Entrepreneurship Can Be Taught

During tough business time we might want to turn this to our advantage with a try at making a living while working on our computer, from your home and beware as these schemes will abound. One of the more plentiful jobs to be found online include Multi-Level Marketing as a chance to learn direct sales, while data entry and other secretarial work are also offered. Sometimes we find a new business enjoyable when we first give them a try. They do need BIG effort before we enjoy the ease of these businesses and a good living while enjoying free time. There are so many to choose from and we will help you on this blog. You cannot work for someone else and have the same financial independence. The challenge of working for others is that the employment can be lost as quickly as it was found, and it can never provide you with the freedom to earn as you please and be at leisure when you want. In an ever tougher economic environment, giving over control of your work to someone else means that you can never have control over what you earn. This means that whatever company you are working for can close your position at any time, leaving you with no job but a lot of stress in its place. The good news is that there is work that can be done from your own home which does not involve someone else being your boss. Obtaining the financial independence that results from having your own business is a goal you can achieve when given a good path to follow. It is not difficult to obtain the tools you will need in order to create this business, and they will allow you to enjoy all the benefits of self employment. However, you cannot just start a business and expect it to be successful. A road map, in business terms more aptly called a business plan, is what you need to begin. In order for your plan to proceed to a state where it can provide financial independence, a set of directions must be constructed and followed. The first resource you will need to follow your directions on the right route is a mentor. This person will also find new paths for your new branches and provide creative problem-solving. Finding a solid business plan will also be the job of a support system. There are numerous ways in which the right group of people is trained to bring your business to a high level of success. Your support system will help you create joint ventures, encourage you to expand to complementary markets, and do whatever is necessary to expose you to every opportunity. You will rely on your support system to help you adhere to the principles dictated by your procedures and to make sure that you are always on the right track. To properly grow your business, you will require a little capital and a lot of hard work. This can happen sooner, or it can happen later. More than capital, you will want to cut the plug off the TV and get on with some income producing activity. Look for a business to become an agent for and you should join a team that give help in obtaining everything necessary to reach your goal of financial freedom. Finally, look for unique products that are not on general sale in the High Street and book time in the diary with your business mentor. The mentor (sometimes called a sponsor) has various duties, including business plan re-evaluation and resource investment, and it is the mentors job to do everything that is required to keep your business running smoothly so that you can achieve the success you both require and deserve. We believe that in tough times our advantage is that people are fed-up with big business and look for ethical people with ethical products.Look for unique products with the right culture and you will change your life

Richard Williams is the CEO/Founder of Mercantile Investors, a business established to help and coach those looking to make more sales or those looking to make a second career choice and start a home based agency. We would like to invite you to one of our local business workshops to learn from the best and most successful home based business owners.email richard@mercantileinvestors.com for more details

Live & work units for the creative and digital sectors

The new business revolution kicks off with Middlesbrough’s ‘Boho zone’ scheme to create a new digital industry quarter in the town, incorporating live/work units.

Boho’s £1m Core Building One, which will provide the workspace for digital media, technologies and creative companies and will be the main centre for DigitalCity business activities, was completed this month.

The £2.9m Core Building Two, which will provide live/work units for the creative and digital sectors, is to be funded solely through Erimus Housing.

Find out more about the BOHO zone by clicking here.

Network with other homeworkers? Host a Jelly Party!

Heard about two New Yorkers who invited other homeworkers in to their home to work together?

It is now going global as Jelly has made its way to the UK and Judy Heminsley has become its top champion.

Judy loves Jelly

Judy Heminsley runs the website www.workfromhomewisdom.com and also hosts a Jelly in Frome, Somerset. She loves the concept so much she’s written a very useful guide on how you can get a Jelly started in your village/town/city. Here's an excerpt from Judy’s blog post/ advice.

What is Jelly?

Jelly is a casual coworking event, where freelancers, home workers and people running small businesses meet up in order to get out of their normal space, meet some new people and work together in a social environment. Jelly is a mixture of work, chat, comparing of ideas, passing on tips and help and maybe sometimes collaboration on the birth of a new project.

Where to hold Jelly

In the States Jelly began in someone’s apartment and there’s no reason you can’t have Jelly in your home. Except the whole point is to get away from home! So if you prefer to find another venue this is what you need:

• A central, easy to find location that won’t charge for room rental
• Free wi-fi
• Enough power points for everyone or your laptop batteries will run out before Jelly is over
• A room with table space, either several small tables or a large one everyone can sit round, and chairs at a comfortable height
• A constant supply of drinks and possibly food, although Jellyers can always bring their own snacks and sandwiches or pop out for them

You can consider coffee shops (bear in mind they can be noisy and may get very busy at peak times), established coworking spaces, serviced offices, business centres or community halls.

Ascertain as best you can that the venue satisfies your requirements (ie visit the coffee shop in question to see how many power points there are and whether wi-fi is provided free to customers). When you’re satisfied it’s a good prospect, contact the owner/manager to introduce the idea of Jelly.

Publicising Jelly

Once you’ve got your venue arranged and a date agreed:

• Start your new location’s page on the Jelly Wiki http://wiki.workatjelly.com by signing up for an account and then explaining briefly what Jelly is, who it is for and where and when you are hoping to start. This gives you a basic free webpage you can direct people towards when you start to publicise
• Spread the word among friends, colleagues, clients, suppliers, anyone who might be interested or know people who would be interested. Likely prospects – anyone who works in IT, writers, editors, VAs, coaches, trainers, people whose work is portable and who need some company
• Create an email list of the above people
• Put the word around at groups you already belong to
• Twitter – tweet about your forthcoming Jelly and ask your followers to retweet
• Put the word out on Linkedin and Facebook
• Local media – local papers and radio stations are always on the lookout for content for their publications and shows. Fortunately the name Jelly is always a good hook to get them interested! Send out a press release a couple of weeks before the Jelly date and follow up with a phone call to check it has been received and answer any questions. Write a concise and catchy press release and it will probably be printed verbatim, like mine for Frome Jelly
• Print out posters with the eyecatching red and yellow Jelly logo and put them up in places where prospective Jellyers will see them – libraries, coffee shops, community notice boards etc.

Wait for numbers to build and enjoy the gathering!

For details on how to organise the Jelly on the day and other helpful tips, visit Judy's full Jelly post on the link below.

• How to start your own Jelly