Turn your hobby into a businessWritten by Gail Miller
Many people these days would like to work from home running their own business. Plenty of these, have hobbies and skills that they could use as basis of their business. The best way to break into self-employment at beginning is by starting up alongside your ‘day job’. This way, you can start to make your contacts and plan for day you will be able to kiss being an employee goodbye, without actually losing your regular income straight away, unless of course you have a chunk of capital to inject into business at start. The best thing you can do in this life is to get paid for doing something you would be doing anyway, so building up a small business from a hobby is ideal way to make a living. Not only will you be your own boss, you will also be doing something you love to do anyway - work isn’t like work if you enjoy what you are doing. On top of this, if you are marketing your own products and designs you are far more likely to work harder and have a belief in your product and love you put into producing your work will shine through, not like if you were selling or promoting someone else’s wares. There are many ways to turn a hobby into a business. It doesn’t necessarily have to be something you make to sell. If you like cooking, why not start a recipe newsletter for other like minded chefs. Or if your forte is fancy cakes or cheesecakes, why not try to get one or two regular customers, for example local coffee bars or sandwich shops, to buy your extravagant confections to sell in slices to customers. Obviously if you are going to do something like this you will have to comply with health and safety regulations, but it is definitely something which is entirely possible. If you enjoy making crafts, why not sell them via mail order, rather than going down usual route of selling through craft fairs. What about sewing? Are you a good quilter? Could you make exclusive cot quilts and bumpers? Cuddly toys, clothes alterations, soft furnishings? All these pastimes can be turned into lucrative businesses. By working as many hours, or taking as many or as few orders as you like, you can control how big your business grows and at what rate. When you have decided to take plunge, it is useful to read case studies about how other people have started up home based businesses. There are plenty of books in library to you inspiration, tell you about tax issuesand all necessary accounting and statutory rules and regulations you may have to comply with. Some of business opportunity magazines are also interesting reading. In these, you will find many other home based opportunities, information and contact names and addresses which may be of help to you when you are starting up.
| | When you're afraid you'll make a bad decisionWritten by Cathy Goodwin, Ph.D.
When faced with a decision, clients often say, "I can't make a mistake this time," or, "I want to be sure I'm doing right thing."There are no guarantees, but here are some ways to improve odds. 1. Assess your strengths, limitations and values before you begin. 2. Ask friends and colleagues, "I'm thinking of doing X. If you heard that I tried X and succeeded, what would be your response? If you heard that I tried X and failed, how would you be likely to explain reasons for failure? 3. Are you feeling especially depressed, isolated, vulnerable or scared? These feelings often lead to decisions we regret later. Deal with feelings or take an intermediate step that will take you to a different emotional place. 4. Talk to at least three people (six would be better) who are doing what you want to do (or living where you want to live). Ask tough questions: How did they get there? What worked and what didn't? How has field (or location) changed since they moved? What was their toughest challenge? Be negative. If you've gotten this far, you've already looked at positive side. 5. Create best case and worst case scenarios. Describe in detail how you would deal with each. 6. Create a safety net based on your own personal comfort zone. Some people sleep soundly when they don't know where they will get next mortgage payment. Others toss and turn when their income falls below six figures to left of decimal point.
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