Like so many others in the economic crash of 2008, Elsie lost her job. It was a job she expected to retire from. It was a job in a field she had studied for most of her life. When the company lowered the boom, she was left with a paltry 401K, a decent severance package and a 15-year-old daughter whose chances for getting into a good college seemed nil.
BYO DIY
Elsie knew her field well. She had a passion for it. She knew she had to combine her passion with practical research, however, and read everything she could on the general topic. She found an under worked niche within that field and started her business. This business was built with $150 for a website, a domain name and some software. Within a year, she was turning a profit. Within three years, she was competitive with her old company. She is self-supporting with a better yearly salary than her old one. Her daughter started the college of her choice last year.
Elsie created a five-step system so her friends could do what she did:
Five Step Strategy
1) Pick something you love. You’ll have to push yourself to achieve, so you’d better be passionate about it. Burn out is nothing you want to deal with as a business owner.
2) Network — seek out experts in your professional field and communicate with them. There are renown people in specific fields that you can network with even if you don’t have major connections. Look up Charles Phillips on Linkedin.com or Twitter and introduce yourself. Research your field and find the movers and shakers; some of them may be willing to impart some of their knowledge onto a newer generation.
3) Fake it till you make it — if you look like a success, your clients and customers will feel much more comfortable working with you. Put as much money back into your business as you can. You should invest in top-flight tools. Act like you’re in the game to stay and you will.
4) Buy a domain name and build a website. This is the billboard of the modern age. It’s accessible from every business district in the world.
5) Take advantage of free and low-cost advertising. Business cards, flyers for trade shows, t-shirts, car signs and many other methods have been used for years. Get the word out there.
Finally, don’t worry about statistics. Yes, a lot of new businesses fail, but yours doesn’t have to. Be certain of that and everything else will be easy.
