I caught up with the new entrepreneur’s (Terry and Sherry Braley) this January at a Biker Rally. After talking to some fellow riders they were telling me about Terry and Sherry’s new website (Road Rash Apparel) and how low their prices were on their Leather Apparel. So after digging through the crowd I finally met up with them. I introduced myself and we sat down and must have talked for over 2 hours about their new business. Well, they talked. I asked Terry and Sherry why they started their business and WHY! Do you sell your apparel so cheap?

Terry – “Well, we were on the Internet one night looking for some leather jackets and chaps to purchase. We must have searched for three hours looking at what seemed to be every site there was to look at and I couldn’t believe the prices of some of them. I know you get what you pay for, but damn? I don’t want to pay for the whole cow! “

Sherry –“It seems that all the cheep leather was that “patched leather” or some call it “Diamond Cut leather”. We weren’t interested in that. Not to say there’s anything wrong with it. If that’s what you like, then buy it. To each its own.”

Terry- “Yeah. I had asked around about what kind of jacket to buy. The majority of the riders I had asked, told me to get one that was made for riding. You know, just in case you lay your bike down. And patched leather wasn’t the best way to go.
    Anyway, I made the comment that someone needs to start selling this stuff that caters to us poor bikers.”

Sherry – “I looked over at Terry and said, “We can do it””

Terry – “A week later I quit my job and started building the website. I did A LOT of research on Leather. Types, thickness of it and where it comes from. I was almost sick of leather after about 3 days. Anyway, we decided we wanted to purchase our leather from an American made manufacturer and I ended up finding a company in Spokane WA that had what we were looking for. They manufacture leather apparel made for bike riders. And its damn good leather. And I’ll tell you. What I pay for the jackets and what I sell them for, we don’t make a big profit on them”.

Now that we've covered those aspects of Biker Shirts, Leather Jackets, Motorcycle Apparel, Boots, Chaps, Vests, Leather Lingerie, let's turn to some of the other factors that need to be considered.

Sherry – “Yea, we’re not in it to get rich. Just make a little money and help out our fellow bikers”.

Terry – “Since we’ve went live on the Internet we have sold more T-Shirts than jackets. That’s okay. I think when people see our price’s they think its cheep leather and stray away from it. But it’s Top Quality Leather! You can’t find our type jackets on the internet for a better price I think”

Well without going into the whole 2-hour conversation we had. We continued to talk and they told me more about what they sold on their site. T-Shirts, Leather Lingerie, Boots, Chaps, Vests and the list went on. Terry said “right now we sale over 700 types of t-shirts and plan on adding more. By the time we get done, we will have well over 1500. That’s a lot of damn shirts”

These were two of the friendliest people I have ever met. Both Terry and Sherry are from Georgia and reside in Douglasville Ga. And you could tell that these were just two people really trying to look out for fellow bikers and our shallow pockets.

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I had the honor of speaking this week at a women's business association luncheon on the topic of entrepreneurship. When I mentioned to my wife the day before that I was speaking to group of women entrepreneurs she asked, "Why on earth would they ask you to speak?"

In her defense, my dear wife has no idea what I do for a living. She's never read a single one of the several hundred columns I've written. She's never attended a function where I'm speaking or sat in the audience at any of my seminars.

She just knows that we live a very comfortable lifestyle and believes me when I tell her our money doesn't come from the drug trade.

Beyond that, she's incredibly happy in her ignorance of her husband's skills.

When I feigned hurt feelings she waved a hand at me and said, "My point is, what in the world can a man tell a roomful of women that they don't already know?"

Henny Youngman, Ralph Cramden, Rodney Dangerfield, Tim Knox. At least I'm in good company.

But she had a point. What the heck did I know about women in business? So as not to look like a total idiot in front of this group of what I now call "womentrepreneurs" I decided to do a little research on the topic.

Here's what I discovered: while some still believe it's a man's world, when it comes to business, women are catching up fast.

According to the Center For Women's Business Research there are over 10 million women-owned businesses in the US, employing 18 million people and generating $2.32 trillion in sales.

Women start businesses at two times the rate of men and women-owned businesses account for 28 percent of all businesses in the United States and represent about 775,000 new startups per year and account for 55% of new startups.

