Business Ideas

My Job is Making Me Depressed – Why You Should Start a Part-Time Business ASAP!

by Eartha on August 17, 2010

Depressed
photo credit: Olly Farrell

When I had originally written this post, I simply posted an old article I had previously posted on another article directory. In all honesty, it was just a post glorifying the benefits of network marketing with a link to the company I am a part of. However, since people are actually typing in "my job is making me depressed" and landing on this article, I decided to actually make it useful and not a shameless plug for the network marketing company I am a part of.

After some time in mlm, my viewpoint has changed and after reading The Millionaire Fastlane by M.J. DeMarco, I no longer want to place all of my efforts into recruiting people. I'd rather focus my efforts in a business of my own, which I have full control. I'm sure you want to do the same.

Start a Business

Starting a business can be done even if you are working full-time. You don't like your job so use that as your fuel to create a business of your own. Take advantage of your study income to help fund your business. Deciding what your business should be is another challenge. Here are some of my personal tips:

  • Don't Quit Your Day Job - Establish your business first and earn sufficient income from it before giving up your job.
  • Don't Freelance - That is unless you seriously don't mind doing it for a living. Transitioning to freelance work can give you the satisfaction of working for yourself, but after some time, it will feel like another job.
  • Be Weary of MLM's - Network marketing can be a very fast way to work for yourself but it is by no means easy. Just like any business, you have to put in a lot of effort to grow it and since a majority of that effort relies on recruiting others, it can be tough. Consider if you want to spend the time on someone else's company or your own.
  • Do Consider Affiliate Marketing - If you have some marketing skills, SEO skills, or both, you may want to consider affiliate marketing. Many people earn their living from affiliate marketing. I enjoy it because it can be done online and runs 24/7. It takes time but once you gain some momentum, it is a great form of passive income.
  • Learn How to Sell - Read this article from Inc. magazine: How to Make Money in 6 Easy Steps.

Book Recommendations

I read a lot of books and I'm making a point to read more business related books. Two good ones that stick out include:

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Develop Your Multiple Streams of Income Now

by Eartha on February 25, 2010

Businessman rowing by dollar signs

Freelance work is one of the easiest ways to begin working for yourself. I have been doing it for years and in the beginning it seemed like the logical solution. I wanted to be my own boss so the transition made sense. However, after a couple of years, I realized that I just traded one job for another. Now some people absolutely love what they do so working for themselves doing what they love is a dream come true. Yet for me, I slowly began to feel the same feelings I did when I worked for someone else.

This time though, I had to do it all. I had to manage my projects, meet the deadlines, talk to the clients. One of the big advantages to working for yourself is being able to come and go as you please. Then slowly, that freedom began to go away. I'd be invited to lunch but the entire time I'd be stressing over a project that came up last minute and needed a quick turn-around. I knew things had to change because freelance work was making me stressed out and frustrated all over again.

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Figuring Out What Business to Start

by Eartha on November 23, 2009

Self-Employed Business

This is one of the toughest decisions to make. I know a lot of people who want to work for themselves but have no idea what to do. I start off by asking what their interests are and begin brainstorming but it doesn't always help. Many people start off trying a ton of different things before they figure out how they want to work for themselves.

Sometimes you end up working for yourself out of necessity. For example, in my last job, I was stressing out to the point where I felt completely miserable when I stepped through the doors. I really enjoyed the people I worked with but the deadlines, the work, and commute was starting to take their toll on me. After almost 5 years of working there, I resigned.

Making that decision allowed me to begin freelancing doing the same work but now for myself, working at home, and choosing who I want to work with. So how do you decide what to do for self-employment?

Turn a Hobby into a Business

This is one of the most common ways many people become self-employed. They take what they do for fun and turn it into a business. Now that starting an online store is easier than ever, most people can get started really fast. There is also good ol' eBay to get instant traffic and customers.

Start Out of Desperation

In some cases, some people have no choice but figure out a way to make money. It could be due to loss of a job or simply needing more income. Many times, these desperate situations lead to success because the person is forced to work hard on their own business.

Working Online Part-Time

This still remains one of my favorite ways to be self-employed. I feel anyone who already spends a lot of time online should consider making money online. Ways to do this include affiliate marketing, making money with blogs (affiliate sales, ppc, ads), and many other methods. It just seems too easy not to attempt to earn income this way.

Direct Marketing

Direct marketing better known as network marketing is one of the fastest ways for someone to start their own business. I am involved with it myself by being a Beachbody Coach and it has been an awesome experience. I earn money and truly like the products the company provides.

Turn a Personal Experience into a Business

I have one client who became very sick as a young adult. He vowed to himself that he would take his health seriously and turned to herbal medicine. He studied it and became an expert. Eventually he began creating his own herbal products and selling them. Now he has a full-time business, employees, and does something he loves which is spreading the message of health and healing.

If you're stuck trying to figure out what type of business you want to create, take some time to yourself and discover what makes you happy. Chances are, you really can turn what you love into a business. Test what it is you want to do. A good place to do that is selling on eBay, offering samples to friends, and asking what they would change, etc. If you're starting a service based business, offer free services to people to build up a clientele.

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Why You Should Create Your Own Info Product Ebooks

by Eartha on October 15, 2009

reports

If you enjoy making money online, you may want to consider creating your own information products to sell. I've created several information products in ebook (pdf) form that I've used to build lists as well as to earn income. There are many reasons why I like creating information products:

Cheap to create - Mainly all it requires is your time to write them unless you outsource the writing to someone else.

No shipping - Unlike selling physical products, there is nothing physical to ship. Customers are sent a download link.

Get creative - You can be as creative as you want and include not only the ebook but videos, audio programs, and screencasts.

Sell at any price you want - You are not limited to what price you want to sell your products for. Most ebooks can sell for 3 times more than an average paperback because of the specific information and niche being targeted.

Long term business - You can brand yourself and create as many info products as you want. Your products can sell for years and years so long as you market them.

Don't Underestimate Yourself

You may immediately think you have nothing to offer in terms of information or that there is no way anyone would buy your product. I used to be the same way but I took the chance anyway. There are lots of marketers out there that sell ebooks in niches you probably wouldn't think make money.

Most of the time these marketers do not write these ebooks. They outsource the writing and stamp their name on it. They act as book publishers rather than experts in the particular topic. If you have information people want that helps them to solve a problem, you will make sales. When I released my recent "Quick Start Leads!" guide, I made a sale the very next day and that was from advertising on one of my blogs.

Things You Will Need to Create and Sell Info Products

Topics - You will want to research niches and the problems within those niches to get ideas for an info product. You can also put together something you are already knowledgeable in. Another quick way to create a product is to intervew an expert in the topic and create an audio program, ebook, or both.

Word Processor - Word (PC) or Pages (Mac) are good enough to do your typing in. If you don't have access to either, Open Office is an open source productivity suite that offers word processing, spreadsheets, and more for free.

PDF Converter - I use a Mac and it comes with a free PDF creator. PC folks can purchase Adobe Acrobat or search for free PDF creators online.

Web site - It doesn't have to be a massive web site. A single page, basic with sales copy is all you really need. This can be outsourced as well or you can find templates online that can be easily modified and uploaded to your web server. You can even use WordPress to set up a basic site.

Payment Processor - There are tons of them online but I like to use E-Junkie to sell digital products like ebooks. It works with PayPal as well as other online merchants. Rather than placing your ebook on your server (where it can be downloaded for free), E-Junkie will host it for you and take care of the payment processing and sending the file to your customers.

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