Every entrepreneur knows that having the proper mindset is the single most important determining factor when it comes to the success of any small business. If your heart is not into the project or venture that you are working on, you are going to fail. If you don’t have the necessary motivation, then you are going to fail.
In fact, motivation and mindset are probably the most difficult aspects of entrepreneurship to instill in others. Thankfully, Dragos Roua does an excellent job of explaining how to obtain the millionaire mentality with his latest ebook 30 Sentences For A Millionaire Mindset. If you feel dissatisfied with your current situation, then this book will provide you with a framework to turn your life around.
For those of you who are not familiar with Dragos, he is a seasoned entrepreneur who started and sold a very successful internet business …
Most customers call us for 3 reasons. One, they call because they aren’t comfortable purchasing anything online and prefer to buy over the phone. Two, they call because they have specific questions about our products. And finally, they call because they want our “expert” opinion on what to order. This particular mother of the bride wanted my input on handkerchiefs for her daughter and future son in law.
The truth of the matter is that I don’t like giving advice about wedding paraphernalia. Weddings are a touchy subject and most of the time, it’s difficult to gather enough information about your client’s taste to make an accurate recommendation. But sometimes you have to provide your opinion in order to complete a sale. Read on to find out what my opinion was truly worth.
Me: Hello. What can I do for …
Whenever there is fear and confusion, there is someone out there to exploit it. A buddy of mine contacted me the other day after he received this ominous letter demanding 239 dollars after filing for an LLC in the state of California. The letter also threatened him with additional fines if the 239 dollars was not paid immediately.
Photo by jepoirrier
My friend was already somewhat apprehensive about the entire filing process so when he showed me this form letter from the “Business Filings Division” asking for 239 dollars, he was pretty shocked and visibly upset. I was surprised myself because when I filed for my LLC, I didn’t remember having to pay any fee costing over 200 dollars.
In any case, when I looked carefully at this form letter, I immediately knew it was a scam and a clever one at that! These people over at the “Business …
While our online wedding linens store doesn’t get a ton of inquiries, we do receive our fair share of customer calls throughout the day. And after you’ve answered the phone long enough, you begin to develop a certain sixth sense about the type of customer you’re dealing with.
My wife and I have only been running our business for 3 years but I would say that I can get a pretty accurate read of the customer within the first 30 seconds of the conversation. And within that 30 seconds, I can usually tell whether the customer will make a purchase and whether the order size will be decent.
Photo by KrystalChu
You Can’t Always Listen To The Customer!
What’s funny is that I’ve always been told that the number one rule of customer service is to always listen to the customer. But the reality is that sometimes the …
Having recently finished writing 2 multi-part guides on how to start a small business and how to create a profitable online store, I must say that it felt good to get all of that information out on paper. Creating these guides was extremely satisfying for me on so many levels and allowed me to document the many things that I learned while starting our wedding linens business.
Photo by Decadent
But sometimes I wonder whether these guides will really make a difference. Sometimes I wonder how many of my readers will actually go on to start their own small business as a result.
Based on your emails, MyWifeQuitHerJob.com has readers from a broad spectrum of backgrounds and I’m just curious how many of you are truly serious about quitting the rat race? Hell, I received a strange email the other day from a random reader who recently unsubscribed …
For the past year, I’ve become accustomed to waking up early in the morning with several orders already waiting for me in my email inbox. Let me tell you. It’s nice knowing that money is being made during the night even though I’m asleep the entire time. A few days ago however, I got up and there was not a single order in my email even by 9am.
Photo by Ktylerconk
Naturally I was suspicious, so I immediately went to our online store expecting to find something wrong. Nope! Everything seemed to be normal so I decided to wait it out a little longer. Several more hours passed and still not a single order came in. I was getting worried.
Finding The Culprit
Several things were going through my head. Do we have a new competitor that is stealing all of our business? Is no …
This is part 7 of a 7 part guide on how to start a small business.
Especially if you’re a first time entrepreneur, starting your own business can be quite overwhelming. The are many rules from both an accounting and a legal perspective that need to be followed or you risk getting penalized by the government.
Sometimes unexpected problems or disputes will arise in which you will have no clue how to proceed. That is why it is essential to have an experienced professional available to consult with when things become complex. At a bare minimum, you should find an accountant or a tax expert to help in preparing your initial business tax return even if you think you know what you are doing.
Small Business Startup Guide
Introduction
Part 1: Deciding On A Corporate Structure
Part 2: Small Business Trademark Issues
Part 3: Small Business Regulations and Permits
Part 4: Small Business Taxes
Part 5: …
This is part 6 of a 7 part guide on how to start a small business.
This is part 5 of a 7 part guide on how to start a small business.
Given enough time and hard work, your business will eventually take off and you’ll find yourself needing additional help in order to expand. If you are looking to hire your own workforce, there are many things you need to consider. For starters, there are 2 basic types of help that you can hire, employees and contractors. And ultimately, the type of workers you choose to hire can have far reaching implications for your small business.
Small Business Startup Guide
Introduction
Part 1: Deciding On A Corporate Structure
Part 2: Small Business Trademark Issues
Part 3: Small Business Regulations and Permits
Part 4: Small Business Taxes
Part 5: Small Business Hiring
Part 6: Small Business Bookkeeping
Part 7: Small Business Resources
Hiring Help Is Not That Straightforward.
This portion of the guide will help to define the difference between contractors and employees along with the …
This is part 4 of a 7 part guide on how to start a small business.
Most people dread tax season when April 15th comes rolling around, but I actually get excited and almost giddy. The reason is not because I enjoy filling out paperwork and paying the government large sums of money, but because it’s only during tax time that I fully realize how much money our small business saves us every single year.
Most people get caught up on the sidelines doing research and debating whether their business idea even has a chance, but they are missing the point. They don’t realize how much money can be saved by having a small business even if it initially doesn’t make any money at all. So if you are even mildly serious about pursuing a business idea, you should definitely take action and give it a try if …
This past week was especially busy and profitable for our online store. Sales of handkerchiefs and other personalized items were abnormally high for reasons that I can’t really explain.
Perhaps one reason for the increased sales is that I finally got around to posting a link to our store’s recent inclusion in Brides Magazine on the sidebar. Yep, our online store was mentioned in the July/August issue of Brides magazine and it took me 2 entire months to make it stand out on our online store. Pretty dumb I know, but there have been many higher priority items on my plate as of late.
For one thing, the amount of inventory that we’ve been storing has been rapidly increasing and we’ve added a ton of new products to the store in the past month alone. At some point, we will hit the tipping point and will need to …
This is part 3 of a 7 part series on how to start a small business.
Even though it’s not technically difficult to officially register your business with the US and state government, it can be quite intimidating. That being said, I can tell you that my wife and I were absolutely terrified about the entire process. What if we screw up and get audited? What if we forget to obtain a permit or fill out some crucial paperwork? The good news is that it’s not that complicated to fill out the forms. The bad news is that all of the information can not be easily found in one centralized location.
Small Business Startup Guide
Introduction
Part 1: Deciding On A Corporate Structure
Part 2: Small Business Trademark Issues
Part 3: Small Business Regulations and Permits
Part 4: Small Business Taxes
Part 5: Small Business Hiring
Part 6: Small Business Bookkeeping
Part 7: Small Business …
