Start a Business: Beginner's Guide.

If your goal is to start a small online business that replaces and exceeds your current income this may be the most important article you read this year.

Brash, huh?

Here’s the deal: I’ve been working online full time for almost 10 years, since age 19. I’ve had a lot of failures and a lot of successes.

There is no better way to learn how to succeed than to learn from someone who has already done it.

Tip #1: Focus On What’s Important

What’s important? Action.

In the beginning, just get started. Don’t get too caught up in details that don’t matter.

Dealing with the paperwork, business cards, and other ancillaries isn’t absolutely necessary.

It’s an online business for a reason. Save the time, paper, and money and don’t get business cards.

If you happen to meet someone who wants to know more about you or wants to visit your site ask for their e-mail address and actively follow up with them.

Handing out business cards is passive, and even more than that, ineffective.

Other paperwork a lot of people get caught up in is registering a corporation or other business entity. That will be important eventually. But you can (in the US anyway) start a business in your own name with very minimal paperwork (a simple Doing Business As form) and cost.Consult a tax advisor for specific insights.

The most important thing right now is bikini waxing,

Tip #2: Invest In Education

Whatever business you want to start, be it blogging, eBay sales, information product selling, affiliate marketing, or any one of the countless other ways to make money online, there are hords of people who have done it before you.

Sometimes those people will have written about what they did to succeed. In those cases, if their business aligns with what you want to do, don’t be afraid to invest money into their products.

Personally, I have easily spent upwards of $40,000 on non-University education. That includes buying eBooks, print books, seminars, coaching, membership sites, you name it.

I want a refund of my college fees though

As a general rule, the most important skill you can learn, no matter what business you’re starting, is marketing. I don’t make a distinction between online and offline marketing. Once you learn marketing you can use it anywhere, with a few tweaks of course.

I liken it to learning computer programming. The language you learn isn’t as important as the logic behind it. You can adapt to any language.

RELATED POST: START A BUSINESS, QUESTIONS TO ASK

Tip #3: Ask For Help

If you look closely, you would realize, the worst
enemy of the man on the ladder is the one
at the top.

If you’re a bit introverted like me you might be shy about asking for help.

Don’t let that be a barrier to your success.

In other words, feel the fear and do it anyway.

You will deal with rejection. Many people won’t respond to your e-mails, phone calls, or tweets.

But you know what? It doesn’t matter.

Starting a business isn’t supposed to be easy. That’s the filter.

I promise you, if you talk to enough people, you will get the help you need. I’ve been quite surprised by just how accessible some people I was initially afraid to contact are.

Bonus hint: I’ve had greater success connecting with ultra successful people than those who are just ultra successful in their heads. :)

The key to getting a response is to send very short, very succinct e-mails. Practice the http://five.sentenc.es rule. Keep your e-mail to five sentences and make it clear what you’re asking.

Tip #4: Participate In The Community

Whatever niche you’re in there is a community.

For example, back in the days when I used to sell on eBay, I hung out on a few eBay message boards. I helped people where I could and I got help where I needed.

As an added bonus, when I decided to start selling eBay how to products (I haven’t sold them for over 5 years), guess who helped me launch that business? The same community that I had participated in freely for over a year.

These days, whichever community you should be a part of is larger and more easily accessible. Take advantage of that.

Tip #5: Don’t Quit Your Day Job

Your ultimate goal may be to quit your job, but don’t jump the gun.

You will find tons of stories of people who quit their jobs before they had their businesses going, but there’s a reason for that.

People who failed furiously because they didn’t have an income to support themselves in the lean business startup phase don’t usually write about it. And because they don’t write about their failures, you never hear about them.

I want you to quit your job as much as you want to quit your job, but I don’t want you to do it before it’s time.

 RELATED POST: WAYS TO QUIT YOUR JOB

Karol Gajda is a lifelong entrepreneur who blogs about Freedom, Health, Travel, and Life at RidiculouslyExtraordinary.com. He (yes! he is a man) has an excellent guidebook, How To Live Anywhere.

