at home.

Think about what the business will physically require from you and if that suits your needs and desires. Always remember, it’s about building a business you can sustain long term and doing what you love!

I’ve chosen a lifestyle for myself that comes from the affiliate marketing model. It’s going to take time (and this time I’m willing to wait!) but my goal is to have passive income that builds over the years from my efforts.

What’s really exciting is to think about where I’ll be 10 years from now. I know that because I’ve finally chosen a business model and a lifestyle I really want that I’ll have built such a solid and profitable business in the next 10 years and that’s very motivating!

So think about this:
Does the business you’re currently in or want to start allow you to see 10 years into the future? Do you see where you’ll be and what you’ll have accomplished? Do you see you’ll still have more to do? If so, you’re in the right business! If not, if you just see a blank slate and can’t really imagine what your lifestyle will be like all those years away then you need to spend more time designing your business around the life you want.

Three people I greatly admire and follow for building a business around a lifestyle they want are Lynn Terry, Rosalind Gardner and Nicole Dean – all affiliate marketers with true business freedom.

There’s So Much To Do – Do What You Love!

I think in my desperation I got to the point where I didn’t believe I could do what I love.

Some of us (myself included) get so ingrained with ‘Go to school, get a good job, retire and then have fun’ that we have a hard time fighting the believe that “work SHOULDN’T BE FUN!”.

Fight that belief and know for a fact that your work CAN and SHOULD be fun! If it’s not, do something else.

One of the biggest things I’ve learned is to keep it simple. Don’t over-complicate things. You know the old adage, KISS – Keep It Simple Stupid. It works!