If You Just Want to Make Money, You'll Never Succeed. Here's the Best Approach to This Wide-Open Market.
By Brian Fansher
For me, it all started when I was just nine years old. My dad had his fill of elementary school teaching and became passionate about finding a better way to make a living and a better way of life. A way that was more or less uncharted. Something that no one else had done before--or at least done as well. Doing his own thing, working very hard at it and eventually making a comfortable living at it wasn't just a passion, but had become a full-fledged obsession. There simply would be no other outcome.
My family left the suburbs for the country. They told me we were to start our own Christmas Tree farm. Believe me, my folks did in-depth market research in advance and my dad hadn't quit his teaching job just yet, but that's another story. Being uprooted didn't phase me a bit at the time. However, the lifestyle change wound up affecting me significantly, in that I learned some valuable life lessons. The lessons I learned from Dad---If you're sick and tired or being sick and tired, you WILL change and if you want something bad enough, become thoroughly educated in your field of interest, are willing to continually learn, and you're willing to work hard for it, you cannot fail.
To make this particular story short, my family worked very hard at building a home business anyone would be proud of. A successful business that spanned 15 years. We eventually tired of the business and our tiny market became unusually saturated, but it was a profitable and rewarding one for every one of the 15 years. I have since had many businesses--all home based. Some were successful and some flat bombed. But I got the entrepreneurial bug early on in life thanks to my Dad.
START WITH A PASSION AND AVOID STAGNATION
So, I have to ask--why do you want a home business? Every business on earth strives to make as much money and (more importantly) as much profit as possible. Profit, after all, is necessary to keep any business afloat and growing. Profit, however, is not what keeps your business growing continually. It's not enough. Most people I talk to and help, believe that there's some secret formula that makes money for successful businesses. At the risk of being politically incorrect, they believe that once they begin to turn a profit, they can then just sit back and collect all the money. The misconception isn't that they think they can get rich--because they can. The misconception is they feel that once they've found some success, they can then relax and enjoy life. The fact is, you must first enjoy what you're doing. You must already be passionate about it and you absolutely MUST continue growing and innovating from both product and marketing standpoints. All businesses--even the biggest in Big Business--can become stagnant. But, only when they become complacent. Complacency is the big destroyer. It happens thousands of times every day. Haven't you ever wondered why gigantic, multi-million dollar corporations that have been around since before Grandma was born can "suddenly" disappear without a trace? Trust me--it wasn't so sudden. In most cases, they either didn't adapt to trends or they simply ceased to innovate. Of course, most fledgling business failures are due to a lack of sufficient capital, but that, too, is another story.
HOME BUSINESS VS. STORE-FRONT OR "CONVENTIONAL" BUSINESS
The main reason I've become such a proponent of home business is I so strongly feel that the way most conventional "store-front" business is structured is a detriment to the respective business owners' livelihood and potentially to his or her ethics. You probably even know someone (as I do) who has had a store-front business. The mom and pop shops come and go like the seasons. The inherent problems abound. Not the least of which is the cost of rent. Even the tiniest shops in the smallest of towns are required to pay as much as $5,000 or more per month just for rent. Anyone determined to succeed in their own "conventional" business is usually faced with a terrible dilemma at some point: "If I am to keep my business afloat, I may have to bend my ethics a tad." I have seen the ethics of otherwise honest people become warped by this type of predicament...especially over time.
With the advent of the personal home computer, the Internet, fax machines, multi-line telephones, etc., I have to wonder why anyone would want a "conventional," store-front business. It only works if you have tremendous amount of money to sink into it in the first place. Then you have to be able to immediately absorb any miscalculations in your marketing plan. And don't forget about market testing expenses, slow seasons, employee wages and a myriad of additional costs and overhead expenses experienced by virtually every store-front business. The problem with having a store-front business isn't complacency. The overhead will likely destroy your store-front business, long before you have an opportunity to become complacent. Maybe it's just me, but...why bother?
THE BUSINESS SERVICES "TREND" IS HERE TO STAY
Well, experts agree. In just three years from now, one in every two American homes will be involved in some form of home business. That's good for two reasons. First, it's a rapidly-growing trend that people are becoming much less apprehensive about getting into and second, it's also a gigantic, never-ending market just waiting to be filled. There is a huge trend leaning toward both the business services area and towards workable, quality information (such as is contained in this very publication) about starting and operating a successful home-based business or business service company. And about avoiding the many pitfalls and predators lying in wait. Because we are perpetually bombarded by products and product distributors and because services have become so specialized. Never before has this market been so wide open for the innovative, entrepreneurially minded. The possibilities are limited only to your imagination, determinedness and passion.
YOU MAKE THE CALL
My own passion comes from the belief that home business is, in and of itself, the answer...the solution to many of the world's evils. Evils such as overhead, downsizing and layoffs, becoming trapped in eternal wage-slave-dom, and corporate/office politics, to name a few. I have no doubt that if "more" is what you want out of your life, then you can have it all, whatever "all" may be to you. But you have to want it and want it BADLY. You will need to make some sacrifices and take steps to empower yourself first. This can be done by following certain guidelines and by enlisting the help and consultation of people who are successfully doing what you'd like to be doing--not by searching for a magic formula to easy riches. There are none...believe me, I've checked.
BUILDING A THRIVING BUSINESS TAKES TIME
Much of the same approach my Dad took in his Christmas Tree Farm I've adapted and used in my own business service company. It took my Dad a full three years of preparation before he sold one tree or saw a dime from a customer. He foresaw this. My own business services company took one full year to turn a profit. I, too, foresaw this. If you believe nothing else I ever tell you, Believe This: It takes time. It takes time. It takes time. With a little luck, genuine preparation, tenacity, realistic goals and some good o' hard work, I truly believe there's a home business that perfectly suits any person willing to go for it and NEVER give up.
Brian Fansher is the President of Self Power, a home-based business services and consulting company located in San Diego county. Brian's specialties include ad copywriting, discount advertising, scam alerts and Brian has designed a system from scratch providing many immediate tools and resources to operate your own business service company from home. The course is drawing praise from several industry experts. For details on Brian's system or on other self-power services and to receive a critically-acclaimed copy of Marketers' Newsletter, send $2 to :
Self Power P.O. Box 268-WB El Cajon, CA 92022-0268 Brian can also be reached at (619) 441-7930
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