One thing that I found particularly interesting was that the top growth industries for women-owned businesses in recent years were construction, wholesale trade, transportation/communications, agribusiness and manufacturing, industries traditionally dominated by men.

In the past 25 years the number of women-owned firms in the US has doubled, employment has increased four-fold and their revenues have risen five-fold.

Here is the question I sought particularly to answer: Do women approach business differently than men? I've been compared to a bull in a china shop when it comes to business. Would a female counterpart approach things differently? More gracefully, perhaps? As my lovely bride would say, "Duh."

In her book, How to Run Your Business Like a Girl, Elizabeth Cogswell Baskin explored common female traits and how women entrepreneurs - and perhaps men, as well - can use those traits to their entrepreneurial advantage.

Baskin reported that women tend to use three unique strengths more than their male counterparts: trusting their intuition, focusing on relationships, and putting more emphasis on keeping their life in balance.

Trust Your Gut

Women are much more likely to make a decision based on a gut feeling. Women may gather the facts and figures necessary to back up that feeling, but they generally know what they want to do based on intuition.

Build Strong Relationships

Men play the game of business like a sport. They are out to win and dominate. "Women," Baskin says, "are much more interested in establishing a connection."

Find A Balance Between Work and Life.

A number of women interviewed for this book cited on quality of life as their reason for starting a business, alluding to their desire to find a way to juggle family and work. "If having more time for your family is important to you, find a way to work that into your day. It's not so much how much work you do, but being able to decide when you'll do it."

Baskin offers one more piece of advice to women in the early stages of their business:

You Don't Have To Know Everything.

My wife would argue this point because she really does know everything, but Baskin says when it comes to business, thinking you know everything is not the key to success.

"It's amazing how many women say they didn't know anything when they started their business," Baskin said. "Don't be afraid to ask for help - you don't have to be perfect at everything."

Solid business advice: for guys and gals.

Here's to your success!

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In discussing entrepreneurship and writing articles on the subject, I have found that it aids understanding when we begin by agreeing on exactly what the word means to us.

Entrepreneurship is the process of creating or seizing an opportunity, and pursuing it regardless of the resources currently controlled. The American Heritage Dictionary defines an entrepreneur to be “a person who organizes, operates, and assumes the risk for business ventures."

These are rather abstract concepts for a person just beginning to consider whether they ought to start a business rather than take a job, or leave a secure job for a chance at greater self-fulfillment. Let us try to refine our understanding of entrepreneurship by asking some more specific questions.

Is everyone who runs a business an entrepreneur? Many would not consider the newspaper carrier, shoeshine person, and grass cutter entrepreneurs, though these are often the youthful pursuits of those with an entrepreneurial bent.

Does it matter whether the business is merely part-time? Whereas some part-time activities are basically hobbies, or undertaken to supplement income, some entrepreneurial ventures can be tested in the marketplace on a part-time basis.

The path to an entrepreneurial venture might begin by earning a salary in the business one expects to enter, while learning more about it, and waiting for the opportune time to go out on one's own. This time can be used to develop a support network, professional and personal, and generating ideas to “bounce off” people whose opinion one respects.

At what scope does self-employment become a venture? The primary objective of many self-employed people is merely to employ themselves (and others if necessary) at a moderate to good salary; some are even willing to eke out a living to do what they enjoy. This approach is often referred to as a “lifestyle” business, and is generally accompanied by little, if any, plan for growth.

These questions are intended, not to develop a precise definition of entrepreneurship, but to help us understand our attitude toward its many forms of expression. We may each answer these questions differently, yet all answer appropriately within our own frame of reference.

Entrepreneurship is more an attitude than a skill or a profession. Some of us may prefer a corporate or public service career path, but many would choose an entrepreneurial opportunity that “feels right.”

Would you consider a person who inherits a business an entrepreneur? From the point of inheritance on, it is their own money and financial security at risk. They could possibly sell the business, invest the proceeds in blue-chip stocks, and live off dividends. Some might consider managing a personal stock portfolio for a living as an entrepreneurial venture.

