Alycia Cheatham, Independent Scentsy Consultant (702) 468-4744

Entries tagged with “entrepreneur”.


Due to the fragile economy, there is a growing interest in internet home based businesses. Apart from the financial rewards, there are 7 additional benefits of an internet home based business:

1. Control of Your Destiny
2. Cost Savings
3. Time Freedom
4. Enriched Work Environment
5. Reduction in Stress
6. A Life Style by Design
7. Legacy Building

1. Control of Your Destiny

Control of your destiny is a primary benefit of an internet home based business. You will no longer be restricted by company policies and procedures, or scheduling conflicts. As CEO of your own company, you determine your financial success.

Transitioning from employee to entrepreneur is similar to transitioning from tenant to home-owner. As you assume new responsibilities, you will draw on your life experiences, release hidden talents and develop new skills. You will gain total control of shaping your future.

2. Cost Savings

Significant cost savings is another benefit. Your initial investment for a home business is significantly less than a traditional business or a franchise. Additionally, overhead costs are minimal.

Other cost savings include income tax write-offs of home expenses associated with your business such as mortgage payments, utilities and home improvements, and no commuting expenses. Additionally, your time formerly spent on commuting can be devoted to your business, thus increasing your productivity.

3. Time Freedom

Time freedom is another benefit of an internet home based business. You have complete control of creating your work schedule; you can set your own hours in order to accommodate your body clock. Unlike being an employee, you have the opportunity to produce during your peak hours.

Additionally, your productivity is not confined to your working hours; your internet business will be working for you while you are sleeping, relaxing or vacationing.

4. Reduction in Stress

Reduction in stress is another benefit of an internet home based business. Since you are working at home, you no longer need to deal with the stress of commuting to work. Additionally, you will no longer be subjected to the stress of a traditional job such as office politics, demanding managers, tight deadlines, under staffing, and ongoing anxieties about potential layoffs.

5. Enriched Work Environment

Working from the comfort of your home provides the opportunity to create an environment which is very conducive for productivity and personal growth. Assuming new challenges such as developing new and diversified skills fosters job enrichment.

The opportunity to develop business and personal relationships with like-minded entrepreneurs and be mentored by industry leaders is another benefit. Additionally, as your business develops, you will have the capacity to outsource various functions.

6. A Lifestyle by Design

An internet home based business can provide an amazing transformation in your lifestyle. Your personal and time freedom will dramatically enhance your personal relationships and family life. You will also have more time to devote to personal recreation and exploring new hobbies.

You will have the flexibility of enjoying extended vacations all over the world, being exposed to diverse cultures. Additionally, you will have the benefit of working anywhere in the world; all you need to do is carry your laptop and cell phone with you.

7. Legacy Building

Legacy building is another benefit of an internet home based business. You will have the opportunity to build a strong legacy for your family and loved ones. As a business leader, you will have an opportunity to provide the foundation for your team members to achieve financial independence. Additionally, you will have the capacity to leave a lasting legacy by giving back to your community and the world.

As you can see, the benefits of an internet home based business extend beyond the financial rewards. Awareness of these 7 benefits will provide you with a strong sense of purpose and direction which will ultimately propel you to financial success and a lifestyle beyond your wildest dreams.

Solopreneur
First let me start by explaining what the term entrepreneur means; is someone who has possession of an enterprise, or venture, and assumes significant accountability for the inherent risks and the outcome. I guess the surefire way to find out if you are an entrepreneur is to give it a try. To be an entrepreneur is to be a creator and a visionary; a person who recognizes opportunities, cultivates a strategy, and creatively organizes resources to turn passion into profit.

Being an entrepreneur means to me that I own my time, I live my life to the fullest without worrying about finances. Being an entrepreneur means loving day in and day out what you have chosen to do whether times are going great for your business or if they are going horrible for your business. Why stay in the dead end job you’ve had for years when you could be making a lot more money and have the freedom of working for you?

When you are in business for yourself; you wear many hats at once: janitor, salesperson, human resources, finance and PR are just a few. Being an entrepreneur means risking everything on your own abilities, so it’s not for the faint of heart. If you think being an entrepreneur means more available time for your family and/or friends you’re wrong.

The entire purpose of working for yourself is that you get to do something that you think is valuable, instead of doing someone else’s bidding. Working for yourself can be an ideal career path, especially in today’s tight job market, but it is also ripe for failure if undertaken without the right tools–and mindset.

