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3 questions to ask before starting a business

March 4, 2013 by Jana 9 Comments

This post is part of Women’s Money Week. For a roundup of some additional posts on today’s topic, make sure you go here.

I like earning money. There. I said it.

To me, there is something rewarding about using my skills and my education to bring additional income into my household. I like seeing something I thought of from the recesses of my brain come to fruition and gain some moderate success. I like spending a few hours a day on something for just me, something that’s all mine, something that makes me happy. I like designing my program and business in the way I’ve always thought they should be run. I like interacting with clients and program members. And I know I’m doing the right thing because when I sit down on a Sunday night to get some work done, it doesn’t bother me at all.

Sounds great, doesn’t it? Rest assured it’s not all rainbows and unicorns. It’s exhausting to run your own business. There’s rarely a break and sometimes, I feel guilty when I’m taking time off instead of working on an aspect of the program I run. I work crazy hours and some days, I’m completely unable to separate my life from BHB. There are days I question if I should keep doing it. But then I sit back and think about the alternative and calm the hell down.

So that’s my story. I don’t want that to dissuade you from starting your own business, even if you don’t know what you want to do. Most of us have some skill we can, with the right mindset and motivation, turn into a business, even a business that generates a small income. But before you start your own business, make sure to fully answer these questions:

Do you have the start-up capital?

Starting a business, no matter what kind, costs some money. Having a blog is probably one of the least expensive ways to run a business, but if you want to branch out, you’re going to need to spend some pretty serious cash. For instance, I know a woman who runs a custom sewing business out. While the overhead is low as she runs the business out of her house and most of her orders are taken via Facebook or her website, she’s responsible for shipping, materials, the cost of reserving booths at crafts shows and fairs, promotions, and

Although the business turns a profit now, she had to lay out a good deal of money in the beginning. If you’re going to start a business along these lines (any craft based business), make sure you have enough money to put products even before the profits start rolling in. In fact, you might wind up losing money in the beginning. Ask yourself if you are okay with this.

Are you willing to work for free or at a substantially reduced rate?

Most businesses gain a following through good, quality work and through word of mouth, rather than as an overnight success. At the beginning of your business endeavor, you are going to have to do a great deal of work for free or at a reduced rate. It’s necessary to this in order to build up a portfolio, testimonials, recommendations/referrals, and a customer base. You must also be willing to negotiate your rates at the beginning or tweak your offered services. You might wind up doing some custom projects or more of the little services rather than the big, expensive ones. Remember, in the beginning, every little bit is step towards making your business successful.

And, while we’re on the subject, remember that it’s okay to use your friends and family as test customers and offer them extra discounts. A neighbor of mine owned a construction business and the first 10 or so projects he did were for friends and family. Remember, those people know other people and if you do great work for them, they’ll be happy to recommend you to others in their networks.

Can you break out of your comfort zone?

This is an essential part of owning your own business and it mostly relates to self-promotion. Many women are too modest or insecure to step up and say “hey, I’m awesome. In fact, I’m more awesome than everyone else so hire me instead of those other losers” (maybe that’s not verbatim). We don’t like to play up our talents or gifts or abilities. It’s uncomfortable and weird and awkward and it sounds like we’re showing off. We don’t like the perception that self-promotion brings (at least in our heads) but, as it pertains to running a business, it’s essential.

You have to brag about your accomplishments and what you can do. You have to tell people that you exist if you want customers or clients. You have to make yourself stand out above your competitors not only by doing quality work but engaging in self-promotion. This is the part that I’ve struggled with the most. It’s weird to put a tweet or a blog post of Facebook status letting the world know that you’re for hire. But trust me when I say that you never know who’s listening and what doors it can open up for you. So, one day, when you’re feeling brave, just do it once. Just get over the first hurdle. The rest becomes a lot easier.

Yes, having your own business is a great way to earn extra money. I do recommend it. But before you do, make sure that it’s something you’re willing to fully commit to. If it’s not, there are plenty of other ways to earn extra income for your household.

Readers, what do you think is important to consider before starting a business?

How to handle someone laughing at your dream

January 23, 2013 by Jana 29 Comments

A few weeks ago, I ran into someone I hadn’t seen in awhile. We did the whole catching up, small talk nonsense which inevitably includes the question “so, what are you up to?”

