Author: Telecommute Job Online

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You Have a Great Idea

“I got it!”

You have a great idea. What are you going to do about it? It is undoubtedly the best idea in the world. You could do what other people do, that is to file it away, hoping that someday someone who is capable will pick up your idea and make millions of dollars and give you a piece of the action (royalty money). If you do that, you can be pretty sure that you will have the same experience that others have had; which is to be watching TV or surfing the Internet to watch your idea or invention to be all over the media for sale. How does that make you feel?

Why does that happen?

Because if you do not follow through with your idea, the source of all ideas, which seeks to see these advancements given to the world, will find someone else who will proactively take it to the market and the world. The universe is ever-expanding and will not wait for you. If you don’t do it, someone else will.

What if you do?

If you are the recipient of an original idea or concept which has not been released, you have had a great gift bestowed upon you. If you get that, you do whatever you can to take your gift to market. So, you put your heart, soul, and everything into it. You cherish the idea, loving and caring for it as much as if it were a newborn child.

You answered the call, and you did everything you could, but you did not achieve the results you expected. It is your baby, and it does not make you feel very good to have your baby rejected by the world. Regardless, you have stepped out in faith and been faithful.

Why?

Rarely, if ever, do you hit it out of the park, the first time you swing the bat. Now, most people walk away dejected. They give up and never try to play again. They are disappointed and feel as though all their hopes and dreams were crushed in one fell swoop. And these people miss the real thing that is happening at this moment.

What is really happening?

The universe is so proud that you picked up the bat and took a swing at the ball that was lobbed over the base in your direction. The universe has another ball ready to throw to you as you are increasing your skills and readying for the next game. The universe is ready to take you to the next level. That is, unless you walked away from the first game and have sworn off playing ever again.

By staying in the game, you are rewarded. Either your original idea goes through a metamorphosis and emerges as an even better or idea, or it fails completely, and you are given an even better idea for your next game.

The moral of the story?

You are given a calling and purpose in life. You may be afraid, but you have been gifted an opportunity to reach out and make a big move. You may accept the gift and do something with it, or not, walk away and let it go to someone else. No judgment here. No one will blame you. We are all doing the best we can with what we have. If you accept the challenge, know this may not be your homerun but your efforts will be rewarded if you are diligent and hang in there. Prepare yourself for the journey as well as possible, keep a focused eye on all the details, and track everything. This information will be invaluable as you press on.

And keep on keeping on.

 

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Who You Are Aiming At

If you are looking at getting a job, advancing your career, building your business, it is imperative to define who your specific client is, so you know who you are aiming at. You could make the fatal mistake of claiming that your target market is “everyone” or “the whole world,” you have already lost. If you focus your attention on everyone, you might as well focus it on no one. The results are the same.

You need to know who you are aiming at

Effective marketing requires specificity.

When you laser focus your attention on what you want with specificity, you notice it more, it is attracted to you, and if you stay steadfast, you will get what you want. This applies to all areas of your life, everything from finding a romantic partner to expanding your business.

Whether you are a remote worker, freelancer, service provider, independent contractor, or business owner, you need to get your message out about you and what you do and the best way to aim at and hit your target market is to reduce your market to one person. Well call this person, your customer avatar.

CUSTOMER AVATAR

Reduce the characteristics of your target into one person, give him or her a name and describe him or her in incredible detail. The greater the detail, the more your marketing efforts are increased exponentially.

An example might be:

Name: Mark Ratava
Age: 39 years old
Geographic Location: San Francisco
Education: High school
Profession: Hourly employee, Internet technology
Diet: Carnivorous, somewhat interested in eating healthier. Wife purchases food staples from local market.
Home: Rents (not a homeowner)
Auto: Drives a newer Toyota & making payments.
Family: Married with two children. Basically happy, but finds financial strain a constant irritant,
Regular spending activities: Eats restaurant lunch work days, buys barrista-style cup of coffee 2x per work day.
Spare time activities: Watches television includes binge-watching series on Netflix on the weekends, watches a movie at a theater once a month, uses marijuana occasionally
Mental health: Moderately undiagnosed mental health issues and insecurity.
Satisfaction: Likes time commiserating with friends at the bar, twice a week. Faithful husband, basically enjoys intimacy at home (though flirts occasionally with saleswomen).
Secret wish: To win the lottery, or suddenly be appointed CEO of the company he is working for.