Would a person who inherited a small or marginal business, then took it to new dimensions be considered an entrepreneur? The inheritor could have tried merely to keep it going, or even to pace the business’ decline to just carry them to retirement. In a family-held business, long-term success is often a central goal.

Are franchise owners entrepreneurs? Many feel that, for those who have access to the large up-front investment, franchises are sure things. For many, operating a franchise is similar to investing in “blue chips,” a relatively sure thing with generally unexciting returns.

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First steps: choosing the business

When I was thinking about starting an internet business there were a few things that were must have requirements.

The first one was that I needed to be able to get the business to profitability for less than $1600 (£100). In practice each site has cost more than that when you figure in the marketing costs needed to get it off the ground quickly. The silk tie retailing site was set up for less than $300 but when you factor in marketing spend, then I have spent almost $800 per month on marketing, mostly Google Adwords and Overture. It is only after month three that I have got close to breaking even. Anyway, near enough and if you are more patient and make less costly mistakes than me then you should be able to do it for less.

Secondly. The business had to need as little manual work as possible. I am after a business that I can start working part time and as am a management consultant and sell my time by the hour, for me time really is money. I am also not keen on hiring people if I can avoid it. The internet has the potential to offer some really virtual businesses and I wanted to use this. For this reason as well as start-up costs this means that I do not want to stock or handle any products. I do a lot of supply chain consulting work so it was obvious to me that I could have a business that used other companies to buy, store and deliver the products. The easiest way to do this is by using dropshipping. Dropshippers are wholesalers that ship individual customer orders direct to your customers.

There is a lot of information on dropshipping online, however it has to be said that there are some terrible dropshipping companies where prices are too high or products too common to successful. Typical of these is thSelect which charges a fee to join, but once you join you find that the prices are often higher than they are being sold for on eBay and are widely sold with lots of competition. It is very hard to make good money from these sort of dropshippers. There are however some good companies out there with niche products where achievable margins are good.

The third requirement was that the business needed to have the potential to generate at least $1k per month in profit. That way with a few web businesses it could become my full time job. I decided that I was not trying to start the next Amazon, instead I was after a good profitable niche. Something not too competitive and with no house-hold names as competitors. This means that I have not gone into electronics even though it is the area I know the best, it is a very competitive market online and were competition includes Amazon and Dixons. To be successful in electronics you either need to find a niche not served by the big boys or spend serious money to get established.

I then started searching for business ideas. I read the get rich quick newsletters, internet marketing newsletters, internet business forums and drop shipping websites. I searched for dropship suppliers then when I found a product that I thought might be promising, did a search for it and checked out the competition. If after that it still looked interesting then I did a keyword search on Google AdWords to find out how many clicks I could get and at what cost.

While doing this I came across some sites selling ready-made business websites. Essentially they provide a shop template, a catalogue and a supplier of stock and off you go. These sell for between £50 ($80) and £500 ($800). I wasted a fair bit of money with a couple of false starts. I bid on a lingerie web business template on eBay with a starting price of £99; my wife was a lingerie merchandiser for Marks & Spencers and so I though she could help, then I saw a gadgets website from the same people and thought I would get that and see if I could find a gadgets niche and bid for that too. Trouble was I then did some more research and found that lingerie was very competitive online and that the supplier I would be getting had a limited selection of very tarty undies at rather high prices. I also found that the gadget supplier was the Select and as I have already said they are overpriced. I then found the tie web business and decided this was a better niche where margins really are 60% and bought that one from DpbUK who have been very good. Unfortunately no one else bid on the two on eBay and I ended up winning them although I no longer wanted them. $300 wasted. Oops. So do your homework carefully before buying; look carefully at the sample sites and try and find some clues to the suppliers, check the competition out and make sure the margins are high enough.

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The conversion rate is the key stat for a website. As long as you are paying for clicks, the efficiency with which you convert those clicks to sales is really the only measure that counts in determining your website design. When I started my UK silk tie website it took a while to get enough data to start tracking and conversion rate as you need at least ten sales to get any sort of statistically valid result. It took a couple of weeks to make the first ten sales and I calculated my conversion rate at 0.5%. As I was paying 25p per click, this means that it was costing me £50 per customer. Even with an average order size of £30, this was a long way from profitability. Luckily, conversion rates can change quite dramatically with things like the website design, sales copy, products on the front page, range of products, product descriptions, guranatees, pricing, ease of payment etc. etc. In short there are many things you can do to get conversions up.