I responded by letting her know that I’m working from home, teaching part-time, freelancing a bit, and that I started a blogger mentoring program.

At this point, she laughed. Audibly. In my face.

That’s right. This person took an idea that I had and that I am extremely proud of and laughed at it. Needless to say, I was phenomenally pissed. In typical Jana fashion, I did try to defend myself but it was too late. She didn’t care. She had sufficiently cut me down and was done with it. But I wasn’t. Because also in typical Jana fashion, I spent days stewing in how pissed I was.

Then I stopped. And I paused for a moment to reflect on what happened. And I gave myself a little pep talk so I could get over it and move on. Here’s what I said:

Engaging in an argument is futile. I did try to defend my idea. But as I said, she didn’t care. Nothing I explained was going to change her mind. It would have been a waste of time, a waste of breath, and a waste of energy. When someone laughs at you for an idea, no matter how conventional or unconventional, arguing with them isn’t going to get you anywhere. They are not going to come around and see where you’re coming from. They may placate you but they won’t change their opinion. So don’t bother. Instead…
Use it as motivation. Work even harder to show that person that laughing at you was straight up wrong. And then, when you are super successful, you can rub it in. And not allow them to partake in your success. Because it feels so good to prove someone else wrong. Especially someone who doubts you. Or is that just me?
Realize it’s not about you. A person who laughs at someone else’s ideas is usually too scared to venture outside of the norm. Hearing someone else is trying to achieve a dream or start something for scratch is uncomfortable for a lot of people because it highlights their own insecurities and weaknesses. And that? Has nothing to do with you.
Ignore it. This is probably the hardest thing to do. For some reason many of us, myself included, tend to let in the negative while shutting out the positive. Don’t do that. Don’t let it in because that will only make yourself doubt what you’re doing. And you need to be your biggest cheerleader (I’m working really hard on this part). So don’t allow the negativity to sink in.
Don’t doubt yourself. You will have your naysayers. You will have people who make you think like you are an asshole for doing something nontraditional or reaching for your dreams. You will have people that want you to fail. But never, ever let that make you think you can’t do it. Whatever your “it” may be.

I know that this sounds difficult. It is. It took me days to work through everything I needed to in order to feel better. But it worked and now I’m more driven than ever. If for no other reason than to prove to myself that I can turn a negative into a positive. And every time I doubt what I’m doing, I think about that smug little laugh and picture myself slapping her in the face with it.

And then I really feel better.

Better late than never: My 2013 goals

January 9, 2013 by Jana 9 Comments

See...everyone has goals. — See…everyone has goals.

I stopped making New Year’s resolutions a long time ago. I stopped because, for me, they’re just too vague. It’s easy to make a statement like “I resolve to lose weight” or “I resolve to write a book this year”. But really, what do they mean? To me, not a whole lot. They’re just words with nothing concrete and substantive behind them.

That’s why I’ve started setting yearly goals. Rather than a vague, empty resolution, goals give me something to achieve. They’re something to work towards and plan for. They give me progress to measure and track, and I really enjoy the little milestones I achieve along the way.

To make sure that I stick with my goals, I write them down along with the different steps I need to take to get to the end result. I try not to set deadlines that are too specific, although I do need to give myself some sort of time frame (if I don’t, I feel like they’ll linger forever and I’ll never actually get anything accomplished). And I make sure that I share my goals with others as a way of not only holding myself accountable but hopefully to inspire others to do the same.

This year is no different. And, so I hold to my own rules, I’m going to share some of them with you (that way, if you feel like it, you can ask me how they’re going):

