I read a very good book recently. It was titled “The Richest Kids in America” by Mark Victor Hansen.

It is about a group of young people who used their imaginative ideas or talents and made a lot of money. In most of these cases the young people did not set about going into business but they saw a need in the market to fill and someone was willing to pay for the product.  Their friends or family were then willing to pay them for their work and so started a successful business venture!

What stood out to me about these young people’s experiences is how they teach us that your own opportunities are endless. I saw how they discovered their passion and what their first steps were in starting to build their business. The book highlights the key principles, principles we already have heard, that catapulted each of these incredible young entrepreneurs to success and how these same principles can lead you to a life of ultimate achievement.

Although this book, “The Richest Kids in America” is looking at the entrepreneurial spirit of these youngsters it is a valuable book for all age groups to just see what we are capable of in the raw form and put it into practice. The book really identifies how young people think and how as adults in our adult years we sometimes make things more complicated than they need to be. 

Obstacles

We all face obstacles, but we need to think of them in a whole different way. “What if around the corner from your next big problem was your next big solution”?

The book contains some useful checklists to help get your thoughts and ideas down on paper. A key phase I got from this book is “Implementation is what takes you from being a dreamer to an entrepreneur”. It should be noted that creativity, good thinking and intellectual property can turn into money now and sustain your future.

I recommend reading this book “The Richest Kids in America“ for anyone wanting to start a business. It is also a good book to encourage our children to branch out and make their own money at an early age. Traditional careers aren’t what they used to be, so we need to encourage our youths to follow their entrepreneurial dreams. After all, they are the future.

So what can an under 25 year old teach you? Find out the principles on how to start your business from the voices of young ones who are living the dream we all have.

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Social network sites are a gold mine because you get to promote your product without paying for any advertising. Studies show that people who know you are more receptive to a familiar face or cyber presence, rather than saying yes to someone they just met.

Getting Started

The first thing you have to do is become a member of a social network. There are hundreds of them around and once you sign up, you should create profile page which tells people who you are. Since most social networks sites allow you to personalize your webpage, make use of it by putting your company logo, a picture of yourself and your company profile. To sell yourself, talk about your experiences of being in the business.

Start Socializing

• If the site has a section that allows you to post blogs and bulletins, maximize it by showing what products or services you currently have and maybe a preview of what you plan in the future.

• For those of you, who already have your own website; put a link on the social network page, so people who want to know more will be able to gain direct access to the information on your website.

• Don’t forget to do is visit other forums within the social network. This will enable you to find out what others are taking about. It’s possible that another member has a problem and you are the solution! It is also possible that the information from the forum will give you some fresh ideas so you can add new products.

• The best way to get the most out of social networks sites is to advertise your products on more than just one. If they are too general, try to look for a social network that specializes in whatever business or service you are offering. Do some research as to which ones are frequented by most people and maybe more attracted to you product. From there, you build up your image and hopefully in time, you will have a regular client base that will give you a steady flow of income every month.

Since you want your customers to become part your client base, it is important that you are offering good quality in your products and services. Your customers will let others know about whom you are and this will spread the word.

The Benefit of Business Marketing with Social Networks

Business marketing with social networks can help your business, and the best part is that it is free to join and there are no additional costs to maintain your membership. Why are they free? Companies who maintain these social network sites know that it is counterproductive to charge fees from their members when they can get more money from companies who are willing to engage in online advertising in their sites.

As the entrepreneur, you should put in the time and effort so you will get noticed. Just like other businesses, the use of social networks for business is not the backbone of your business marketing, but a compelling tool that helps attract additional revenue.

Having a blog on the Internet that gives people good information doesn’t do a lot of good if people don’t know it’s there. If you want people to be able to find your blog, something that is important is that you have good Search Engine Optimization, or SEO.

Whenever you put one or more words into a search bar to look for something on a search engine, the SEO of a website is what helps bring up those websites.

For example, if your blog is about quilting, you are going to want to be sure that your blog includes popular terms such as quilting, quilting supplies, and other things that are related to making a quilt.

Think about the things that people look for when they are interested in quilting, and the kinds of things that come up when you search. It’s always a good idea to use your own experience when you are optimizing your blog for searching.

Think about what has worked, what hasn’t worked, and use them for your own blog SEO. This way, when someone puts one of the terms that you put in your blog into a search engine, it will be one of the sites that comes up.

Of course, there are other factors that come into play that determine where your blog will come up in the list, but everyone starts somewhere.

The more keywords that your blog uses, the more people will come to your blog. It just takes time and patience.

Blogger Forums

No matter what type of blog that you have, one of the best places that you can advertise your blog is to join a blogger forum. After all, everyone who posts there has a blog and that’s the main subject. Blog forums are a great place to advertise because everyone in them are of the same mind and want to make certain that their blogs get noticed and read.

There are quite a few blogger forums that you can signup for on the internet where you can show off your blog, get your blog reviewed or review other blogs, and find lots of tools that you can use for your own blog.

If you use your blog to advertise something that you are selling, or you want to get a lot of traffic to your blog in order to make money, you want to go someplace where it can get exposure.

When you advertise on a blog forum, you know that you are placing your advertisement in a place where blogging is something that people enjoy.

Just remember when you are posting to a forum to read the rules and abide by them. That way you’ll get your blog noticed and you will know that you are doing the right thing.