The great thing about internet businesses is that you can make a change, measure the result and if it doesn't work, then change it back. I am constantly trying new things to see if it affects the figures. Initially I changed too many things too quickly and it was very hard to unpick the results of different factors. Also the Christmas period started when I was one month in and conversion rates rose strongly and then fell back after Christmas, it was hard then to unpick the seasonal effect from my changes.

One of the first thing I experimented with was pricing. From my initial prices of about £9 for a woven silk tie, I tried cutting them to £8 for a few weeks and then putting them up to £11 for a few weeks, then cutting back a bit, until settling on prices about 15% higher than my first try, just over £10 average price. Cutting prices below this point did not seem to increase sales.

I also looked at which ties sold well and put them on the featured products list which are then randomly selected on the front page. I worked a lot on the cataloging of the ties by colour, style etc. and added keywords so that people could find what they wanted easily.

I also experimented with my sales copy and have made the money back guarantee more and more prominent. One of the first things you need to establish when people visit your site is credibility. So I have the address at the top so that people know we are easy to physically track down, I have put the Visa and Mastercard symbols near the top for legitamcy, I have signed up to affiliate programs for upmarkets shirt makers so that I can display their ads to add credibility and as I started to get a few pieces of nice feedback from people, I added them to the site. All of these changes have pushed the conversion rate up to over 1% and I am now targeting 2% with my next wave of changes which will try and capture email addresses for follow up mailing by offering a free ebook on a mens fashion related subject. More about that another time.

There is a feature in both AdWords and Overture which, once you have inserted a piece of html code into your payment page (or, as I did got your web site supplier to do it) will allow you to track conversion rates by keyword. I am only now building enough data to do this justice, but it allows you to cut out keywords which don't convert well. For example, I had been buying the keywords "how to tie a tie" and was getting 50 clicks a day at a bargain £0.02 each, however after 1700 clicks I still hadn't made a sale, despite making sure there was sales text in with the tie instructions and ties shown either side. Not entirely surprising as people searching for tie instructions were not looking to buy ties, but clearly they do wear them and I thought some people would buy one. Not so. So now I am saving that money.

I recently received an email from a reader of my previous articles, Louis Roberts. It's great to know that people are reading my blog already. Louis asks "I first read your article on "ezinearticles" and it brought me to your site; I like your online store. How are your online businesses doing? Are you hitting your goals of $1000 profit per site? I am very interested in opening a store myself. Since you seem to enjoy sharing advice; I was wondering of you could recommend some good products to sell, suppliers, dropshippers, etc. that carry as you would say "healthy margins"? "

These were good questions, so I have devoted this post to answering them.
Thanks for the note, glad someone reads the articles. In answer to your questions:
No I am not yet anywhere near reaching $1000 profit per site per week. I expect it to take a year to reach that figure. As my sites are less than four months and one month old respectively there is still a way to go. It is easy, reading some of the web business sales pitches out there to believe that instant riches are easily achievable. This is not true, it takes hard work and dedication to make money. I have reached the break even point on both sites which was the first milestone - initially I was losing $500 per site per week as the cost of advertising on Google AdWords way outran my sales.

It is hard for me to tell you what to sell, but I can recommend the criteria that I used to rate a product:

Niche product where there is not a major house hold name supplier (i.e. don't go into the book business against Amazon)
Must be being sold on the internet already (you don't want to have to create a whole new market by yourself)
Must have keywords that people searching for that product would use but that are not shared with other products (for example "silk ties" and "oil paintings" are good "gifts" would be bad)
Do a search on Google for the product. If less than 5 advertisers come up on the right hand side, then chances are you can get reasonably priced traffic
Must not need a support to get it working. Things that need technical support are too problematic. You want things that are easy to use and where you can sell and forget.
I have also made it a rule that I will not hold or carry stock at least until I have strong sales and good demand already. So need a drop shipper or a make to order product.
A final point that I have learned from trying to do ties, is that you need a $50+ margin per product. The cost of attracting customers for paintings or massage chairs is not much higher than the cost of getting customers for ties, although the conversion rates are lower. It is easier to reach break even with higher ticket price items.
It also helps if it is a product that you have bought yourself and get interested in and passionate about.