That’s a good start, keep going.

The more you know about your Customer’s Avatar, the easier you can market to him or her. Create a drawing or find a photo (from a magazine, Facebook, Google, wherever) to have a visual representation of your perfect client. When you write your ad copy, keep a picture of him or her in front of you and/or by your desk when you answer emails or customer service calls.

Once you know who your Avatar is, you know what he/she does, what interests him/her, where he/she goes, you can align your marketing efforts to deliver the message that he/she wants to hear and be in the place at the time he/she is likely to be looking/listening for your message.

It is also easier to target your marketing efforts based on your avatar’s profile. This is extremely effective for online advertising vehicles that let you specify which recipients receive your offers based on your avatar’s dynamics.

And you are not limited to one customer avatar. If you have a larger advertising budget, you can target more than one. For instance, you could have both male and female avatars and they can have vastly different profiles.

While you can have multiples, know that it is easier to focus your marketing and message(s) on fewer avatars. Plus, it keeps you from diluting your voice in the marketplace and spreading yourself too thin.

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From Employee to Entrepreneurial Mindset

Let’s say you want to leave the 9-to-5 to strike out and start a business of your own. You can take your business to the next level by transitioning from employee to entrepreneurial mindset. This will empower you for the journey if you are able to adopt the entrepreneurial mindset. To think like a business owner who is able to enter a marketplace and dominate that space with authority, strength, and honor.

Responsibility

Entrepreneurs take full responsibility for everything. They take command for the entire operation, the research and development, watching competitors and the marketplace, making decisions quickly about trying something new, and taking full responsibility for the results, whether they are incredibly profitable or a total flop. The most successful entrepreneurs don’t wait to see what competitors are doing, they are striking out ahead of the curve. If they have tried something new and it is successful, they are not counting their chickens before the eggs have hatched. They know that success is cyclical, and a new emerging trend may be short-lived, so they are constantly on the lookout for the next innovation. They set the trend(s).

Visionary

Being able to be aware and visualize the potential areas of exploration and success leads to forward-thinking expansion. To use your imagination to see and feel a potential outcome in all of its glory, and then to be able to virtually reverse engineer the roadmap necessary to achieve those wild results while anticipating obstacles and challenges that may be encountered along the way. In this way, you can be prepared (more prepared than not) to deal with challenges as they show up along the way.

Outside the Box

A huge difference between employees and entrepreneurs is “the box.” As employees, you are encouraged to perform your work within the parameters of the box, the well-defined boundaries within which you are authorized to perform your business-related thoughts and job duties. Entrepreneurs are intimidated by the box and reject its existence altogether. They are constantly looking for opportunities well-outside the box. This is where all the best new ideas, advances, opportunities, and expansive growth is found, outside the box.

Note: Outside the box is not a comfortable place to be. Many people fear the area outside the box. Your friends and supporters will try to talk you out of going there as it is perceived to be unacceptable and potentially dangerous. Yet, this is where are the best-untapped resources can be found. So, it takes courage, strength, a contrarian attitude, and explorative nature to venture outside the box.

Constant Improvement

Successful businesses are not stagnant. One of my early mentors, Tony Robbins, expresses this in his mantra for continued growth and expansion as his drive for CANI, “Constant And Never-ending Improvement” (Kaizen philosophy). As a record-breaking trendsetting entrepreneur, you have to be constantly on the lookout for what is on the horizon, growing and expanding your skillet, and those skills that are outside your calling or comfort zone, you add someone to your team that has (and loves) them. It’s up to you to know what is needed and to make sure you have this covered, in-house, or outsourced.

Attention to Detail

Entrepreneurs watch all the intimate details of profit and loss and learn from every fluctuation along the journey. Employees cannot be bothered with such details, after all, all they want is to perform their designated tasks in exchange for their paycheck. To them, that is all there is to it. But to you, it can be a matter of life and death. This is your business, based on your investment(s) and the sacrifices that you make. Be ready to be struggling to find answers and to be sweating the details while your employees could care less. And whatever you do, avoid trying to shift the weight of these details onto your staff. This only leads to deteriorating your employee’s lack of confidence in you and your business. Incentivize them to do better, but do not pressure or blame them when things are troubling you.