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Ways to quit your Job.

There comes a time in one’s working life when you have to quit a job. When the job sucks or when the job is totally different from the job offer letter or when you have finally decided to go after that job that helps you make a life. Quitting your job is no longer as important as how to quit the job, hence the creative ways to quit your job. 

There are two ways to quit a job.

1. The right way

2. The even right way.

The right way is definitely not among the creative ways to quit your job. It  involves planning, focusing, impression management and keeping your tongue in your cheek. The right way to quit your job is to pre-plan, draft a resignation letter (or get a freelance writer to do it for you to include your specifics like date of resignation and make it good enough to stand in court), meet with your boss, as it would be disrespectful for your boss to hear it from word on the street. In breaking the news, you should use words, like, "I've found something better that aligns with my objectives" if you have found a better job, or "this is the best thing for my family right now". The only similarity it has with the creative ways to quit your job is that it also involves planning and giving about two weeks notice. The planning also has to do with preparing to answer questions that might be thrown your way after you break  the good news to your boss and how you  would turn down the new job offer which purports to increase your allowances because you know it’s a trap. It involves reviewing all the clauses stated in the job offer letter that you received sometime back when you started the job. It also involves being professional up until the very last minute as you clear your seat and finalize all your handing over to the next victim who has received the job offer. You would have to be straight, discreet and appreciative of the great opportunity the job offer had awarded you. This should be done after you have received all your bonuses and benefits because your employer might not be as discreet as you because if they were, you probably won’t be leaving. In some cases , you have to request to be fired so as to get  unemployment checks  if you live in a developed country and want to take time off to  be a couch potato and binge on food high in trans fat.This is a right way to quit your job because , it sounds right, and it would help someday when you need a reference from your former employer or when you get into politics and need to suck up to everyone and present a squeaky clean history slate.

RELATED POST: WAYS TO DIE| JOB OFFER QUESTIONS TO ASK YOURSELF

The even right way to quit your job involves creative ways to quit, when you don’t just give a damn, it involves literally not just burning the bridges but  deep frying the bridges until they become charcoal and serving them to the boss cold.  Here are examples of creative ways to quit your job.

1.Using the platform as a spring board for your new enterprise: The best example of this very creative way to quit your job is Chris Holmes who resigned from his job as an immigration official in border force UK to follow his passion of  food making  and finally had the balls to go out and do this job since he realized the importance of doing the job that makes you happy. Needless to say, that  www.mrcake.co.uk  has received great overwhelming hits and bookings and the cake business is booming. Way to go!

2. Cause a nuisance: Another creative way to quit your job is to make a nuisance. The best example so far is that of the Joey DeFrancesco,  who used to work with Renaissance Providence Hotel where the workers had issues with the way the hotel was being run. He wrote a letter and he came loaded with a marching band in tow, to put a stamp to his freedom and his new life in the deeper waters of life.

Okay, you might not be able to afford a matching band, because if you did, you probably won't be leaving the job, but who needs a matching band to create a nuisance when you have yourself. Walk into your boss's office and yell in a voice that could be heard miles away, "I QUIT". You can also break the work rules on your last intended day, sleep on your desk, watch movies during office hours, leave clients unattended to and then best of all. go to work butt naked.

3. Create an entertainment package: Another creative way to quit your job is to create a nice entertainment . It might have to be contrived with an American Tv network and a Motown quintet called the voices,but  at least that is what phil sipka who used to work as a barista in robust coffee lounge in Chicago did. Whatever you do, it must receive an applause after it all. Because its meant to entertain.

A more recent job quitting video which has gone viral with over 14 million views as at October 2013 is the Marina shifrin video which she made in the wee hours of the morning on her day of quitting a very strenuous job.In her own words she described the company as awesome but thinks the working conditions are terrible. Needless to say, she would earn a lot from the ads which might equate her annual salary if the views continue. She also got an offer from Queen Latifah few days afterwards. Sometimes taking a very bold step is all that we need.