Based on these criteria I have gone for silk ties with www.tiespecialist.com, oil paintings with www.artspecialist.com and soon to be launched a massage chair website. I tried selling cuff links on my tie site but the AdWords competition was so fierce that I needed to pay 75c per click to be on the front page and there was no way to make money, I dropped that idea quickly.


As for good drop shippers, I search for reviews or feedback on any supplier I am thinking of using and then do a trial order with them to make sure the quality and service is good. However popular drop shippers will have lots of people selling their products and it will be hard to make money. Always check eBay to see what prices the products sell at.

Another option is to find suppliers in China of make to order or high value products I used www.alibaba.com to find suppliers and have dealt with them by email. I hope this helps. 

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Statistics show that more than one million people in the United States start a new business each year. That number would be much higher if all the would-be entrepreneurs had the financing required to get a business up and running. In order to accomplish their dream of business ownership, entrepreneurs are finding new and innovative ways to finance their new ventures.

According to Leonard Fischer, President/CEO of BeneTrends, one of these new financing options is the use of a person's existing retirement funds-a pension, profit sharing, 401(k), IRA-which allows that person to start the business he or she has always dreamed of without tax penalties, consequences or mountains of debt.

Under the Employment Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), retirement funds can be transferred into usable capital for business investments or operations. If a person has more than $40,000 in a retirement account and is not currently employed by the company that holds those funds, he or she qualifies for this Small Business Administration (SBA)-recognized financing approach to start a business.

Retirement funds can be used for any business purpose, including:

• Purchasing a franchise or existing business

• Start-up expenses, such as purchasing property, equipment, etc.

• Working capital, including paying salaries, franchise fees, etc.

• Business expansion, such as funding additional franchises, locations, etc.

• Equity toward SBA or other loans.

The thought of dipping into one's retirement can cause some apprehension. Through this investment strategy an individual actually has more control over his/her retirement-instead of gaining minimal growth dependent on the stock market, those savings are actually being invested in one's own business. This approach often allows an individual to set aside more money for retirement than ever before.

"Today's entrepreneur faces an environment of tremendous competition, complexity and opportunity, so starting a business the right way is more important than ever," says Dr. Germain Boer, Director of Vanderbilt University's Center for Entrepreneurship. "This financing method is a good option for an individual who has accumulated funds in his/her retirement accounts."

The entire process generally takes two to four weeks to be completed, and can be done by phone, email, fax, FedEx and regular mail.

Working with an experienced employee benefits plan expert, starting a business is as simple as these four steps:

Step 1: Establish a C-corporation.

Step 2: The new corporation creates a retirement plan.

Step 3: Funds are rolled over into the corporation's new retirement plan.

Step 4: The new retirement plan purchases the stock of the corporation.

"So many people have watched their dream of owning their own business go out the window due to lack of funding options. We help people achieve that dream every day using money they already have," says Fischer.

If you're ready to explore this innovative financing option, be sure to consult an expert to guide you through the specialized process.

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Young entrepreneurs and business owners are often times faced with the choice of which road to take. On one hand, there is the more conservative route of staying in college and getting a degree. On the other hand, many have thriving businesses that are making more money than their degree will ever get for them. Is college simply a hindrance? Or is it a valuable resource that should be continued at all costs. Many college business owners don't even realize they have the choice of dropping out. Knowing this option is there could be vital to the success of their future business. If you are in college and are an entrepreneur or business owner you must ask your self this question: should I drop out of college?

The answer to this question often comes in many forms from many different people. I was recently at an entrepreneurial conference and had the opportunity to discuss this matter with many rich entrepreneurs. The answers I was getting from them were vastly different from those that my family had given me. On the one side I was being told that college is only useful if you are getting something out of it, and that if I was serious my businesses should take priority over schooling. From the family side I was being told to stay in school no matter what, put schooling at the forefront - there will always be time for business and it will be good to have a safe backup. Both of these answers have their merits, but which one is right?. It became clear to me that it was my decision- not the other wealthy entrepreneurs, and not your family.