Know the Difference

As the entrepreneur, you are the one who will experience sleepless nights and put those extra hours in late at night and on the weekends, while your employees are happily taking your pay for putting in their minimum effort without a care of what goes on behind the scenes, all of your hard work and extra efforts just to keep your operation afloat. This is the difference. Know the difference and honor it. Keep an eye on yourself as well. Business owners who fall into the complacency of only putting in their eight hours a day and little or no effort beyond that are not entrepreneurs, they are employees, and their businesses will not likely experience expansive growth.

Today, one out of ten employees are transitioning into the role of business owner. By adopting an entrepreneurial mindset, you can achieve your highest and best in the marketplace, live a better life, your best life, and make the world a better place.

 

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You Lost Your Job What are You Going to Do?

Jobs are hard to find as they are few and far between, right now, and you need cash to care for your family, to make the ends meet. So, if you lost your job, what are you going to do?

People respond to job-loss in different ways, especially if people are depending on you to provide for them. There are many ways to make money in lieu of a paycheck. Some people might consider a life of crime. Depending on how desperate you feel, you might consider selling drugs, stealing cars, robbing convenience stores or banks. You might try other ways to collect cash, like selling your plasma, panhandling, or standing on a busy street corner with a cardboard sign.

You and I? We are more likely to attempt to start a business, one where others are entitled to pay us for services rendered. Assuming you and I have no money to start a business, we would not let this stand in the way of our survivability or exploring all the possibilities to support our families.

Remember back in the day when you were a kid and you really wanted something that you didn’t have enough money to buy, but you still really want it. You found a way to make it happen. Right? You didn’t have to lie, cheat, steal, or kill. You babysat neighbor kids, set up a lemonade stand, washed cars, mowed lawns, walked dogs, whatever you could do to get the money that you needed to get what you wanted.

A little different approach is necessary for an adult, but not much. Take a look around and ask yourself, “Are other people doing it?” Yes, just as always.

Offline

I checked out bulletin boards at the corner store and the gas station, and sure enough, there are all kinds of services being offered by locals in exchange for cash. Just to give you an idea, here are some of the offerings that I found,

Local Bulletin Board Housekeeping
Firewood for Sale Handyman Services
Landscaping Auto Repair
Beauty Supplies & Services Massage Therapy
Pet Grooming Aromatherapy
Tarot Card Reading Assorted Business opportunities

As old school as physical bulletin boards are, they still exist and are used regularly, though the trend is to see these postings moving from the physical boards to the Internet.

Online

You will find them online in places like Facebook Marketplace and Craig’s List.

Some of the listings I found online included,

Painting Services Guitar Lessons
Yoga Classes Educational Tutors
Web Site Design Computer Virus Removal
Ghost Writing Social Media Marketing
Pet Sitting Dog Training
Wedding Photography Catering
Pressure Washing Seamstress Alterations
Laundry Services and other odd jobs

With these resources, if you know how to do something, that someone else doesn’t know how to do, doesn’t have time to do, or doesn’t want to do, this could easily end up being cash in your pocket.

When you are just starting out, and in need of emergency cash, your prices may be relatively low, but once you get established and build a reputation, you can increase your price and move from doing part-time gigs to owning your own business.

Start small and grow.

It may have started out of desperation and the struggle for survival and turn into a thriving business.

 

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Who Are You Online?

If you are thinking about a major expansion in your life, love, career, or business it is likely to involve other people because growth doesn’t take place in a vacuum. And you can bet one or more of the key people who can greatly influence your success in any area of life will look you up online. So, who are you online?

 

You may not have given much thought to your appearance online even though your online presence is probably the most important way that you will be seen in the world (world-wide-web). I have friends, good personal friends, who I knew well as genuine and authentic full-featured human beings who have passed away. What remains of them is their online presence.

