Self-Employment - Determination and Hard Work Pays Off

 Everyone at one time or another dreams of being able to work from home.  The freedom of being your own boss, working when you choose, and not having to worry about anyone else other than yourself.  If you were to type in "work from home" in any search engine, you will be bombarded by millions of work from home job opportunities.  Jobs that promise to make you millions over night while you are sleeping, or the jobs that ask you to enlist 20 people so that you can bank on the profits they will be making by enlisting 20 more people each.  You can also decide to stuff envelopes from home, for $5 per envelope stuffed, and while you are waiting for the starter kit to come in the mail you are thinking of people you can enlist to help you.  By having people helping, you can stuff more envelops, and the more envelops stuffed, the higher the profits.  It seems everyone and anyone these days are trying to sell you some kind of get rich quick job opportunity.  But in all reality if you read what I just wrote, you in turn are making them rich quick by purchasing their information-less job packet. 

Everyday thousands of unsuspecting people fall victim to the dream of working from home.  These people spend millions of hard earned dollars just to discover they have been ripped off by one clever and heartless person becoming rich off of them and countless others.   If it does not sound like work, then chances are it is a scam!!  I know from experience that it is easy to fall for their well written scams promising you a house on every coastline, with you brand new car that you own in every state.  But from my expensive mistakes I can help you to discover what it means to be self-employed, and how to work towards your goals.

 The reality of working from home is nothing close to the dream of working from home.  Because in reality you actually have to WORK to make money.  The amount of money you earn depends on the amount of time, commitment, and effort you put into your job.  If you worked for any company you would not expect to be paid for just sitting in your chair doing absolutely nothing, so why would you expect anything different working from home?  You must keep in mind that you will not become rich overnight, but you can steadily increase your income level.  The best way to have a successful income is to start off with small goals, and when each goal is met you should set yourself another slightly larger goal.  The determination you have to succeed will determine the success of your business.  You are every aspect of your business, so the success begins with you!

 Deciding what type of business opportunity is best for you should be handled the same way you would decide what type of company you would choose to work for.  For example:  if you weren't qualified to be a lawyer, you wouldn't apply at a law office.  So with that being said, you will need to ask yourself several questions.

1. What am I knowledgeable in?
2. What do I have experience with?
3. How much money do I have to get started?
4. Will I need employees?
5. What is the timeline of my goals?
6. How much time can I commit to my business?
7. What road blocks may I face?

You want to have a basic understanding of what you will need to accomplish to meet your first set of goals.  You want to pick an area that you know something about, you don't want to start something brand new that you have absolutely no experience in.  You need to make a written list of what your responsibilities will be, and the details required to take on those responsibilities.

X X X

XXX XXX XXX

XXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXX

Each "X" symbolizes a person, you start with 3, which leads to 9, which leads to 27

Everyday 3 people you meet and talk with can potentially grow into 27 or more customers and/or leads, and so on.

When journeying down the road of self-employment remember you are marketing yourself and the products and/or services you are selling.  You should follow a professional standard in the way you handle yourself and your business.  First impressions mean everything, and every person you meet is a potential customer/client, and/or a potential lead for a customer/client.  If you are careless in the way you handle yourself at the same time you will be harming your business's success. 

You have to work hard to have a successful business.  You will need to build a vast network, by doing this you will have more support and more opportunities to generate a suitable income.  You will need to talk to people everyday in the efforts of building a solid networking system.  The power of three is a very good rule to follow.  The power of three means that your goal is to talk to at least 3 people everyday.  Also, you should get at least 3 referrals from each new customer/client you serve.  This will help you in marketing yourself and what you offering or selling.

Treat each customer with outstanding customer service.  Word of mouth is the fastest and most influential form of advertising.  If someone had an excellent experience they will tell their friends and family, if they had a horrific experience they will tell everyone!!! No matter how well you are doing on the business end of things, if you do not have the people skills and great customer service skills, it will not matter.  You need to have the whole package running smooth and professionally.  The more work and effort you but into your business, the more your business and hard work will provide for you financially.

You want to keep accurate records of all your expenses from the running of your business. Expenses can include supplies, sample products, business cards, phone charges (if used just for business purposes), advertising, etc. You also want to track all of the income coming in. The reason you want to keep accurate records is so that when tax time rolls around, you will be prepared to file your taxes on your self-employment. By not keeping accurate records you will be struggling to come up with the numbers, and could cost yourself a lot of money paying someone to assist you.

The records you keep will also allow you to track the success of your business. You will be able to see if you are profiting at the end of each month or not. If you are not making a profit don't panic, just reevaluate your income sources and expenses, and make changes where needed. The sign of a profit, even if it is a small profit, is a sign that you are on the right track. You need to keep doing as you are, and just work harder to gain the bigger profits.

 Success doesn't happen overnight, and you will not become rich overnight.  But if you are determined to meet your goals and gain success you can and you will.  Remain positive, and realize that setbacks do happen, when the setbacks occur push forward and work through them.  When you begin passing your goals and begin setting higher goals you will know you are on the road to success!!!  The more work you put in, the quicker you will see a profit.