Gas prices are soaring. Food prices are up. Unemployment is still relatively low, but the pervasive feeling is that nobody’s job is safe right now. Let’s face it, we’re all a little nervous. But the U.S. economy is a cyclical animal. What goes up must come down. Then, it always goes up again.
Despite the flagging economy, a reputable and proven business opportunity can be just the right option for many people. Whether you’re a stay-at-home mom who wants to make a little extra income, a retiree who’s finding your expenses are going up on a fixed income, someone who has been laid off or downsized, a recent grad who’s finding it hard to land that first job, or even just someone who wants to make a change, a business opportunity can re-energize you and allow you greater control over your own time and financial future.
The Current State of Home-Based and Other Small Business
America’s small businesses comprise the world’s third largest economy. Only the total U.S. economy and Japan’s are larger and home-based businesses represent more than half of those. Many of them are very successful. In fact, it’s estimated that over half of home-based small businesses will survive five years or more, and that the average income for income-generating home office households is $63,000 per year. And that’s just the average. In 2000, nearly 20,000 of them hit the $1 million mark, and that number has surely grown. The bottom line is that small business, and specifically the home-based business sector is booming and it’s actually revolutionizing the way America gets the job done.
As larger companies decentralize their operations in an effort to cut costs, outsourcing of everything from writing and accounting services to technical support, landscaping and lunch hour concessions, and every conceivable thing in between, has become commonplace. If you do your homework, you can find your own niche in any given marketplace or geographic area, even when the economy is in a temporary downturn. Of course, you also need a plan for how your products or services will set you apart from everyone else. Lower prices, better customer service, a particular specialty or unique mix of goods and services are just a few because that’s just good business sense. But, by choosing your business opportunity wisely and through careful planning, you can succeed no matter what the economic climate.
Now, Are You Really Ready To Be An Entrepreneur?
No matter what your background, you really need to ask yourself one very important question before you seek out a business opportunity? Am I an entrepreneur? It may sound silly, but knowing the actual definition of that word and, more importantly, your answer to it is crucial to your potential success.
According to Webster’s Dictionary, an entrepreneur is someone who wants to organize and manage a business undertaking such that he/she will assume all the risk for the sake of the profits. The key word here is risk. Owning your own business is always risky, no matter what the state of the economy. And some would even argue that there’s no better time to launch a business because if you can cut it when times are bad, you are really poised to succeed when things improve. They always do.
Being your own boss is hard work, but by choosing an established and proven business opportunity, you’ll be making your first, sound business decision. Here’s why…
Low Barrier to Entry
Unlike many franchises, home-based business and a number of other small business opportunities require a relatively small up-front investment, often times as little as $1,000 to $5,000. Also, once you pay for your business opportunity, there are no regular fees, other than the ongoing investment in what you may need from the seller to sustain your own operation, and even then, you decide how much and what to sell to meet your own financial goals. As a result, you’re overall risk is greatly minimized. And don’t forget the tax right-offs for home-based and other small businesses can be significant, offsetting many of your costs, especially in the first year.
Flexibility, Convenience and Money in Your Pocket
When you purchase a business opportunity, you have the flexibility to do it on a part-time basis and to put as much or as little effort into your own success as you see fit. According to Linda Miller, an independent distributor for Scent-sations, Inc. offers a home-based business opportunity utilizing their unique line of all-natural gourmet candles, bath and beauty products, the part-time option is huge in this economy. You can basically get started on a shoe string, if you need to, and build from there,” she says. And, you can’t underestimate the time and money saved by not commuting and eating lunch out, buying a designer wardrobe and putting gas in the car.
Some of the Hardest Work Is Done for You
Perhaps the most appealing aspect of buying a business opportunity, particularly in an economic slow-down, is that it allows you to be your own boss and chart a course for your own success using someone else’s well-established and hard-earned map. “One of the benefits is that we’ve already gone down the hard road before you,” explains Campasano. “A person who is motivated and has the drive to succeed can just step in the footsteps we’ve already laid in the snow and, with our full support, get there in half the time it took us,” he says.
A given business opportunity can be just the right fit for any one person, depending on his or her specific circumstances. But, when the economy is at all questionable, one key element must always be considered as you evaluate your options.
The Key Element to Look For In a Business Opportunity
“When you are evaluating a small business opportunity, you have to choose a product or service that is high quality, consumable on an ongoing basis, has mass-market appeal and is competitively priced,” says Miller. In fact, it’s been her experience that people will seek out quality products and services in a struggling economy more readily because every dollar counts. “Certain products will sell regardless of the economy because quality is even more important in bad times when people need to know what they’re getting for their money,” she says.
Both Dominic Campasano and Linda Miller can attest to that theory first-hand. Their two companies have experienced and anticipate nothing but strong, if not greater, profits this past year and into the foreseeable future. “Despite a less than stellar economy, not only are we not dropping in sales, we’re increasing,” Campasano says. And that’s good news for those of you who want to take his and Miller’s lead.