4. Make an indelible stamp: This creative way to quit your job might be a little risky  as it might get you arrested. A very public example is that of a jet blue air host, steven slater  who just lost it when an unruly passenger decided to act terribly by trying to retrieve a luggage when the plane had not completely stopped. He gave the other passengers a  piece of him while emptying all what he had to keep inside since he started the job. He was arrested the next day for criminal mischief and reckless endangerment, but he also became a celebrity and his facebook page is booming. 

This guy plastered the walls of his work place with this deadly sign. He also had to repaint it

5. Say it like it is: This embodies the even right way to quit, it involves just saying it like it is, shaming the boss to think right for once in his lifetime and do things correctly. This can be done verbally or done in writing by the cowardly.

Way to go sheila.

If you don’t have the balls to follow these creative ways to quit, then it’s better to sit down on that job and share this blog post or better still send us some other examples that we missed.But remember. sometimes you have to find ways to quit your job before you get fired.

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JOB OFFER: QUESTIONS TO ASK YOUR EMPLOYER

Whenever you get a job offer, there are certain questions you need to ask yourself, the employer and someone who would be able to answer some questions about the job offer and the company truthfully and give professional advice concerning the job and career path.  

The most important questions are the ones you ask your employer second only to the ones you ask yourself. 

The distinction of these questions according to whom to ask would go a long way in ensuring your development, your progress, your life plan and  would afford you a clearer picture of your goal and purpose on the job.

The questions you ask your employer gives the employer an instant impression of you and might determine further assignment or deployment in the company. The most suitable time to ask your employer questions is mostly during the job offer interview and then during the first resumption meeting.

RELATED POST: JOB OFFER: QUESTIONS YOU SHOULD ASK YOURSELF

The major advantage of questions to ask your employer is to let them have a good impression of you upon a job offer.  For you to come out as smart enough to get the job, you should have done your research on the company. When people think of company research for job offer interviews, they think history of the company. History of the company is just a minimal part of the comprehensive research. 

You should be able to find out what profits the company is recording, who the competitors of the company are and what steps if any, is the company taking to outshine it’s competitors. You should know the business direction the company is taking or about to take, the products the company is offering and any new products in the pipeline.

Questions to the employer should now be based on these researched  issues. Questions like, this company made a remarkable outing last year, what steps are in place to improve on last year’s returns ? This company’s competitor, XYZ is really defaulting in this particular area, is there a way you think the company can leverage on this fact ?

Can I ask a question? Can we grab a cup of coffee after this interview?

Some of these questions would be answered and then thrown back at you for completion or a better answer , so you must have prepared yourself for  the best answer possible to these questions. In answering them, you might find yourself and your employer trying to choose which answer is the best, in such cases, you always let the employer win , so as not to sound stubborn and head headed, remember, the essence of these questions is to give the employer a good impression  of you upon a job offer. In asking these questions you would also need to have the appropriate terminology and slangs used in the organization.

It’s always good to ask the employer this question,

 “ what else do you think I need to know about this position to be able to function well in it? and “ are there any other assignments and jobs that are not included in the job offer that I might be required to take up at any point in time?”

Always remember that the goal of questions to ask your employer during an interview or a resumption meeting after a job offer should be to give a good impression of yourself to the employer. To show the employer that you really care about the growth of the company and that you are willing to do all in your power to make the company grow by manning your own position well and it would  be a plus if you really do.

RELATED POSTS: JOB OFFER: MY EXPERIENCE  | JOB OFFER QUESTIONS

All questions to the employer should be devoid of personal benefits questions,health of the company, your colleagues and boss those are questions meant for a professional adviser,  or a potential colleague. Stay calm, speak eloquently and smile. 

