Did you know that many super successful businesses have been started during economic downturns? Hyatt, Burger King, IHOP, The Jim Henson Company, Microsoft, and even MTV was started during an economic downturn. These are very successful businesses that started on a wing and a prayer with low start up costs, even in the garage of a parent’s home, and are now recognized the world over just by their name.

Aside from these well known businesses, there have been solely owned and operated businesses owned by people just like you, who found a new and exciting way to support their families and themselves. They might not be multinational billion dollar corporations but they do quite well supporting their family and their retirement years. Contracting, consulting, and other types of  ”home businesses” or entrepreneurship have exploded during this last recession just as they have during every other economic downturn we have had in our country. Read the rest of this entry »

Here’s a bit of a A ha moment according to the Small Business Administration, 63% of all small business fail in the first 5 years!

This is a sad but true reality.  Even sadder is that many of these businesses could have succeeded.  Generally it’s not the lack of ideas that cause business failure.  One of the top reason for failure starts at the beginning the inception of your business.  It’s lack of vision.  Without vision how do you know where you’re going or even when you’ve arrived.

To start with, goals are crucial. When we set goals, what we’re really trying to do is to bring each piece of our lives in line with our overall vision for ourselves. Using a powerful vision-setting process can help you set more effective goals, since you can chart a course that will take you toward and support your vision.

Do you have a vision for each segment of your life? Do you know where you’re headed spiritually, socially, relationally, physically, financially, and more?

Use this process to help you create a vision that works for you:

1. Write down your vision for a particular aspect of your life. Write a couple of paragraphs describing what you’d like to have or be. There’s no right or wrong. In fact, you probably won’t precisely articulate your dreams the very first time you try the exercise. A reasonable guess is a good place to start.

• In writing your vision, avoid focusing on what you don’t want, because this will only bring about more of that. Turn your back on negativity and focus on what you do want to bring about.
  For example, if you want more money: Avoid wording your statement like: “I don’t want to be poor anymore.” Instead, envision what it would be like to be rich, which is what you want, and write about what that would be like for you.
  Although you may feel challenged when first learning to focus on what you want, it gets easier. Plus, the rewards are spectacular when you can do it consistently. You’ll start to notice that your life seems as if you can change it at will, which you can.

2. Visualize. Read your vision statement 2-3 times a day and imagine that aspect of your life matches your vision perfectly. How does your vision make you feel? Are you really excited and enthusiastic? Is it appealing to you on all levels? This shouldn’t take more than 60 seconds to do each time.

3. Refine. If you feel really good about your vision, that’s great. If not, now is the time to make some alterations. Continue refining the image of your dream life until doing your visualization feels spectacular. Re-write each new version.

• At this point, you may be wondering when this process ever ends. Fortunately, it never ends. Your vision will forever be changing slightly throughout your life, which is good, since your desires will also change over time.

4. Review your vision daily and ensure that it continues to attract you. This will rapidly usher change into your life. In turn, these changes will demonstrate that you’re actually moving towards that vision.

Create separate vision statements for all the areas of your life. Consider your finances, relationships, adventure, health, social life, and spirituality. If you can get all these visions to look just the way you want, imagine what your life will look like!

Why Spend Time On This Process?

Consider all the things you do every day. Everything you do is either helping you reach your vision or helping someone else reach theirs. Wouldn’t reaching your goals make it a lot easier for you to help others reach their?

Creating a vision is the first step to creating the life you desire. Tweak your visions frequently and really focus on the experience of living that vision. This gets easier all the time, because imagining something enjoyable is pleasurable in itself.

Don’t hesitate; create your visions today. Then, start reviewing and improving them immediately. Your life will change rapidly for the better. You’ll then be spending your time making your own visions a reality instead of making someone else’s dream come true.

There is no end to the types of businesses boomers can start right from their kitchen table. But, you might have to think outside the box to get to the core of what you can offer. The best way to do this is to write down what you do now, and how you can translate that into a business for yourself. Are you a computer genius? Are you very organized? Are you a professional of some kind like a nurse, a lawyer, a CPA? Maybe you’re a secretary, or a software engineer? Any of these positions can be turned into a business from home. Even if you’re a stay at home mother, nearing or entering the empty nest time of your life, you’ve developed skills that can be translated into a business. Read the rest of this entry »

There are many factors that go into deciding what business is the right one for you to start. Choosing a business requires you to decide upon many different aspects. Such as, your skills, talent and training, your experience, your needs, your desires, and the lifestyle you want to live. Yes, choosing the right business for you also has to do with lifestyle design, because what is the point of having a business if you find out later that you can’t live the type of life that you want to live? Read the rest of this entry »

It’s no secret that as a baby boomer starting a business can be an exciting and overwhelming endeavor but if you make the right choices, and if you do, you’ll never look back and you’ll never regret it. In order to make the right choices it is important to evaluate your goals and motives each step of the way. So ask yourself why are you starting a business in the first place.  There are a lot of reasons to start a business. Boomers are in an especially important transitional phase in their life.

You may start a business to get ready to transition for retirement, supplement your retirement income, to keep your mind and body occupied.   Maybe starting a business is a long-term dream of yours, it may be a way of giving back or even boredom meaning a way of doing something meaningful.

First of all, do you know the difference between an employee and a contractor? If you don’t, then it is important to learn the difference and the best place to learn is from the IRS if you’re in America and if you’re not then please review your countries taxing authorities rules and guidelines regarding contractors verses employees.

The IRS has some rules that determine if someone is an employee or a contractor, they are:

1. Behavioral Control — As a contract worker you cannot provide training or overly detailed instruction to your independent contractor. Simply provide guidelines, and a due date, and a final price.
2. Financial Control — You can’t tell your contractors who they can work for or control their ability to earn money from others in any way.
3. Type of Relationship — Make sure that you don’t call your contactors “employees” or give them a title with your company as this can be perceived as an employee which carries many tax liabilities and responsibilities to you. Read the rest of this entry »