Are you willing to get up and work hard every day (most days), even when success seems crazy? Are you a risk taker; seizing the enormous opportunities before you, and taking calibrated risks that will help you make your dreams a reality? Money makes the world go around and starting your own business working for yourself means you have a greater potential to see more money then if you are working for someone else.

When you’re working for yourself you do not have the luxury of relying on people to look after your books, take the phone calls, sell your services and products, design, develop, and market. Being an entrepreneur means thinking about the business all the time, accepting its responsibilities and its failures. Not waiting for things to happen but rather to be the agent of change. Working for yourself is incredibly difficult but with time and patience you can build up a name for yourself and eventually you will find people coming out of the woodwork looking for you rather than you having to seek them out

A move toward working for yourself will dramatically impact your freedom of time and movement, and greatly improve your happiness. Working for yourself at home can be lonely because there’s no one to challenge you and push you towards your goals. No matter what type of business you are in, being an entrepreneur means working your butt off and shouldering all the responsibilities. Successful entrepreneurs are risk-takers; being an entrepreneur means having the ability to trust your hunches and acting on them.

EvaluationFirst, you will want to evaluate whether a Network Marketing business is for you. Network Marketing is an equal opportunity business. It doesn’t require special degrees, unusual talents, and is open to everyone regardless of gender, race or age. However, it’s definitely not for everyone!

Choosing the right company doesn’t guarantee success, but it does increase your odds. Ultimately, your success in network marketing is determined by what you do. It’s all about building a network of people all buying or using the products or services you’re selling. Your job is simple: Provide information about your business, answer questions and objections, make the sale, and follow up, sponsor, train and support.

Go to the corporate website read all about the company.

• How long have they been in business?
• How did the company start?
• What is the drop off rate?
• Are the consumers happy with the product?
• Are there any complaints against the company?
• Are they a member of the DSA (Direct Selling Association)? Why is that important, because the DSA has strict guide lines regarding inclusion into their association.
• Who are the owner/operators?
• Are the consultants happy?

Choosing a company that is not financially sound and well established could end in disaster. An established company will be able to offer much more support and typically a better chance at success than a new company. The fact is that a large number of opportunities for the home based entrepreneur will fail, and drag down a number of poor innocents with it.

You must feel good about the company and the products you will be promoting. Uniqueness in the product also counts, if the product is something that cannot be found in your normal stores and has a market then there is a good chance that you can sell it.

Concentrate and understand the business itself and know the money making potential. Most importantly, always go with your gut instincts and use common sense. If an opportunity doesn’t seem right to you…Don’t Do It! I have yet to come across a “once in a lifetime” opportunity so there is ALWAYS time to take a breather and do some research. Don’t worry, the program will still be there tomorrow.

Many individuals nowadays prefer to have a home-based business rather than working at a job eight hours each day in the office or somewhere else where you have no control over your own working life. Some people are also into franchising and this may sound good but if you want to become a successful entrepreneur, then it is better if you don’t have to focus entirely on franchising. You should consider other business ideas that you can venture into. And in today’s world there are more opportunities than you can even begin to imagine.

With all of the resources available today research can be carried out with ease these days, thanks to the power of the internet. If you conduct your search online, you can find other business ideas that you can use as an entrepreneur. Beginners will especially benefit a lot, from the information they can find online about business ideas. Because of the many business ideas you can find online, you will often find it hard to choose the ones you like. It can be very easy to choose if you use your instincts. For instance, if one business idea feels right, take note of it but if you have second thoughts about another idea, disregard it. When you are first starting out it is hard to come up with these ideas that will work. It is therefore to your benefit when you find someone who is very successful, you should then study what they do and try to duplicate the system. But be careful and use your own material and do not plagiarize someone else’s.

As an entrepreneur, you should investigate further by gathering as much information as possible about the business ideas. True enough, franchise is absolutely a great idea. By choosing this business alternative, you can be the boss of your own business and you can earn unlimited income. However, according to experts, franchise and other internet businesses promise the same business opportunities. It will all differ on how you handle the business. The biggest differences are in the startup costs. Many franchises today have a minimum of $20,000 to $50,000 just to open the doors, whereas an internet business is usually only a few hundred dollars.

Not all individuals who desire to own a business can achieve this goal. In fact most never make it. What most people fail to realize is that being an entrepreneur is very hard work. There are many different factors to consider before you decide to become an entrepreneur. Even if you have the capital to finance the business undertaking, you can’t really be sure that it can give you high profits in the future, especially if you don’t know how to handle certain business situations like the marketing of your product.