I look back at their social media accounts, and this is all there is left, except for my memories which fill in the gaps for me. I see the whole person but others only see what is there. Then, there are those friends of mine who are no longer with us, who had no social media account representation at all, though they are very few. No one online would even know they were here (and they probably preferred it that way).

Aside from the morbidity of my reference to dead people, social media and your online presence is incredibly important and meaningful to your process. I am sure you have heard countless stories of people who have applied for a job but didn’t get an interview because someone in the HR department looked the employee up online as they were scouring through the applications and found something in social media that they thought would not reflect well on the organization’s image. Next.

I know of HR departments that lookup every applicant online before even looking at their resume. They look them up online first. One of these employers has a strict policy about not hiring anyone who does not have an Internet presence. In the world that we live in, it is as if you are not a real person if you cannot be found online. I know we are not there yet, but it looks like that is where we are headed.

Who Are You Online?

That’s a good question. Look yourself up. If you want to see what anyone else sees when they look you up, log out of your browser and social media accounts or if you use chrome you can do a search in “incognito” mode. Now, start looking you up, as if you were looking for a job, or expecting people to pay you money for anything. Be sure to do an image search as well.

If you are having trouble finding yourself because you have a common name, then think about changing your name into something you can own. Try adding a middle initial or your full middle name. If you are still lost in the crowd, then think about adding an identifier to set yourself apart. Note: The best way to “own” your own name is to find a name (and identifier, if necessary) that you can purchase the dot-com for. Then, you really will own your online identity. And if you have a resume or other documentation, change it across-the-board and in all your social media accounts to match your dot-com. Now, you are fully differentiated and brandable.

Review Who You Are Online

When you are searching for yourself, what you are seeing now, is what everyone else is seeing when they look you up.

Are you pleased with what you see?

Based on the results of your query on yourself, you might have some online housekeeping to do.

Clean up your act if you are seeing yourself not represented in the light of the Internet as you would like to be. Keep in mind, that if or when you delete anything, it never really goes away. Your average Internet searcher may not be able to find it, but it could be easily mined by someone with a higher degree of investigative search skills.

This is good to keep in mind when you post anything on the Internet. If you don’t want it to be found, don’t post it.

Red cup party pix are red flags for HR departments. Provocative photos are questionable unless you are in the adult industry.

Update your profile pictures to be a good match for how you would like to be seen “out there.” Likewise, add pictures to your profile catching you in the act of doing the things that you would like to be remembered for.

 

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Personal SWOT Analysis

If you are thinking about giving it a go on your own, you would be well ahead of the game by inventorying what you have to offer and deal with. A good ol’ tool to use to evaluate yourself before throwing yourself into any new thing, whether it be a job, career, relationship, or business, is to perform your own personal SWOT analysis.

SWOT is an acronym for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats analysis which can be used to inventory your innate gifts and potential challenges you may face along the way.

Get four pieces of paper (or open 4 blank documents if you are more digitally inclined) and at the top of the first page title it, “Strengths”, title the other pages Weakness, Opportunity, and Threats accordingly.

STRENGTHS

Start on this page and list all of your strengths. All the things you consider your superpowers, gifts, and abilities, those things that come easily to you. Ask yourself, when people are attracted to you and ask you for help, what are they asking for? (These are powerful clues regarding your special abilities.)

WEAKNESSES

Making a list of your weaknesses may sound depressing at first, but this is actually a list of all the things that do not resonate with you. Of course, you could do them, if you had to, but you would rather not do them. This list represents the tasks that are best left in the hands of others. So, you know, even if you have to do them yourself in the beginning, you will be looking to bring someone on-board that would excel, maybe even love to do these activities.

OPPORTUNITIES

You see them every day, jobs to apply for, possibilities for advancement in your career, invitations to support or invest, franchises, shortfalls in marketplaces, maybe your own fresh new ideas or inventions are ripe for the picking. They are all around you. Which ones are you aware of? What opportunities could you take advantage of or be a part of?

How could you increase productivity, reduce expenses, generate more cash flow, or expand your marketplace or influence?

Be aware of and examine the opportunities that would otherwise speed past you without notice (but do not let your examination of opportunities distract you from your primary tasks. Keep the reigns tight on this one, lest it becomes a weakness).