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JOB OFFER:MY JOB EXPERIENCE

I have never been lucky with bosses.   I have had two bosses, the first nearly drove me to an early grave, and the other almost made me resign. Sometimes I still hear the voice of my very first boss in my head .

Getting  a job offer in Africa, Nigeria can be very laudable  where the unemployment rate is very high. Every year about fifty thousand graduates leaving  the mandatory  one year youth paramilitary service after  the university have to contend to get  the less than ten thousand corporate jobs offers  available in the labour market.So it was a great privilege to have a job to call yours and my boss knew this  fact as well. My job search success   was further facilitated by the possession of a master’s degree in Petroleum Geology and a referral. It was really exhilarating when I finally picked up this job offer as a graduate in training at this company, an  Oil and Gas servicing company in Lagos, Nigeria, a privately owned company and that seemed to be the first problem,it was privately owned. Owned,  by my boss. 

 The company rendered both consultancy and technical off shore services to the oil companies. It took me over a month after i resumed to get my job offer letter drafted and to discover that my pay was about $300 a month. My job was to prepare tenders for the services we rendered for the oil companies and I, being a fast learner, learnt fast. 

 My first day at work was met with a warm welcome by my boss , a  tall skinny, dark complexioned man in his early fifties  and he quickly introduced me to everyone, who all didn’t seem  interested in meeting me but rather  had this questioning looks that seemed to ask  “What are you doing here?” I cared less about their reaction as I was happy to finally get a job offer related to my field of study. He then told me to get to work and left into his adjoining office.   I took a seat then watched as everyone seemed not to notice me; I decided to ask a few questions that were met with sharp answers from the lady who doubled as a receptionist and office secretary. 

RELATED POST: JOB OFFER:QUESTIONS TO ASK YOURSELF

Half an hour later,

 my boss stepped out of his office and looked at me and said the oddest words ever with a firm loud voice, "get to work: be a tool not a fool, that’s how we work here’’.  I had not been giving any assignment and I was actually trying to get someone to tell me what next to do. I then asked the secretary what he meant by that, then she smiled, welcome to the company, sit with someone in the other office and look into a monitor.  

My co-workers only smiled that day when their cheques were handed to them, I had resumed at the middle of a month and I could only help but wonder what month they were being paid for as salaries were to be paid on montly basis based on what was on the job offer leter. The comments they made were stunning and quite confusing but most of all, I was glad to have a job. Those were early signs I was blinded to. Signs that should have made me turn down the oral job offer in the very first instance.

Working conditions, especially staffing were abysmal, resources and equipments were not readily available and working in the most populated, traffic plagued city in Africa was also a minus. But all that were just a piece of cake compared to the real issue, my boss.

He was the owner of the company and seemed to have broken even on the business and was now diverting money into other businesses, leaving the office with little running cost. His extreme cost-cutting measure made all the seven staff double as something in a company getting jobs worth between $250,000 and $1,000,000:00 .The office was being run by the settlements of the oil companies we were rendering services to and so our salaries came from a  minute fraction of the company’s settlement, when the company was settled. Each Month's salary seemed to be tied to some settlements which due to client's  company   and bank protocols never seemed to fall at the time when our salaries were due. This was obviously never stated in the Job offer letter.  Worst of all, my boss had the slave- master mentality, asking for out -of -job favours which turned out to be instructions such as picking his kids from school, booking his wife with the spa , buying him lunch which were stylishly wrapped in submitting proposal and tenders on behalf of the company while still working as a  coporate pimp, arranging call-girls for him on  Friday nights which I soon later discovered was a big  part of  my  job description and then he was extremely difficult to satisfy, he would scream and yell at any slightest opportunity and then start a war .  “My office Air conditioner  is not working”, “you didn’t pick my kids from school”,” my office is too rowdy”,” your tenders are too sloppy”, “you are a jerk”, “don’t  act like a fool  be a tool “,”do you think this is how I ran the business for years till I broke even”?