Complete my pioneer project. I have become rather…fond of the pioneers of the 1800s. So much so that I’ve decided to sort of live like them (even though, at my core, I know I’d make a terrible pioneer). I’m not giving up some of my beliefs nor do I plan on wearing prairie dresses and sunbonnets but I am going to try to hone some skills and adapt some of their ways of life. I’m not blogging about it but rather, I’m keeping a journal. How pioneer-esque is that? And, when it’s all over, I’m going to write a book about it. Or not. I haven’t decided yet.
Grow the Bloggers Helping Bloggers Mentoring Program. I have lots of ideas and occasionally, one of them is a good one. I feel this way about my BHB program and, with the help of J. Money from Budgets Are Sexy, the program is starting to take off in the way that I had hoped. We have some crazy good mentors lined up for this next round and I’m hoping they stick around (and recruit some of their friends). I plan to figure out ways to grow the program outside of the personal finance niche and maybe (and this is a big maybe) figure out a way for the program to make money. There’s also something else on tap for BHB that I don’t want to share just yet but suffice it to say, it’s a pretty big deal.
Pay cash for all of our trips. This one shouldn’t be too hard since we stopped using credit cards a long time ago. But this is the first year that we’ve planned more than one trip. I’m going to Nashville with my husband in June, I’m going to FinCon13 (whenever and wherever that it is), we’re taking a family vacation at a place TBD, and my husband is going on a golf trip with some friends. So that’s a lot more than usual and our income is much more limited than in the past. But with some careful planning and budgeting, I’m certain we can get it done. Or we readjust our plans.
Read all the books on my list. For as long as I can remember, I’ve maintained various lists of books I want to read. This year, though, I condensed them all into one master list and put it out there on Pinterest. I have a board—Books to Read in 2013—that has 34 pins. My goal is to read every book on that list unless I hate it. I’ve instituted a rule for my life: Life is too short to read books that suck. So if any book on that list sucks, I won’t finish it but I will replace it with something else. This list does not include any of the Little House on the Prairie books I’m working my way through nor does it include cookbooks. I’m also open to recommendations in case I finish these books or for 2014.
Edit my NaNoWriMo novel. One of my long standing life goals is to be a published novelist. I took the first step this past November when I participated in (and won!) NaNoWriMo. But I need to do more if I want the book published. So this year, I plan to make the major edits that are desperately needed and then send that draft off to some friends for their suggestions. I also need to research finding an agent and look into the self-publishing arena. I also need to carve out time to get this all done. But it’s a goal so I’ll make sure to get it done.

So those are the major goals this year. I think it’s just enough to keep me busy and focused but not overwhelmed (which, incidentally, will be the topic for my first “how-to” guide on DMS. Coming in February). They’re also completed doable. Which is kind of the point.

What are your goals? Either leave them in the comments or, if you wrote a post, place the link below:

5 work lessons from sorority rush

December 12, 2012 by Jana 8 Comments

Sometimes, the parts of a situation we hate the most are the ones that teach us some of the most valuable life lessons. This is the case for me and sorority rush.

sorority — “Fabulous” is a bit of a stretch.

I hated rush. Like really, really hated it. It sucked, it was tedious, it was exhausting and once, it even prompted me to refuse to talk for an entire night (I think my husband still has the sign I wrote declaring that I was done speaking). Unfortunately for me, though, I was good at rush. This meant I often had to take the lead spots in the receiving line, help other girls who had a difficult time making small talk, and walk new sisters through the process. Kind of like a rush mentor.

Then I started thinking about how similar those tasks are to leadership roles at work. This thinking meandered down the river of too much time on my hands and led me to the island of other work lessons I learned from rush:

Work when you don’t want to. For reasons that none of us could explain, our first rush party (which was dictated by the Panhellenic Council, so we had no say in the matter) was always, every year, without fail, on Valentine’s Day. The timing was pretty amazing, actually. Those of us with boyfriends clearly hated this unfortunate circumstance, and the girls without boyfriends weren’t too pleased either. But we had to attend, especially if we wanted to keep the rush chair off our backs and not pay a fine for missing a rush party. So even though I would have rather spent the night with my boyfriend, I showed up.

The same goes for work. There will be times when you really, really don’t want to work. You’re hungover or it’s a beautiful day and you’d rather go to the park or it’s rainy and you’d rather stay in bed and watch movies or the idea of work in general makes you want to throw up. And maybe on some of those days you take a vacation day or a mental health day. You can’t always do that, though. For starters, it’s looks bad to constantly call out and two, it’s a good way to burn through your time. So, most times, you need to show up at your job even when you don’t feel like it. It’s part of having a job and being a good employee. And also keeping a job.