THREATS

What is the wall or the roadblocks that stand between you and what you desire? What challenges might be keeping you from achieving your highest and best?

This list is like a roadmap. You know there are certain obstacles in your way, and you know well what and where they are. It’s up to you to find ways around them or methods to break through them. You might be able to assemble a team or find the wherewithal to disempower them enough, that you can walk right past them with little or no impedance to your journey.

Once you have this list of SWOT details, it can help you navigate the path, empowered by your strengths, ready to seize opportunities at the right time and place, and unhindered by weaknesses or threats.

 

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Top Business Growth and Expansion Concerns

Okay, you are starting your business, working from home, and you are ready to take your business to the next level. If so, you are going to need to have your ducks in a row to ensure your probability of successful growth and achieving your full potential in the marketplace.

Of course, all businesses are different, though there are certain characteristics that remain constant among businesses that have successfully made the leap from an independent solo operation to an exciting full-featured business organization, a player in the community, and a positive contributor to the world at large.

Top Business Growth and Expansion Concerns

1. Control

The first thing you want to think about preparing for is gaining full control of your business. When you are small, it makes perfect sense to outsource as much as you can to reduce operating expenses, but it puts an incredible amount of control of your organization in the hands of others, which can compromise your business as you grow, so move these services in-house. You want direct control of all these services, which means that you will have to learn enough about these services that you can rigorously evaluate performance directly as you move them in-house.

2. Money Management

Bookkeeping and accounting may be effectively outsourced but if you are expanding your business, one of the first things to bring in-house is all of your money management. You need control of your finances, and that’s what it’s all about, right? Right. You need to keep a close eye on your cash-flow to make adjustments quickly on-the-fly to maximize your capital performance. Your money manager needs to be kept close-by and aware enough to keep you in the loop at the first hint of change in cash flow, and you need to decide what to do based on your gathering all the necessary information. Keep your attention focused on the marketplace and be on the lookout for ways you can channel your revenue into research and development, upgrades, and expansion opportunities.

3. Public Relations

Public relations (PR) encompasses your image to in the marketplace and your message to the world. Easily outsourced in the beginning, your message and image are too sensitive to trust to an outside source. You must reign in all your social media, online and offline advertising, and other publicity. You also want your business to be seen and heard in the community where your target audience hangs out. Maintaining the image that you want your business to consistently adhere to maintain the connection to your audience is vitally important and you want someone in your organization whom you can trust to be in charge of your image.

4. Mistakes and Failures

Mistakes and failures happen all the time in business, and you need to be keenly aware and connected in order to identify any flaw that may appear as it is noticed as early as possible. Often early detection can help to intercept a potential landslide, so keep your ear to the ground. Have an in-house MFT (Mistakes and Failures Team) who you trust and can brainstorm with to quickly intercede when any mistakes or failures show up on your entrepreneurial radar.

Growth does not take place without change and nothing is more conducive to initiating growth and change than mistakes and failures. Know they will come, embrace them, and act quickly to counteract them when they do.

 

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Top New Business Intimidations

If you are feeling intimidated by considering going into business, you are not alone.

Top New Business Intimidations

Here is why people are commonly intimidated about going into business.

Unfamiliar Territory

The largest intimidating factor you face in potentially starting a new business is not knowing how to get started. If you have never had a business before, this can be a huge hurdle to overcome. Now that you have access to the Internet, there is a good chance that finding someone online who has started a business like your business idea are amazingly good. So, find someone in a similar field who has started from scratch, reach out to them, first complimenting them for striking out on their own, and tell them that you are inspired by their success. Tell them that you would like to also make a go of your own business, but be honest, tell them you do not know what to do next. Often, they will be happy to give you a few tips or resources to get you started. If not, keep scouring the ‘net for more information on how to start your business, or seek out a business coach to help you get started.