Why are you in college?
This question is the fundamental element in the decision to drop out of college. Entrepreneurs must figure out the reality of why they are in college before making a decision to drop out. Some business owners are in college because their parents told them to go there, or because they didn't realize they had the choice. Other young entrepreneurs are in college because they find the information valuable and want to continue learning while they expand their business. Even more still had childhood dreams of one day being an engineer or architect and want to follow through with their early ideals. You must answer this question truthfully and honestly if you are going to make a choice about running your business full time or staying in college.

Why Do You Want to Drop Out?
It is very important to understand exactly why you want to drop out. Many business owners and entrepreneurs have vastly different reasons for dropping out of college and it is key that you understand yours. I have often fielded this question in conversation, and many times a young entrepreneur will want to drop out of college on pure speculation. This is never a good idea without a solid business plan. I recommend having a solid business plan and some backups in the least, as well as some plans for continued learning of business skills. Dropping out is a risky decision - entrepreneurs will understand and easily accept this fact. Understanding and accepting risk is part of being an entrepreneur and starting new businesses. I have also talked with many entrepreneurs who already have million dollar plus income, and are thinking about dropping out in order to focus more on their business. This instance presents an entirely new set of questions. Whatever your reasoning make sure that you understand and research your position.

Here is the Secret to Making the Decision
It all comes down to balancing the two sides of the argument. If you've figured out both your reasons for being in college and your reasons for dropping out and starting a business, then you can easily make a decision. The trick is to look at a list of both sides: your reasons for being in college and your reasons for going out and becoming an entrepreneur. If either side has reasons that aren't your own, or that have doubt in them, then you will most likely pick the other side. Here is an example situation, look at the two lists and decide what the student should do.

Student A - Reasons to Stay in College:
- My parents are paying for it, and they would flip if I left
- Everyone I know is in college, it would be weird to leave.
- A degree might give me some security later on.

Student A - Reasons to Drop Out and Pursue Business
- I have a solid business plan and have been working on it for months
- My income is almost half of my parents already
- Having more time to work on business would let me expand faster

I think it is fairly clear in this setup that we have an entrepreneur at heart. There is doubt in the reasoning behind college, and he also doubts that he will even need the security of a degree. The second list is much more profound and certain. This student knows he will be successful as an entrepreneur and he only wants to build his business more. There is certainty and understanding in his tone. With this situation it seems very likely that the student would be far better off dropping out of college and pursuing his business goals.

The case is almost never as cut and dry as the situation above, most young businessmen have far more complicated setups. Even with the complications, the end result is always the same. Follow the path that you are sure of in your heart. If you are an entrepreneur in the right position then you will know exactly why you want to drop out and that it will be better for you. Or, you will know that staying in college will teach you more about business and let you grow faster out of college. I will leave you with one last thing.

Listen to your own thoughts, and pick the path that you know is better for you.

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there ever was a living, breathing version of the American Dream, it would be Farrah Gray.

A self-made millionaire by age 14, Gray is now an internationally known and respected entrepreneur and business leader who addresses more than half a million people per year on topics such as leadership, personal development, diversity, business development and financial management.

His newest venture, with First Premier Bank and Diamond Financial Products, is the "goFarr" card, a prepaid MasterCard featuring his likeness. The card is designed to increase financial literacy and freedom for those without a credit history or who are unable to get access to a line of credit.

Because the card is prepaid, there are no interest payments, credit checks or employment requirements, and unlike most prepaid cards, the goFarr card has no monthly fees. It can be used anywhere debit MasterCard is accepted, including ATMs, and cardholders can use the card to pay bills online or get employers to do a direct deposit onto the card.

Cardholders can monitor when, where and how much they spend 24 hours a day through Web and telephone access to account information. They soon will also get financial tips from Gray through live chats, podcasts and e-mail discussions.

"When I look at the fact that one-quarter of 18- to 24-year-olds are 'un-banked,' I see that it is also a problem that plagues low-income people of all ages," Gray said. "This card can be an empowering tool that will instill valuable budgeting habits and responsible money-management skills."