Show up on time. Or deal with the consequences. I wasn’t alone in the fact that I hated rush. Most of the girls in my chapter hated it. Those 4 nights were, at times, akin to torture. We’d leave the parties hoarse, exhausted, frustrated, and sometimes kind of sad. Not really incentive to show up the next night. But we did, and we did so on time. Because if we didn’t, there were consequences like fines and a really annoying lecture from the rush chair. No one wanted that. So we used those potential consequences as incentive to show up on time (even early!).

For as difficult as it may be, you need to show up to work on time. Not only is punctuality most often a job requirements but it’s part of conducting yourself professionally. It’s how a responsible employee acts, even if your boss or supervisor is chronically late. You need to be better than that. Because if you’re not, you will get into trouble in some manner, even if that manner is passive aggressive monitoring from a nosy co-worker. It’s best just to adjust your schedule, either at home or at work, to ensure that you arrive on time. [Read more…]

6 ways to succeed at your first job

December 10, 2012 by Jana 4 Comments

This is a guest post from the author behind Gen Y Finance Journey. Gen Y Finance Journey is a marketing professional in her 20’s. A former shopaholic, she’s navigating her way through adulthood learning about frugality, investing, and healthy living. Follow her on Twitter at @GenY_Finance.

Your first job out of college can be very scary. Your responsibilities may not align with what you studied in college and you’ll likely be expected to learn a lot of new skills. Some employers have structured training programs, while others don’t. You may be joining with a whole crop of recent graduates, or you may be the youngest employee. One thing is for certain though: you want to be successful at your first job.

You only get one chance to apply for jobs and not be judged for a lack of work experience, so you want to make the most of that first job. When it comes time to apply for your next job, you’ll want to have great references and a demonstrated commitment to excellence. The raises and promotions you receive in your first job will influence the types of jobs you’ll be eligible for later on and the level of compensation you can request.

Here are six things you can do to almost guarantee success at your first job and put you in a position for a great career.

DON’T SAY NO

You might have been hired for a specific job, but as a recent graduate, you need to build up your skill set, and that means accepting projects that may not be in your job description. A willingness to take on new projects will prove to your boss that you’re motivated and dedicated to your job. It conveys a desire to grow within the company and will set you up nicely for raises and promotions. Supervisors really like people who are willing to go above and beyond the call of duty.

Taking on new projects will also help you build your resume for when it comes time to look for a new job. To increase your skill set, you could take courses, but that requires you to pay course fees and put in extra hours outside of work. When you learn new skills on the job, you’re getting paid for your time.

When your boss asks if you’d like to take on a new project, unless you’re already completely swamped with existing projects, you should say yes.

IT’S OK TO MAKE MISTAKES…

We had a recent graduate join our department a few months ago. He was joining us three weeks before our biggest conference of the year. We have a huge, ornate booth and throw a big party at this conference. It requires a lot of planning. We drafted him to help us prepare all of our shipments and take a carload of boxes to our shipment center. He then stayed back at home while the other three of us went to the conference, where we realized upon unpacking that one of the boxes was missing. We figured that either he left the box at the office or the shipment center forgot to send it. I said to my boss, “I hope the shipment center finds it, I would hate for the new kid to have made such a big mistake in his first month. He’ll feel awful!” To which my boss replied, “I hope he was the one who made the mistake, because it will be a really good learning experience for him and he’ll figure out early on how important it is to double check everything.”

When you’re 22, nobody expects you to be perfect. If you make a mistake, don’t try to shirk responsibility or pretend the mistake never happened. Own up to the mistake. Your boss will appreciate your honesty and will trust you more in the future. Imagine you’re a manager and one of your team members made a mistake. Wouldn’t you want to know what happened so you could figure out a resolution? It will be scary the first time you realize you made a mistake and have to tell your boss about it, but it will be a great learning experience and will hopefully strengthen your relationship with your boss.

On the other hand, if your boss reacts negatively and makes you feel terrible about making a mistake, that’s a good indication that you might not want to stay in this position for too long. You’ll keep making occasional mistakes throughout your career, and you don’t want to have a boss who is going to make you feel awful about every single one of them.

[Read more…]

3 questions to ask before starting a business

How to handle someone laughing at your dream

Better late than never: My 2013 goals

5 work lessons from sorority rush

6 ways to succeed at your first job

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