Data sources: U.S. Small Business Administration; National Black Business Trade Association (NBBTA)
Despite the flagging economy, a reputable and proven business opportunity can be just the right option for many people. Whether you’re a stay-at-home mom who wants to make a little extra income, a retiree who’s finding your expenses are going up on a fixed income, someone who has been laid off or downsized, a recent grad who’s finding it hard to land that first job, or even just someone who wants to make a change, a business opportunity can re-energize you and allow you greater control over your own time and financial future.
The Current State of Home-Based and Other Small Business
America’s small businesses comprise the world’s third largest economy. Only the total U.S. economy and Japan’s are larger and home-based businesses represent more than half of those. Many of them are very successful. In fact, it’s estimated that over half of home-based small businesses will survive five years or more, and that the average income for income-generating home office households is $63,000 per year. And that’s just the average. In 2000, nearly 20,000 of them hit the $1 million mark, and that number has surely grown. The bottom line is that small business, and specifically the home-based business sector is booming and it’s actually revolutionizing the way America gets the job done.
As larger companies decentralize their operations in an effort to cut costs, outsourcing of everything from writing and accounting services to technical support, landscaping and lunch hour concessions, and every conceivable thing in between, has become commonplace. If you do your homework, you can find your own niche in any given marketplace or geographic area, even when the economy is in a temporary downturn. Of course, you also need a plan for how your products or services will set you apart from everyone else. Lower prices, better customer service, a particular specialty or unique mix of goods and services are just a few because that’s just good business sense. But, by choosing your business opportunity wisely and through careful planning, you can succeed no matter what the economic climate.
Now, Are You Really Ready To Be An Entrepreneur?
No matter what your background, you really need to ask yourself one very important question before you seek out a business opportunity? Am I an entrepreneur? It may sound silly, but knowing the actual definition of that word and, more importantly, your answer to it is crucial to your potential success.
According to Webster’s Dictionary, an entrepreneur is someone who wants to organize and manage a business undertaking such that he/she will assume all the risk for the sake of the profits. The key word here is risk. Owning your own business is always risky, no matter what the state of the economy. And some would even argue that there’s no better time to launch a business because if you can cut it when times are bad, you are really poised to succeed when things improve. They always do.
Being your own boss is hard work, but by choosing an established and proven business opportunity, you’ll be making your first, sound business decision. Here’s why…
Low Barrier to Entry
Unlike many franchises, home-based business and a number of other small business opportunities require a relatively small up-front investment, often times as little as $1,000 to $5,000. Also, once you pay for your business opportunity, there are no regular fees, other than the ongoing investment in what you may need from the seller to sustain your own operation, and even then, you decide how much and what to sell to meet your own financial goals. As a result, you’re overall risk is greatly minimized. And don’t forget the tax right-offs for home-based and other small businesses can be significant, offsetting many of your costs, especially in the first year.
Flexibility, Convenience and Money in Your Pocket
When you purchase a business opportunity, you have the flexibility to do it on a part-time basis and to put as much or as little effort into your own success as you see fit. According to Linda Miller, an independent distributor for Scent-sations, Inc. offers a home-based business opportunity utilizing their unique line of all-natural gourmet candles, bath and beauty products, the part-time option is huge in this economy. You can basically get started on a shoe string, if you need to, and build from there,” she says. And, you can’t underestimate the time and money saved by not commuting and eating lunch out, buying a designer wardrobe and putting gas in the car.
Some of the Hardest Work Is Done for You
Perhaps the most appealing aspect of buying a business opportunity, particularly in an economic slow-down, is that it allows you to be your own boss and chart a course for your own success using someone else’s well-established and hard-earned map. “One of the benefits is that we’ve already gone down the hard road before you,” explains Campasano. “A person who is motivated and has the drive to succeed can just step in the footsteps we’ve already laid in the snow and, with our full support, get there in half the time it took us,” he says.
A given business opportunity can be just the right fit for any one person, depending on his or her specific circumstances. But, when the economy is at all questionable, one key element must always be considered as you evaluate your options.
The Key Element to Look For In a Business Opportunity
“When you are evaluating a small business opportunity, you have to choose a product or service that is high quality, consumable on an ongoing basis, has mass-market appeal and is competitively priced,” says Miller. In fact, it’s been her experience that people will seek out quality products and services in a struggling economy more readily because every dollar counts. “Certain products will sell regardless of the economy because quality is even more important in bad times when people need to know what they’re getting for their money,” she says.
Both Dominic Campasano and Linda Miller can attest to that theory first-hand. Their two companies have experienced and anticipate nothing but strong, if not greater, profits this past year and into the foreseeable future. “Despite a less than stellar economy, not only are we not dropping in sales, we’re increasing,” Campasano says. And that’s good news for those of you who want to take his and Miller’s lead.
Data sources: U.S. Small Business Administration; National Black Business Trade Association (NBBTA)
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