Money doesn’t grow on trees is the saying. But I seem to have one at my house. Sound impossible? Let me explain.
See a number of years ago I quit my cushy nine to five job in favor of starting my own business. I can’t believe I ever had the balls to do exactly that, but I was tired of always getting the run around about raises and I didn’t like having a boss that was constantly questioning me. I felt under paid, underappreciated and over worked (did I mention I worked over 50 hours a week).
I wanted a change. I wanted to be my own boss instead of having to answer to someone. I wanted to make more money, lots more money. My fiancée (now my wife) used to complain that all I ever did was work and when I wasn’t working I was talking about my work. I knew I didn’t want to be like that anymore. I was afraid it would hurt our relationship. I wanted to be less stressed out all the time. I wanted the freedom to work from anywhere at any time, you know working at my home where I’m the most comfortable.
So I started looking for opportunities. I wanted a business that would provide me all those benefits and more. That’s when I found my own personal money tree.
My money tree allows me to work from home when I want to (I also keep an office because my money tree has grown so large now), for the amount of hours I want to, wearing whatever I want to, doing whatever I want to. It works for me.
But before I found my own personal money tree I asked myself a series of questions to figure out just what type of home based business I wanted.
I asked myself what I was passionate about. If money was no object and I could do anything I wanted, what would that be? Whatever thought first pops in your head, no matter how outrageous or different from your current job it might be, that is your passion.
Study after study has been done that shows people who are passionate about what they are doing are more successful than people who don’t feel that way about their jobs. In fact one of the common threads among the richest men in America is that they all claimed to have a natural passion for their job which they attribute to bringing them wealth and happiness.
If you want to start a business and find success easily then do something you have a natural passion for. If you’re really into animals why not start an online business involving them. Perhaps you’re really adept at speaking in front of people. Then you should start an online business that teaches others how to be successful at it too. Whatever your passion is, you will undoubtedly find success if you pursue it.
Once I had realized my passion (mine is starting and growing businesses. I like doing it for myself as well as for others. I get a rush from the process and anticipation.), I needed to see if I could make it into a business so I tried to imagine what type of products or services I could sell.
No matter what business you start, whether it be business to business or business to consumer, you need something to sell; it’s the building block of any business. Spend some time researching what others in your field are already selling. Can you create something similar to that but better? Try to come up with at least three to five product ideas that you think you could offer. You don’t need to have fleshed out every detail at this point, but you should have an outline for each product/service that you feel confident pursuing.
I think it’s also important to look at yourself in as unbiased a way as possible and admit what you bring to the table and what skills you may lack. In addition to being passionate and needing something to sell you must be honest with yourself. Write down a list of skills you possess that will help you build a business. Are you good with money? Are you good at design? Are you good at managing projects? Whatever skills you have honed will make you that much better in your new endeavors.
In the same vein it’s important to be honest with yourself about what you are not good at. This is important to do because it will give you an idea of things you need help with. Not good with the technical side of things (this was my weakness)? Don’t lie to yourself and say you think you can figure it out. Doing so will only frustrate you down the line. Make a list of skills you lack and come up with some solutions to these problems. Check out online resources to overcome these difficulties. This can be an uncomfortable thing to do but ultimately you will benefit. Remember you are working to make your business stronger. Anything you can figure out ahead of time will allow you to reach wealth and success that much quicker.
If you want to start your own online business you should ask yourself these same questions. They help you flesh out exactly what you want. You may surprise yourself at what you learn. Sometimes what you think you want is not what you come up with. I thought I wanted to work in healthcare administration. I even got a degree in it. Turns out I didn’t. Instead I found happiness in building online businesses. By asking myself these same questions I found my own money tree and I couldn’t be happier doing it.
If you want to find your own money tree but don’t know where to start, don’t worry. You are in the right place. I have helped thousands of people just like you start their own business. I take the hard work right out of their hands and give them a profitable business that they can manage themselves. It brings them success, money, satisfaction and most of all happiness.
Enjoy!
Ethan Warrick
