Lower Your Risk
When I was faced with an ugly job situation and realized that no job was the answer (for me), I had a decision to make. I could have tried to start a "big business" and risked several thousands of dollars. I knew people who did this (most lost their shirts) and understood that their chances of success were exactly the same as someone who decided to start small.
I'm glad that I lowered my risk and started a business with hundreds instead of thousands for several reasons that I see now:
Starting off "big" is honorable (and has more prestige), but you also dig a deeper hole to climb out of. If the profits don't dig you out of the hole, the hole doesn't go away!
Starting off small is much faster. You can really open your business doors and begin advertising within hours if you're serious.
Starting off with a low risk gives you flexibility that big business startups don't have. When I realized that the money wasn't in mailing lists, but affiliates, it caused me to "shift gears" and focus on affiliate marketing.
A low risk business shouldn't require a bank loan, a credit check, or other obstacles to starting a business.
Realizing that you can start a business NOW may give you the belief and hunger that you need to step out and take action for yourself.
Starting small gives you a much easier threshold for reaching goals. Reaching goals sooner builds your momentum.
If your business is one that benefits from partners or associates joining you, most of them will realize that joining you is much more feasible at a low investment.
A low risk business defeats "All Your Ducks in a Row Syndrome". I'll explain. Many of us are always "threatening" to start a business or do something financial until "just as soon as" everything is perfect. This attitude comes in a variety of forms: Waiting to have $10,000+ before doing anything; being sure that your business will be able to compete with the "big boys" like Amazon.com, Ebay.com, Verizon.com, etc.; AFTER you've put in hundreds of hours of work into starting up the business; AFTER you've gotten the house or the new car; AFTER the holidays; AFTER you lose weight; AFTER your credit is fixed; AFTER softball season; AFTER you're absolutely sure you'll make $500,000 in a year... See what's happening?
Be aware of this syndrome. There could be a couple of causes. I have friends who tell me straight up that they don't just want a business, they want to "look good doing it" and wouldn't be willing to start small. If that's your goal, fine. Just understand that making money and looking good are two different things. For me, looking good was way down on my priority list. I just wanted profits.
Another cause is that deep down you're afraid to fail, and having a long list of conditions that have to be met first protects you against stepping out into the world of entrepreneurs and fighting it out with the rest of us. I'm not trying to make you mad or bully you, I'm just trying to get you to see if this is what's really delaying you. Remember that you set your own terms for failure. If you'll allow yourself to try 10 things on the Internet until 1 works, you did not fail at the first 9. You just weeded out 9 things that didn't work for you. If your risk is low, it won't hurt you.
Link Partner:
Small Business Internet Consulting Services
Technology for People helps companies make money online with ECommerce Web Site Design, Search Engine Placement, Affiliate Marketing Outsourcing and Email Newsletters.
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