Here is a very good example. As mentioned earlier, further investigation is needed to evaluate the business ideas that you have in your hands. Starting a business from scratch requires a lot of work. Suppose the business that you’re about to put up is also available in franchise, which business idea will you choose? For the smart entrepreneurs, they will already go for franchising because it requires less work. An established business undertaking is less expensive and less risky. But before you make a final decision, you must be able to weigh all the advantages as well as disadvantages. This is an essential part of choosing the best business idea.

First and foremost, you must be able to work alone. Once you’re an entrepreneur, you’re already self-employed. It would also be best if you can have the support of your loved ones. Once you’ve chosen the right business idea, you can spring it into action. Soon enough, you will gain the financial benefits that you’re dreaming of. Whether you choose to start your own business on the internet or you decide to build up your own brick and mortar business or even go for franchising, the most important thing is to develop goodwill. All the actions of the entrepreneur must be focused in attaining all the objectives of the business.

If you want to become an entrepreneur, you must research all the business ideas that you can get online. The internet can help you a lot. Also, don’t forget to develop the needed traits and skills as an entrepreneur. You can get many resources through the internet or you can talk to an established entrepreneur so that you will have an idea on what you’re about to undertake. You can also take some classes from a local college that will help give you more information on starting up and running a business. With good research and using your instincts it will make it much easier to find the right business. Once you have found it remember it will take a lot of work to build it up, but once you have it there, you will be well on your way to being a successful entrepreneur.

Once you start a business, change in your life is inevitable. The transformation of your day to day work and life existence can be challenging if you don’t have realistic expectations, balance and a positive outlook. Here are some tips to help you:

1. Expect Change
Change will be an inevitable force in your new business. As an entrepreneur you may have different hours, challenges, debt and income fluctuations than you did when you were employed. You will have less stress if you learn how to handle the day to day changes that come with business ownership. Expect change and accept that it will exist as part of your business life.

2. Prioritize Issues
Use a daily notebook or calendar to list challenges or changes that occur in your business. Ask yourself how important this issue will be today, next week, next month, six months from now or next year? Don’t allow “panic mode” to set in. Prioritize issues and schedule them in your calendar when you have time to devote to fixing them.
Issues that affect cash flow today or in the immediate future should be a top priority and receive immediate attention. Employees are secondary. Organizational items are at the bottom. Don’t ignore organization, just schedule time to deal with it. Slip other issues in between these three. This allows you to function at peak performance because you now have a system to deal with any concern or challenge that arises.

3. Act, Don’t React
Reaction involves emotion not planned action. In a stressful situation, the first thing that comes to your mind is typically not the best solution. Planned action is the mature business owners’ plan and is likely to be more effective in the long run. Train yourself to act effectively instead of react.

4. Learn and Grow
Little can rock you if you are confident that your decisions are the best actions possible under the circumstances. It relieves the worry of second guessing that can go on forever if you are unsure of your decisions. Learn all you can about any unfamiliar issues or new situations so you’re prepared. Use your system manuals and the Internet as resources.

5. Utilize your Support System
Use your staff support personnel, coaches or business mentors to assist you as needed.

6. Remain Positive
Expect good results. According to Proverbs 23:7, “For as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.” Your thoughts lead you to your destiny through your actions. What you think about is what you become.

7. A Sense of Humor Helps
Many issues that cause stress today, can make us laugh in hindsight. Try to find humor in everything, so you can laugh a little each day.

8. Take Care of Yourself and your Family
Schedule time for family so they do not get lost in the shuffle. If you have young children, give each child 10-30 minutes of dedicated, uninterrupted time each day. Children like routines. Read to them, hold them, sing to them, etc. Let them talk about themselves so they feel loved, adored, and special. If children know they can count on guaranteed time with you each day, their attitude changes with the proof of your follow through. Schedule a date night each week with your spouse. Even if it is an hour to talk about the family, each other, a shared interest, etc.
Schedule time for the important things in your life and you’ll feel less guilt and worry as you tend to your work.

9. Schedule Time for Planning your Business’ Growth
Take 1-2 hours a week to look at where you were, where you are today and where you want to go. Use your business tools or schedule help with a coach or someone at corporate to work on your business plan. Regularly review your profit and loss statement. Brain storm and think through issues. Write down goals, plans, next steps to reach your targeted bench mark. Planning is key to success.

10. Be Flexible
Every day in business will be different. If you manage it correctly, you will enjoy it and the rewards it brings for a lifetime.