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Dear Fred and Lyna,
For the past 20 years, I have worked as an account executive for a major soft drink company and frankly I am sick of it. I have been looking into owning my own business and have run across several franchise opportunities. Do you think a franchise is the way to go or should I start out on my own?

Fred: More and more people, from college age to baby boomers, are attracted to owning their own business and being their own boss. Fortunately, there are many resources available to help you make the right decisions about starting a business.

Lyna: The first question I would ask myself is not should I buy a franchise or start from scratch, but do I have the ability to be a successful entrepreneur.

Fred: Good point, Fred. I have a friend who spent a lot of time and money training to be a color consultant and she’s good at helping people find the best look they can achieve using the colors that are best suited to them. Yet, a year after she set up her studio, she gave up. Her reason was she couldn’t get enough clients. What I saw was that she had no drive to market herself or to get help to do so. Instead she hung her shingle up and expected everyone to come knocking on her door.

Lyna: What is she doing now?

Fred: Actually, she is working the dressing room of a dress boutique and helps women choose clothes that look best on them. Although she is working for someone else, she is now happy to do so.

Lyna: If your friend had done her homework before hand, she probably would have realized that she doesn’t have the characteristics of an entrepreneur. When you own a business you have to do what it takes to make it successful, no matter what it takes financially, physically, mentally and emotionally.

Fred: Monster.com has a self assessment quiz to see if you have what it takes to own your own business. What an excellent eye opener! It touches on things like your communication skills, your attitude toward financing your venture, if you’re willing to work long hours, and how you handle chaos.
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Lyna: That is definitely a must-do for anyone thinking of starting their first business endeavor. So, let’s say you’ve taken the entrepreneur quiz and find you do have what it takes. The next thing you might think about is what type of business would you want to invest in?

Fred: Wow — that could be tough! My first thought would be to look at things you are passionate about. For example, your love for dogs is at the top of your list. How about a service that offers dog sitting, dog walking and dog grooming? Could you enjoy doing this full time? Or better yet, would you do this for free if you didn’t need to worry about money? If the answer is yes, this might be a good option for you.

Lyna: You can also look at your talent and skills, even ask friends and family what they could see you doing. My friend Bill never thought of starting a catering business until his wife pointed out how often he cooked gourmet meals for social get-togethers. And now he’s very successfully doing something he loves.

Fred: The other factor in choosing a business is whether or not you would need employees. Remember — you’d be responsible not only for their salary, but also for health benefits and holiday pay.

Lyna: We’ve given a lot of information to think about. Here’s your homework: Take the Monster.com Entrepreneur Quiz and if you want to delve deeper into finding your passion, check out www.thepassiontest.com.

Fred: We’ll continue with the question of “To franchise or Not to Franchise,” in our next article.

Fred and Lyna host an internet radio show called Growing Your Business which can be heard at http://www.alltalkradio.net
you can also hear past shows at http://www.growingyourbusiness.net

Most business opportunities seem like a godsend at first glance only to find out that they’re curses in disguise. If you suddenly discover or are offered with a business opportunity, here’s what you should know to prevent yourself of becoming a victim of the same fate.

Tip #1 Know the Source of the Business Opportunity
How did you learn about the business opportunity? Was it something you discovered by chance or research? Was it offered to you by someone you know and trust? Consider the source of the business opportunity and determine how trustworthy it is. If you know nothing about the source then you should take the necessary steps to rectify the matter. Forearmed is forewarned!

Tip #2 Can You Afford to Take Advantage of the Business Opportunity?
Let’s say that the business opportunity is indeed legitimate. That, however, is not reason enough for you take the plunge and sink all your money into it. Consider your resources and ask yourself if you can truly afford to take advantage of the business opportunity.

Money – How much investment is needed? Do you have it? Will you able to borrow from someone to provide the necessary funds?

Time – What is the rate of return on investment (ROI)? Simply put, how long till you’ll be able to recoup your investment? Will you be able to wait that long? How much time is needed from you to ensure that everything will go according to planned? Can you afford to give up the amount of time it requires?

Manpower – Will you be able to solely handle the business if and when you do decide to avail yourself of the opportunity provided? If not, do you know anyone who’s willing and able to provide the necessary skills for the job?

Emotional or Moral Consequences – Will taking advantage of the business opportunity have a profound - positive or otherwise – effect on your relationship with yourself and with other people? Will taking advantage of the business opportunity cause you to have an emotional or moral conflict?

Challenge – Are you up to the physical, mental, and psychological challenge that the business opportunity presents?

Tip #3 Always Compute for the Opportunity Cost
There are always two sides to a coin. There can be no reaction when there’s no stimulant. If you choose to take advantage of a particular business opportunity, you’re sure to sacrifice something in return. But is what you’ve sacrificed equal, less, or more than what you’ll gain once you take advantage of the business opportunity presented to you?

Tip #4 Take Your Time to Decide
Don’t pressure yourself into making a decision. If you do, you’re liable to make the wrong one because you’re not thinking clearly. Allow yourself as much time as you need to ponder the matter. And if the one offering the business opportunity is also the same person pressuring you to make a decision, you should know that that’s not a good sign at all. If you’re being forced to make a decision, then go ahead…and decide to drop the matter entirely.

In the end, however, it’s still your decision. If both your mind and heart have the same opinion about the business opportunity you’re considering then good! You know what to do next. If, on the other hand, they disagree then don’t, by all means, choose one over the other. Find a compromise instead to protect your interests.

Mario Churchill is a freelance author and has written over 200 articles on various subjects. For more information on a great business opportunity and learn how to make money checkout his recommended websites.

