Home Based Business
I often come across people who are not as happy as
they would like to be, mostly because they are struggling to make ends meet,
living paycheck to paycheck. They’re working like slaves (often in jobs they
don’t like) and they’re in debt up to their eyeballs. In most cases
unfortunately, there’s not much hope on the horizon that things will improve
anytime soon.
I recognize them because I used to be like that. No
longer though; I’m now part of the home based business revolution. What about
you? Does that first paragraph describe your situation? Do you go to bed at
night worrying about the bills? Do you dread getting into your car or walking
to the bus stop in the morning because you hate the commute and the office
where you’re going to spend the next eight hours of your life?
If you answered “yes” to any of those questions,
you’re not alone. There are millions in your situation. Tens of millions of
people in fact who, like you, want to make more money, have more free time, be
more in control of their lives. In short, they want to change (maybe a better
word would be “escape”) their current situation.
But how? What are the options? Win the lottery?
Change job? Get a second (or third) job? Encourage the spouse (or the
teenagers) to get a job? Downsize the car, the house, the vacation plan (if they
have one)? Or start a business? No, not really. But what about starting a home based
business? Work at home, no commute, no boss, no office politics, make lots of
money and have free time to spend it! Sounds like a great plan, doesn’t it?
It actually IS a great plan! So
why aren’t these people doing it? Because, as I find out when I talk with them,
they subscribe to many of the crippling myths that surround business in
general, and the home business industry in particular.
I’ve chosen the word “crippling”
very carefully because to cripple means to disable, to impair, to weaken. And that’s precisely what
those myths will do to you if you let them. They will disable your thinking
mechanism, they will impair your judgment, and they will weaken your resolve to
find a solution to your problem.
To help all those people—and you too if you’ve been pondering how to improve your situation—I’d like to take a look at four of those crippling myths and BUST them!
MYTH # 1: You need A LOT OF MONEY to start a
business…
This is true IF you want to buy an existing
business or start a traditional business (in most cases), specially a “brick
and mortar” business. While doing research the other day, I saw a motel for
sale for $600K and a drycleaner for $250K.
I owned a brick and mortar business once: an art
gallery and framing shop, with 12 employees. I bought it in 1986—inventory and
goodwill for $200,000. I had to borrow $20,000 from my parents for the down
payment, then pay the ex-owners $30,000 a year for six years. That was hard on
the cash flow, so hard in fact that I eventually lost that business.
A friend of mine is thinking about buying a fast
food franchise for $300K. He told me he would be paying himself a living wage
for four years, and then in year five he expected a profit of $50,000. For all
the work and time and worry that goes into that, it doesn’t seem like a lot of
money! So yes, for SOME types of business you need a lot of dough…
Even businesses on the Net can be rather expensive;
one business opportunity states that the investment is $49,500! Ouch! And not
that long ago, I invested in six online “stores”. With the support and the
tutoring, the bill came to $20,000.
But at the other end of the spectrum, I’ve recently
started a very lucrative home based business for under $2,000. And I know of
MANY business opportunities you can get going for even less than that.
So you see, that myth is busted: you DO NOT need a lot
of money to start a lucrative business. You just need to start with the right
one, one that requires a moderate investment.
MYTH # 2: You need to WORK A LOT—at least 50 or 60
hours a week—to get a business off the ground and profitable.
Chances are good that, yes you will need to work a
lot of hours for a “regular” type of business. That was the case for me with
Yukon Gallery. Seven days a week, 10 to 12 hours a day. Working on the holidays.
I remember one summer going 48 days without a day off.
But that’s not the case with most home based
businesses. For example, I’ve invested just over 100 hours in my business last
month (averaging 25 hours a week), for very, very good results!
Another myth busted! You can do VERY well with the
right business working at home. You can even do it part-time to start!
MYTH # 3: A home based business is SMALL BUSINESS
When they hear the words “home based business”,
many people think “cottage industry,” stuffing envelopes, gluing pinecones
together to make decorations, or doing home parties to sell candles, lingerie
or kitchenware.
I find that myth kind of funny…That’s because I
personally know at least 50 people who are making BIG money from a home based
business. I mean $20,000, $30,000, $40,000 and more a MONTH! They do that with Direct
Sales opportunities, with Network Marketing opportunities, with MLM-type
opportunities like you see on the Internet all the time.
For most people—because most people have a scarcity
mentality, or a this-is-too-good-to-be-true mentality—those incomes sound
ludicrous. Well, they’re not. Not in these types of business. Not if you pick
the right income opportunity and you do it right.
The other reason for this myth being perpetuated is
that most people either have a job or own a “regular” type of business—like a
“brick and mortar” retail outlet—or they provide services where they trade time
for money. And with a job or a “regular” type of “small” business, those
numbers are close to impossible to attain.
But the right home based business opportunity in
the right hands with the right system, training and support has great potential
for being BIG business.
MYTH # 4: Network marketing—and most home based
businesses that use that model—are ILLEGAL PYRAMID SCHEMES
That’s a biggie; I’d say that probably 75% of the
people who call me regarding my home based business bring up that myth, and I
suspect the other 25% are thinking about it even if they don’t verbalize it…
If I had an hour to talk with you, I could tell you
about ALL the legal battles won by the home based business industry over the
years. I’d mention the fact that there are currently over 50 network marketing
companies or companies using that model on the stock exchange. I’d share with
you the fact that Robert Kiyosaki (bestselling author of “Rich Dad, Poor Dad”),
Stephen Covey (bestselling author of “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People”)
and Warren Buffet are either promoting, working with, or have purchased that
type of business. And these people are not dunces. They would NEVER associate
themselves with something that is illegal. What do you think?
A more important question would be, what will you
DO now that we’ve busted those four crippling myths? Here are my five
suggestions for you:
1. Right now, this second, adopt a new way of
thinking about home based business opportunities.
2. Make a list of ALL the things in your life you’d
like to get rid of if you were making $10,000 to $15,000 a month working from
home.
3. Make a list of ALL the new things you’d like to
do and have in your life when you start making that kind of money. The reason
for those lists is to really motivate you to do the next two steps.
4. Do your research, starting with going to the
website in the resource box below and reading all the articles you will find
there about how to choose a good home based business opportunity.
5. When you’ve found some income opportunities that
appeal to you, do your due diligence, including calling the sponsor and other
people doing that business before signing on the dotted line.
In conclusion, the four myths I just busted are
really no reasons at all—more like excuses—for not starting and building a
legitimate home based business that over time will allow you to earn a solid
residual income from the comfort of your home, and finally live the lifestyle
that you and your loved ones desire and deserve. Go do it, NOW!
Daniel “BizzBooster” St-Jean
P.S. If you know some friends “in need” who could benefit from reading this article, why not email it to them now? They’ll appreciate it. Wouldn’t you?