Gray became an entrepreneur at age 6, selling body lotion door-to-door. At age 7, he carried a business card that read "21st Century CEO." At 13, he started Farr-Out Foods, a specialty foods company in New York. He became a published author at 19 with his financial self-help book "Reallionaire."

"Farrah Gray is one of the great business minds and icons of his generation," said Keith Byrd, chief operating officer of Diamond Financial Products. "At the age of 21, he has achieved more than many achieve in a lifetime. To those who become cardholders and are able to access financial advice from Farrah Gray, you too have the possibility to 'goFarr.'"

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Guilt, guilt, guilt.  Guilt is a terrible feeling and is often self-inflicted by creative entrepreneurs, especially during the holidays.

Most people who work for themselves say they chose to do so because they wanted to "control their time."  People who value time over money, recognize that time is a precious commodity that cannot be created, bought, or borrowed.  You have to use it wisely or else it is gone.

Having the luxury to control how, with whom, and where you spend your time is one of the bonuses of working for yourself.  So, why is it that an overwhelming number of female entrepreneurs also say they feel guilty when they are not working on their businesses or with a client between the hours of 9 am to 5 pm? 

To be truly happy and successful as an entrepreneur, you must break the corporate-created walls of time and learn how to set your day according to your needs and the needs of your clients.  There is no law chaining you to your desk eight hours a day between 9 am and 5 pm.

Here's my advice: stop feeling guilty about when you are working and when you are not, and ditch the idea of playing by rules set up by other organizations.  Make sure you benefit from the freedoms of entrepreneurship and maximize your time by performing regular activities such as food shopping at off times like 10 am on a Tuesday or having your teeth cleaned at 2pm on a Monday.   You will spend less time waiting in line, you will be less stressed, and actually have more time to devote to your clients and other activities, then if you went on a weekend or during a busier time.

Of course, be sure to take a day or two off completely during the holidays to go gift shopping, ice-skating, or for decorating your home.  Give yourself permission to enjoy your life and do something for yourself, even if it is on a week day between nine and five.  You deserve it.

Happy holidays!

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To be a successful entrepreneur you are going to have to learn to deal with failure. There is no way around it. Thomas Edison tried over ten thousand different experiments before he finally demonstrated the first incandescent light bulb on October 21, 1879. Bill Gates' first company, Traf-O-Data, was a failure. Michael Jordan was once quoted as saying: "I've missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times I've been trusted to take the game winning shot; And missed. I've failed over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed."

In my short stint as an entrepreneur I've failed more times than I can count. I have also had my share of success, but it’s not even close to equal. The failures far outweigh the successes, and I’m sure I have a lot more failure ahead of me. I’m OK with that because I know that as soon as I stop failing, I have stopped trying to innovate. It's the nature of the business of being an entrepreneur, and of success in general.

If it were easy, everyone would do it. It is naive to think that every good idea that you have will result in a successful business venture. I have yet to hear an entrepreneur say "every single idea I come up with seems to work." More likely, you hear something like "I failed at my first five businesses before this one took off."

Think about that for a second. Five businesses. Sometimes the number is three, sometimes it's 20, but the important point is that most entrepreneurs don't hit a home-run with their first company. It really does amaze me - how many people have the stones to fail five times and still start a sixth business? You have to be supremely confident and treat those previous five times as a learning experience for the sixth. And if number six fails, you have to do the same and move on to number seven.

In my opinion, the most important thing is how you deal with failure. Once you accept that it's inevitable, you are able to learn from your mistakes and move on. It's easy to let the failure consume you - not so much because you are pessimistic, but more so because it is hard to see something that you poured your heart and soul into be ignored or rejected. As soon as possible you need to come to the realization that your business is what they are ignoring or rejecting, NOT you. The sooner you do that, the sooner you can objectively analyze why you failed and learn the things necessary for improvement in the future.

Failure isn't easy and is extremely frustrating, but it's a necessary part of success. Don't believe me? Ask Thomas Edison, Bill Gates or Michael Jordan! Ok, asking Thomas Edison might be a little tough, but you get the idea


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