Too many SUCCESSFUL entrepreneurs ride the ‘Feast or Famine’ wave. They have almost too much business and are SO busy, or they’re worried, anxious, and restless because nothing is going on. There’s nothing more draining and exhausting than riding that wave all the time (it’s NOT a day at the beach, if you know what I mean). Here are two trustworthy ways to build your opt-in list and continuously connect with high quality prospects.

1. Communicate Collaboratively, Not Competitively

I’ve found this to be a major key to success when building a successful flow of prospects and clients. It really calls for a high level of trust and faith that you and your services are unique and successful, no matter whoever else is doing what you do. But you know what? There really is enough to go around and when you share with and through others, you really set yourself up to receive more.

Find strategic partners and other like-minded entrepreneurs who are willing and happy to share their contacts with you and be more than happy to do the same for them. (I personally love sharing the skills of talented entrepreneurs with others.) You’re already coming with a seal of approval and those prospects who join your stay in touch tool will be happy to be there. You can connect with partners in many ways. For upping your on-line presence and getting more people to join your e-zine (if this is one of your stay in touch tools) two free services that I recommend are: ListHero.com and Ezinefire.com. This is where you share subscribers with other e-zine authors who have similar themes to yours. You host them on your site and they host you on yours. AND the software program takes care of it all. Easy to use and more for all. Try it.

2. Appreciate Your Prospects

This is really where I see a lot of solo-entrepreneurs make mistakes when it comes to connecting with high quality prospects. They are so anxious about not having enough prospects that when they get them, they don’t even let the celebration take place. Focus your energy on really appreciating those prospects that have joined you. Don’t let your stay in touch tool community become just “a list” or “a number.” Personally, I thank every subscriber who joins me. I thank them with gifts of a free chapter and e-course when they join, but I also thank them energetically. I am so appreciative of being able to share my coaching and I let them know it. Thank you, thank you, and thank you! It’s even better when I hear from someone who’s joined and I get to connect with them over email or phone, but even when I don’t, I still am sure to recognize them as a person, not a number, and appreciate that we are now connected. We can be so removed from our prospects with all of our automation these days. Really acknowledge each person that joins you and your business. You’ll experience a windfall of prosperity as a result. Again, try it, then get in touch and let me know what happened.

Your EnergyRICH™ Call To Action:

1. Commit to working collaboratively, not competitively. Use programs to put that sharing on auto-pilot.

2. Connect with your prospects with appreciation. Be grateful each time you connect with someone that’s interested in your service. It shifts the energy of your success to one of wealth and riches for the long term.

Heather Dominick, Solo-entrepreneur expert, has over 10 years of teaching and coaching experience. Heather’s
primary focus is in helping others identify sources for increasing
business profit and making successful business changes. To sign up to receive your
free e-course “How to Avoid the 5 Major Misconceptions Solo-entrepreneurs Make”, for her freebie how-to
articles and no-charge teleclasses on creating your most energized business, visit
http://www.energyrichcoach.com

Many of my clients share that one of their biggest marketing challenges is actually connecting to enough prospects. They are doing all of this great work in their businesses, but not very many people know about their work; or at least not enough for the flow of business to be moving smoothly and easily. Stop. Start. Stop. Start. Sound familiar? There isn’t one perfect way to consistently connect with prospects, but there are many ways that, when used collaboratively, will build you a nice stream of people who are interested in what you do.

To get the energy of your marketing moving, start with these 3 sure fire ways to connect with quality prospects. Remember, it isn’t about connecting with everyone and anyone. It’s about connecting to those prospects that are interested in you and what you offer, and the way you offer it.

1. Know Your Clients and Customers

I’m sure this is not new news to you. When you are in business for yourself, you must know whom you serve. The more you know about your ideal clients/customers, the better you’ll know where and how to find them.

But here’s another side to this that you won’t hear a lot of business coaches talking about. Have you ever noticed how you behave differently when you’re with different people? You operate one way with grandma and another with your mechanic, right? Now, obviously, we are always going for being genuinely ourselves, but still there’s always a slight difference. It’s the same when connecting with prospects. The more you know the essence of who you serve, the more you’re able to always be on the same page with them. Then you aren’t trying to talk to your mechanic the same way you would to grandma. It just isn’t the same energy. No matter how hard you try to make it so.

2. Have Your Own Main Stay In-Touch Tool

This is a crucial tool when it comes to being able to connect with quality prospects. I always like to say, “Offer something F*R*E*E of extremely high value and content, in exchange for being able to stay in touch.” Not everyone is ready to work with you right away. But because people are so busy and have so much information available to them, it can be easy for you to drop off of someone’s radar—even if they are interested in what you have to offer. Better to stay in touch so they don’t forget about you and you don’t forget about them.

Now, there are many different ways to stay in touch: email, teleclasses, postcards, event announcements, and more. The key point is that you choose at least 3 and then rank them in order of regularity and plug them in so they are consistent—like clock work. Prospects like to know they can count on you. For example, one you do once a week, another you do every other week and the third happens monthly. For myself, I offer on-going FREE weekly teleclasses called EnergyRICH™ Business Re-Charge Calls; every other week I share the e-zine that you’re reading right now and every month I host a special 1-hour teleclass, also free.

3. Talk about Your Stay in Touch Tool

Having a stay in touch tool doesn’t do us much good if we keep it to ourselves. No need to be shy. Let prospects feel how much you love to do what you do by inviting them to join you. This creates a “Hey, come join me!” energy, versus a, “Ugh, I have to chase you down” energy. Of course, the first option is rich with possibilities. You can go about inviting people in all sorts of ways. When you meet someone at a networking event, party, or just in casual conversation and they express interest in what you do. It’s the perfect chance to invite them along. Everyone likes to be invited somewhere. When they join you, then you know you’ve connected with someone who is interested. You’ve started a relationship. This is the golden key