Unworthiness

Unworthiness is a hugely popular stumbling block for potential business owners struggling to make the entrepreneurial leap. It is as if you have been programmed that you will never be anything but a wage earner your whole life, and would never amount to anything more than that. You may have accepted this work-your-whole-life-for-someone-else lot in life or life-sentence as “just the way it is.” But it is not that way. Many people in authority positions throughout your life have out you down to make themselves feel as though they were more powerful than you, and if they can keep you down, that makes them feel better about the mediocre lives that they live with every day. But you are endowed with a natural birthright to rise and shine, to fully express your special gifts and abilities and to be compensated for doing so.

Embarrassment

It amazes me, how many people feel unworthy of starting their own business, as if it is so far beyond their realm of possibility that they would suffer great humiliation in front of their family and friends for even thinking they could do such a thing. Even if they find the courage to throw the switch, their embarrassment overwhelmed them and prevents them from moving forward. Don’t let this be you. This is your business, not anyone else’s. You shouldn’t care about what other people think or say.

Lack of Expert Status

You have been convinced that you lack the qualifications or what is widely regarded as the minimum requirements for expertise in your area of business may not be found on your résumé. So many people without any business or academic credentials have started wildly successful businesses without an education, college training, or even a high school education. So, there is really no reason for your lack of expert status to intimidate you at all. If you are concerned about your credibility, check out How to Establish Your Credibility and see how quick and easy to can be to establish your expert status online. https://telecommutejobonline.com/news/how-to-establish-your-credibility/

And know this: No one knows everything about everything. True masters of their craft are always in a state of constant learning and expanding their knowledgebase. Let this be your identity, and if someone asks you a question, be good with, “I don’t have an authoritative answer for you, right now, but let me get back to you on that.” Then Google and research it and do get back to them with an answer that feels right to you. You are an expert.

Poverty Mindset

Granted, you may have come from modest means. Some people have grown up with a poverty mindset, where they feel like being lucky enough to have any kind of job is all they can expect out of life, and that any hope for success must come at the expense of someone else or from engaging in a life of crime and criminal activity.

Changing your poverty mindset to a mindset of abundance with unlimited possibilities is possible but it will not happen overnight unless you have an epiphany, which is possible. It will take some work to have your mind in the right place and time for an epiphany to take place. If you are able to do the work, you can have this mind- and life-changing experience. Many have broken through the barrier of the poverty mindset, and you doubtless have heard of many rags to riches stories, where someone went from nothing to having all the good things this life has to offer. You could be the next one to do so.

Fear of Success

You might be surprised to discover that fear of success is a thing. So many people are terrified by experiencing too much of a life-change from the potential of more success than they feel they are capable of handling. They fear the spotlight, the publicity, paparazzi, and feel like if they have too much more money than they need t survive, they may risk turning into a bad person, because “money is the root of all evil,” or some other negative consequence visited upon wealthier people.

Those who fear success feel like successful people are inherently opportunistic and make their money off the back of those less fortunate. They also fear losing family and friends who would be obviously less successful.

This I know, if you are a bad person, loads of success will make you a worse person. If you are a good person, success will make you a better person, enabling you to do better things in the world. So it’s up to you.

 

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Intimidated by the Idea of Starting a New Business?

Are you intimidated by the idea of starting a new business? Well, you are in good company. Right now, more people are starting new businesses more every day than at any other time in history. Is this merely for the sake of survival, or seizing an opportunity that was put off for far too long?

There is no doubt that many Americans are concerned about their ability to survive the pandemic’s modified job market. Most office jobs have morphed into hybrid work from home, remote work, or online jobs, and many jobs have been all but eliminated. Many of the jobs lost will be gone forever, as the employers have had to close their doors, never to return.

It is an extremely stressful situation, one that could have you facing the concept of being without a reliable income source any time soon, and you must find a way to survive. If that is you, you may have thought that you can still find a way to survive by starting a business and offer your services to others, where you call the shots and are able to telecommute or work from home on a freelance basis.

Or you may have been considering starting your own business for a long time, but your job and life was going well enough that taking the risk to go out on your own seemed well outside of your comfort zone. Now that times are unstable and you are not as comfortable as you might have been, the idea of starting a business of your own appears to be more appealing as these unprecedented times continue to linger.

Then there are those that see this as the best time of all to launch an independent business that targets the needs of those dealing with mitigating the difficulties associated with the prolonged pandemic lockdown. For these types of new businesses, now is the time to strike while the iron is hot.