‘’You are not working for the progress of the company”,” you are an enemy of the company”,” I’ll throw you back to the streets before you ruin my business “and he then threatens to hit an employee.

The real job was staying in that job and keeping a happy face and living on your stipend like this was the last because the date of the next one was not ascertained. But I did, I always made sure I had something to smile about and my smile was pretty soon contagious and the atmosphere at work changed. Sometimes people talk about suing the boss for delaying salaries but where would  the money to hire a lawyer  come from ?, plus employment laws were as lax as they get in that environmnet ,more so,  you always had the option of quitting.

My resolution was to leave the troubles of work at work,  learn something each day  while trying as much as possible to get out of the line of fire with the  boss. I also made every day a job search day , hoping to get a new job offer and after nine months on the job and two months unpaid salaries I  left  the job for another   where my knowledge of the oil and gas business and proposal writing gave me an edge.My resignation letter was in a text message. ”I’m out sir, thank you so much for everything”.

RELATED POST: JOB OFFER: QUESTIONS TO ASK YOUR EMPLOYER

He was furious and told me about protocol. I also refered him to the Job offer letter that stated we were to be paid monthly not bi-monthly.

He taught me how not to ever expect the word “thank you” or” well done” and I made sure,  i would be missed because I was the only one who offered him a hand of friendship irrespective of his many flaws and overworked myself to please him sleeping in the office in a non paying job to prepare papers to be submitted the next day and yes he confessed it and offered me a raise if I came back but of course it was too late. 

In an environment like that,  where the jobs are scarce I am sure that getting people would not be a problem for him but it would be difficult to  find the ones that would put up with all his shenenigans .

The only thing my present boss does is come to work, take lunch breaks and go back home. I handle everything. He always says, “I know you know what to do” and yes he is right, I know what to do, apply for his position which I just did.

More stories in Job One: Experiences of New Professionals in Student Affairs (American College Personnel Association Series)

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JOB OFFER: QUESTIONS TO ASK YOURSELF

Job offers can be very exciting when they are received especially after a long time of waiting for one or searching for one. The joy usually overshadows reason and curiosity most of the time until way later into the job.  There are a lot of questions to ask when you receive a job offer. Questions to ask yourself, the employer and someone who might be able to dish out advise on certain issues pertaining to a specific industry. The most important of all these questions are the ones you should ask yourself after a job offer.

First you have to know who you are " who are you?". This is the biggest question that  anyone could ever ask oneself. In answering this question, most people make the mistake of talking about what they have or what they hope to possess but  shy away from the real answer to the question, which is asking about that entity that is you. The question can be rephrased into “ what is you?” . This is what you have to first figure out. What are you gravitating towards, what is your whole existence all about? Then you can look at a job offer and ask the right questions because in the long run contrary to what people say, your job is who you are. That is why when people die, their obituary in the news reads, village chief dies at 50, veteran actor slumps to his death, bus conductor yells to death etc…….

Now, jobs are of two types.

1.       The jobs that help you earn a living

2.       The jobs that help you make your life.


   Salary or benefit isn't a criteria for this two groupings, contrary to what you may be thinking. 

    The jobs that help you earn a living are those jobs that don’t conform to the person who you are-your entity but are needed at some time in your life to help you pay the bills, get  some comfort , get ahead in life, keep the body and soul together or afford you the resources with which you can use in preparing yourself for your life goal. 

    The jobs that help you make a life are those jobs that are a big fraction of your entity, they make your life, they make you, they  fulfill your destiny , the job is you.

Armed with this knowledge, you would have to group your job offer into one of these two jobs. Unfortunately most people mix up working for a living with working for a life. A lot of people spend their whole lives working for a living, and then someday get fired, retrenched or retired and then they ask themselves, what next?

RELATED POSTS: JOB OFFER:MY JOB EXPERIENCE  |  JOB OFFER QUESTIONS

FOR A LIVING.

