While times of crisis can be unsettling, they also hold opportunities for transformation and change. Take the economy for example. Never before has it been easier to start a small business than today. If you have a product or service that you are passionate about, you can start building your own enterprise. It’s a great way of making yourself independent from the job market by doing something you love and getting paid doing it. The best thing yet, with today’s technology it is very, very easy. Here are the basic steps:
- Find a service or product that you are passionate about and develop a plan of action.
- Look for a mentor in the industry you are interested in. This can be through a blog, a seminar or a personal connection.
- Set up your business on the internet by creating a website and, most importantly, a blog.
- Start marketing your business by building a community and interacting with people on twitter, facebook and other relevant social websites and blogs. Create your fan base.
- Sell and deliver your product or service. If you did a good job at marketing, this step comes natural because people will want to buy from you.
- Serve, serve and serve your clients. Service is key to any good business and good service comes from treating your customers with kindness and respect. But most and foremost good service comes from you loving what you do and having a great time doing it!
While these steps are simplified, they are basically how you start any project. As I said before, going into business has never been as easy. If you have a job, keep it. Start your project on the side, experiment, make your mistakes (hey, they happen), get your feet wet and find out what works. The internet, your personal network and the community online will provide you with the support you need. Once your business generates profit, you can still decide whether you really need that job.
These are some great books on starting and marketing your business:
Career Renegade: How to Make a Living Doing What You Love by Jonathan Fields
Escape from Cubicle Nation: From Corporate Prisoner to Thriving Entrepreneur by Pam Slim
The New Rules of Marketing & PR by David Merman Scott
Flight Plan by Brian Tracey
Related Posts:
Start Your Own Business Now, Part 2
Start Your Own Business Now, Part 3
Photo Source: Jennifer Su via
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