Traffic from Blogging

Blogging traffic is a give and take relationship. Sometimes one of the best ways to get traffic to your blog is by visiting someone else’s blog.

Go to their blog and read one of their entries, or read a few of them. Chances are that you are going to find something that you both have in common. When you find something that you find truly interesting on a blog, leave a comment so that they know that you were there.

For example, are you interested in jet skiing? You can search and find out what other bloggers are interested in jet skiing as well.

 When you are comment on someone’s post, you want to make sure that you don’t leave a generic comment. If you like the post, say something about what you read in the post. After you have commented on the person’s post, then you can say something like, ‘I really like jet skiing too. I had a similar experience to yours.’ And then use it to link back to your blog or website, preferably on the same or similar subject.

But be sure that you sound sincere when you are commenting, and don’t make them feel like you’re just fishing for traffic. If someone thinks that you are using their blog to get more traffic to yours, they won’t visit your site and your efforts will be wasted.

Some of us have wanted to make an extra income to supplement what we have coming in already or you may be unemployed and need to make some money. This is a great time to use your imagination and find a niche and start a small business.

You might have some ideas of your own but here are a few  I have found that might inspire you.

Crafts and Handmade Goods

I recently saw on  a morning show a designer making clothing like Neck ties out of old cassette tape! Making stuff is big news, it’s inspiring a new breed of entrepreneur. A crafter sells their wares at online sites like Etsy.com,  craft fairs or by building their own website to sell their designs and local farmers markets. Craft supplies like jewelry kits, knitting supplies and scrap-booking materials are popular sellers, so are the end results of those crafts. Can you paint or draw, maybe paint or draw on wine glasses, handbags, hats? Can you put together a kit of your crafts for example, for people who like scrap-booking, you can put a kit together with all the supplies someone needs to complete just one scrapbook project like for their last vacation and supply the vacation themed cut outs etc. and sell it

Senior Products

Dan Michel founded Dakim Inc. in 2001 to provide such a product and came up with the mPower Cognitive Fitness System. He got the idea after designing games for his father, who was suffering from Alzheimer’s. “The more I engaged him in things that turned out to be cognitively stimulating, the more ‘with it’ he was,” recalls Michel. The staff at the senior living community loved the games, too–and asked Michel to create a product for use with other residents. The resulting touchscreen system lets seniors play games, puzzles and other challenging and fun cognitive activities. The response from senior centers has pushed sales into the seven figures and inspired this Santa Monica, California, entrepreneur to create an at-home version, set to launch next year.There’s a growing need for products and services that fit the senior community. Check out what’s already available and think about what would make life easier for both patients with dementia symptoms and their caregivers.

Health and Fitness

Everyone is conscious about their health and weight these days. Do you like to dance? Do you have or know a cultural dance line Salsa, Rumba, Ball room or African dance? You can use a room in your house or rent a classroom at the local school or pool house in your sub-division or community room and teach people to dance. Charge a fee to cover costs and pay yourself. Or just let people come in and dance, your own mini disco!

Niche Directory or Local Directory

A niche directory offers items to people within a certain niche or interest group. The owner makes money from business owners who pay to advertise their products to buyers who all share a love or enthusiasm for a certain topic or niche. Or you could sell the directory like a list of local Poodle accessory stores or retailers of pink leather biker wear. Think about what information may be lacking in your local community. 

Niche directories are what you can call a win-win situation. They are very popular for three fundamental reasons. Number one, consumers like them because it’s an easy way to find products or services that cater to their interests. Number two, advertisers love them because they deliver targeted customers. Number three, the directory owner makes money month after month.

These are just a few. Bookmark this site and find more in the future.

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One of the reasons  women start a small business is because they want more control over their life, more freedom, flexibility, and control. They want to be able to spend more time with and on their family and themselves. These business minded women have always been more focused on their roles  as a wife, mother, and entrepreneur and seek to build a business to create more flexibility than a traditional 9-to-5 job.

Men Tend To Dream of the Possibilities

Recently more men are beginning to think about lifestyle control and other options when building a business. It’s not that men don’t put values and family on the front line of their business or job, but most women entrepreneurs make it the number one priority over everything else. In my opinion, men are the dreamers and less pragmatic than women. The traditional business philosophy is either in direct conflict with feminine tendencies of acting on intuition or connection with others, or has no relation to it and feels very unnatural to a woman.

For example, telling a woman that upon conception of her entrepreneurial idea she needs to write a business plan at once, work out all the figures, and define her exit strategy is counter-intuitive and counterproductive to her natural tendency to go out in the world and associate. More typically she would get the information and work through an idea slowly bouncing ideas off those around her area of interest, get information from friends and colleagues, or enjoy a long dinner from which a prospective or unexpected partnership might arise. Women are more likely to have a creative idea when out and about mingling or even having lunch with a friend, rather than buried in paperwork at a desk. That is why many women entrepreneurs create products that they developed out of their individual needs. These ideas come from either frustration or a strong desire to have something they aren’t able to find on the market.

How She Does It: How Women Entrepreneurs Are Changing the Rules of Business, (written by Margaret Heffernan) wrote that women think about what their business will stand for before they start planning anything else. According to Heffernan, male entrepreneurs see their businesses as a machine, while female entrepreneurs see it as a living organism. 

It’s not to say that the way women deal with business is better than the way men develop a business or the traditional business philosophy – it is just can be different. You need to take charge and do as you feel. See your business idea through your eyes.