1.       What  is the job offering?

Give me the money, i need to go to Mars

The real essence of this job is the benefits that it comes with , with which you hope to redirect your life. This job is to present you with the empowerment with which to build up your destiny.  It could be a job that doesn’t require much skill or expertise .It could also be a very high paying job which although is high paying brings no fulfillment in the long run. So what exactly is the job offer? The salary, health insurance, vacation, illness bonuses, growth, travel allowances, job security. Can all the job is offering get you by.

2.       For how long?

How long can you work there, how long would the job need you and how long would you need the job. For example, the ultimate job of a person might be writing, script writing, novel writing, blogging or academic writing and would probably need  3 years to get out his first work or something meaningful for that matter and so if such a person picks up a job as a customer service personnel in an I.T firm, he has to be able to keep that job at least for about 3 ½  years while still creating time to fulfill his ultimate job which is writing. Taking a year contract job might cause a disrupt in the creative process of  writing for the writer. If he has to be jobless after one year with bills to pay and all, it would definitely affect the person. How long would the job be available? Some times,some jobs might also come with bonds that tie down the person even when he is ready to leave. You have to make sure all these things align.

3.       When is take off time?

This is always much more fun 

Mixed with Good Advertisement and Marketing

Than this

When would you tell the organization to take the job and shove it figuratively and what are the policies and protocols involved in leaving the company. If you are working for a living, you have to have a take off time or you would eventually be taken down.

RELATED POST: I JUST GOT FIRED

4.       How convenient is the job?

How compatible with your life is the job? Does it create time for you to pursue your ultimate goal or would it sap you off of all energy that might eventually kill your dream and stall your goals while you are stuck on the job. Any job that you are doing for a living that would totally prevent you from ever doing the job you want to do for a life should be immediately dropped, no matter how much it is paying or it’s benefits. It would be very difficult to do this, if the job in question pays so much and you are used to all the comfort it brings, so this question is very important to ask yourself when it counts-During the time of the job offer. Convenience is a major criteria in a job you are doing for a living, the location of the place and how far it is from home, the working hours and special assignments and all.

If only i had not allowed that peanut at the end of the  week
get me stuck, i would be a famous author by now.

FOR A LIFE

One major test of knowing whether a job is your life, is if you can still go ahead and do that same job even if you weren’t paid for it. This kind of job fills you with much more energy even after you have spent hours on it. Some people are pushed into this jobs unconsciously by fate while some are not usually that lucky. A typical example is the case of a school teacher who taught for several years in middle school/high school/ secondary school while developing her culinary skills, she started small but never had the guts to branch out until she was eventually fired. She now runs a food chain which  has recorded remarkable success. All the while, the catering business was just on the side, she catered for the school’s get together and birthday parties for the school students until the school downsized. Some times these jobs might initially not pay the bills or even be worth talking about but the joy and fulfillment that comes with them are priceless. At times, a person may have to work  certain jobs because of the effect they would eventually have upon the person’s life goals.

1.    What is the job description?

Some times you make have to work as a makeshift table
when there is a furniture overhaul.

What exactly would you be doing and how would it affect you in the near future , how would it align to your life goals. Which duties would you be allowed to handle yourself without supervision.

2.    What are the opportunities available for development?

Are there sufficient trainings? Career development and exposure to catapult you to your goals.

3.    Who are the kind of people you would be working with? Are they people that help and support you as you gravitate towards your life goal. What kind of temperament do people who work there have?

Whenever you get a job offer, the questions to ask yourself are countless, but the right answers to these questions would let you know if you should accept a job offer or reject it as soon as possible.

If these are the people you work with, you are either on a reality show
or on a photo shoot for shutter stock

Further Reading:The Fit Factors: The keys to choosing the right job and building a great career.

RELATED POST: JOB OFFER: QUESTIONS TO ASK YOUR EMPLOYER   |                                                START A BUSINESS:QUESTIONS TO ASK

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