There is little doubt that now is the time for you to consider joining the increasing percentage of American workers who are taking advantage of this time to become business owners and potentially increasing their sustainable cash flow well beyond their means as an employee working for someone else.

Yet, if you are like the majority of Americans who feel the entrepreneurial nudge to start a business, you may find yourself intimidated by the idea of starting a new business, because of ideas that get in the way, preventing you from making the leap to business ownership.

The Top New Business Intimidators include unfamiliar territory, unworthiness, embarrassment, lack of expert status, poverty mindset, and fear of success. Don’t let these things get in the way of your potential for success in this life.

My biggest concern for you is that you do not take this opportunity to seize this opportunity and let it pass you by. Don’t be one of those people who live their whole lives in regret for not stepping out in faith to try something that may have had a huge impact on their life. This is your chance to live a better life, your best life, and make the world a better place.

 

 

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Want to Start a Business but Fear the Taxman?

What keeps holding you back from starting your own business? If you are like many wage-earners, you may want to start a business but fear the taxman. Many people have a fear of business taxes and the IRS. And who would blame you? You have probably heard horror stories of businesspeople getting destroyed by the taxman and the IRS.

These stories are extreme examples of people who are using their businesses as a method of defrauding the government. Most business people do not use their businesses to engage in tax fraud. As long as that is not your intention, I wouldn’t worry about it.

In fact, you will pay far less to the government – legally – by having your own business, in comparison to what you pay as an average wage-earner. As an American wage-earner, you are paying an average of 28% of your income in taxes.

Trump Doesn’t Pay Taxes

I remember when Donald Trump was running for office, and he was asked how much he paid in taxes? His answer was something like, “I don’t pay taxes. I take advantage of all the benefits of conducting legal business in the United States and maximize tax credits for doing so.” (Editorial note: Even though this statement is in quotes, it is the author’s paraphrase.) During his campaign, many people were appalled that someone running for the highest office in the USA would admit (or even brag) about not paying taxes. Others, on the other hand, applauded him for his business savvy.

Pay Less in Taxes

Paying less in taxes is a real thing for business owners, which you may be one day soon.

If you are an average wage-earner, you are having taxes taken out of your check from the get-go, which means you are restricted from using this portion of your earnings for anything but your taxes. As a business owner, you can use these dollars to increase your tax savings throughout the year, because you are now entitled to various tax write-offs that you would not be entitled to as a simple wage-earner.

Business Tax Deductions

Even if your business is not effectively making a profit, you could be saving enough in taxes to plausibly pay zero in taxes by taking advantage of business tax deductions, which is a huge benefit to your fiscal outlook.

Transportation

Some examples of expenses you can write off against taxes include a percentage of your transportation costs, like gas and petroleum products, a portion of your housing costs can be written off, especially if you are working from home, which can account for about 20% of your living expenses, like rent, mortgage, and utility (electricity, gas, communications, everything but television) costs.

Food and Entertainment

I love having business meetings at restaurants. Keep business notes and receipts and deduct the expense of dining. Even though the IRS only allows you to write off 50% for business-related meals and entertainment, you are still ahead of the game if you are already going out occasionally.

Vacation and Travel

Vacations cannot be expensed as a tax write off, that is, unless the trip is business-related. If you can schedule your trip around a conference or trade show, you can write off a great deal of the vacation (I think the average is about 75% if you plan it right).

Household Furnishings

It is generally accepted that 15% of your household furnishings, including major appliances, can be deducted at a rate of 15% of what you spend here.

Equipment

Equipment, like computers, can be deducted, though if you use the same equipment personally, then you will likely only be able to deduct about 15% of your expenses here.

You can see, that if you were frightened about tax exposure for running a business, you can see that there should be no problem and it is highly likely that documenting and expensing out much of what is already your standard overhead, you will come for ahead by staring your own business.

Do have a bookkeeper/accountant on-board and double-check what you can write off and how to go about it safely and securely. You do not need a full-time accountant, just check around your local area, and find one that you can simply pay as you go and write off this expense as well.

You can see how easy it could be to end up owing no taxes at all, just like Trump.