Everyone wants to find an easier way to do things. That’s just human nature. Many of us spend our entire lives looking for the “paths of least resistance.” While efficiency can be a wonderful thing, looking for non-existent shortcuts can lead to stress, heartbreak and anxiety. This is especially true in business.
In the nearly thirty years that I’ve been involved in home-based businesses, I’ve seen a lot of plans and schemes come by. Each one promising more results with less work, than the pitch before it. Every day, I get tons of e-mails promising the latest and greatest “must have” e-book, report, membership or product that is guaranteed to make you wealthy with little or no effort on your part. All you have to do is part with $27 or $47 or $97 or $997 or whatever the amount is today.
The writers of these pitches are very skilled. They know which buttons to push and how to get your excitement to build long enough to click that “PayPal” button. Once you pay your money and get the product, you find that they are rarely worth what you paid for them and they rarely live up to their claims of passive income. Jaded by the experience, you swear that they will never get you again, but that resolve doesn’t last.
You see, the promoters know that many people are desperate to own their own business and get out from under a “regular job.” They know this and they exploit it. That’s why they have a new “best, greatest and hottest” offer almost every week. And that’s why so many people fall for them week after week after week.
Believe me, I know this first hand. Over the years, I have fallen for my fair share of sales pitches and spent more than my fair share of money on them. The one thing that I have learned is that THERE IS NO MAGIC BULLET.
Let’s put this another way. There is no magic software, book or membership site that will make you money with little or no effort on your part. There is no business opportunity which will allow you to make money from day one without considerable effort on your part. These things don’t exist. Whenever some scam promoter promises that there opportunity will “do all the work for you,” run away fast. After all, if they are doing “all the work,” what exactly do they need you for?
So what do you do if you want to run a business from home? Well, my advice is to choose a business which suits your lifestyle and your passions. Secondly, find mentors who will support, guide and nurture your new business. How can you tell a “mentor” from a “self-professed guru?” That’s easy. A mentor cares about your success, the other guy cares mainly about his.
The next thing I’ve learned is, once you find your business, STICK WITH IT. The grass may look greener somewhere else, but it is almost always an illusion.
I learned this lesson the hard way. Many years ago, Cindy and I had a home-based business that was growing and making us money. We were distributors for a well-known company. After a while, we heard some of our colleagues say that they thought we could make more money with another company. After all, the company we were with had been around for a long time and maybe they were a bit “old fashioned.” This new company, on the other hand, was exciting and cutting edge. I thought, “hey, if we are making good money with this old fashioned company, we’ll be rich by jumping over to the new company.” The funny thing is that it didn’t happen that way.
Many years later, the “old company” is still growing strong and introducing new products while the new and cutting edge company is out of business and not making anyone any money.
You see, we would have been much better off to have stayed where we were instead of roaming. Hindsight is 20/20 as they say.
In conclusion, it is possible to find success in home-based businesses, but you have to be careful and you have to follow some basic rules:
- Follow your passions.
- Find a market for your offerings.
- Associate with mentors and stay away from “gurus.“
- Put on “blinders” so your aren’t led astray and
- DON’T QUIT!
Be blessed,
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