Discussion on:

The most terrifying way to earn more money

I must not fear.
Fear is the mind-killer.
Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.
I will face my fear.
I will permit it to pass over me and through me.
And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path.
Where the fear has gone there will be nothing.
Only I will remain.

It is by caffeine alone that I set my mind in motion.
It is by the cup of java (Dew of the Mountain) that thoughts acquire speed,
the hands acquire shakes,
the shakes serve as a warning.
It is by caffeine alone that I set my mind in motion.

(He types, sipping on his Peet's Anniversary Blend.)

"Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering!"

In my case, it's not fear. I lack strategic vision and the people skills to drum up business. I work better when directed; I'm a tool, not a craftsman.

Yeah, yeah; get the jokes out of your system. Feel better now?

starting a business doesn't always mean running a one-man show.
Some great successes start with a Mover and a Doer.
Every spark needs a minion, eh?

Excellent point. There are plenty of ways to acquire the expertise you don't have (get a partner, hire someone, use an intern, etc.) to grow your business.

It's important to identify assumptions that limit your options or stop you cold. Thinking you can't do something is limiting; thinking "HOW can I solve this particular problem?" gets your mind to shift gears and instead generate solutions.

BTW, I love that Yoda quote--very apt.

I don't want the pressure. I like not thinking about work after I leave the plant (most days, anyway). I like going on vacation, something most new business owners won't be able to do for 18 to 24 months.

I have sister with her own landscaping business. She and her partner have been at it for a couple of decades, with an unsuccessful false start or two in the early years. One of them works more with the customers, the other more with the work crews. Either way, it looks like way too much work for me.

Good article, but there are people who just aren't wired to run their own shop. The failures often occur when they don't know it.

Threw in the towel and went back to a "normal" job. Now I timed it terribly. Went full time just a couple of months before the big financial meltdown; however, it's tough to run your own business even during good times. I certainly lacked the salesmanship you mention, and believe me, it's a real good idea to "know thyself." Wish I would have known sooner.

The fact of the matter is it's a LOT of work and, in my case, the easy work was actually the tech work. Dealing with people in terms of things like sales, collections, managing expectations....that can be so far out in left field with some business owners and managers you can scarcely believe you're even having the conversations....was the hard part, and the part that consumed the most time.

Most "geeks" do not have the right skills to make this work. I probably do better with people than many "geeks" do, and I found out I don't really have them. I'm not trying to rain on anybody's parade, but this is not a decision that needs to be made lightly, regardless of the words of motivational speakers and success stories.

Empowering article and I love to see it. Guys and gals, get off your social anxietal butt and make things happen!

Having started a tech business and failed and then starting another and succeeding, trust me - the failure is worth the success!! There is little more rewarding than running your own business and making it successful and you have far more tools at your disposal than you think to make this happen. If you have the desire - conquer the fears and do it!

Start thinking about it today how you will have your own business in 6 months or a year from today. Just think about how things work. Don't worry about the technology so much or its 'perfection', but how you envision your business. What it looks like. How it runs. What kind of culture you want to provide. How you will change the lives of those who work with you.

Just start thinking. Make it happen!

~ Josh

P.S. Remember to hire the people with the skills that you don't have. For me, it was marketing (finding new clients). Found someone who needed a tech guy to do the behind the scenes work and help with the sales side - which is what I am good at. Compliment each other. Know your strengths and weaknesses - be honest with yourself for both the positives and negatives (concentrate on your positives!).

Glad you liked my article. Starting my business was hands-down the best career decision I ever made, and like you mentioned, it's an incredibly empowering experience--especially seeing your efforts bring concrete results every day.

The biggest hurdle I see is fear. But when we start taking even tiny steps, it's easy to see that those fears were unfounded.

Sometimes when a problem seems like it's nothing you've ever seen before, you can really start to feel like an impostor.
But, while it's always a good idea to make sure that you're not overlooking something basic, like a tool for the job that you just haven't heard about, it sometimes really means that it's a novel problem, one that doesn't have a tool yet.
So, sometimes you're not being an impostor, you're breaking new ground. And sometimes, the way you "fake it" is really the best new way to do it.

So, do your homework, but don't be afraid to have a go, either.

While working for a large corporate service company, I built a reputation with my clients as a person who got things done and met the clients expectations. Now that I have etired, I still have a core group who still rely on me. They could use their companies service provider but want me to do the work. I enjoy it more now as I can accept the work I like and make my own appointments. Too many companies have no real connection with those who pay the bills or earn those incomes that allow them to prosper. In an industry where someone acually has to lay hands on the offending hardware in order to affect a repair, a hand shake and a promise goes a long way to insure both yours and the clients concerns can be put to rest.

It is a scary thing to do, but I took the step and I've been doing it for a bit over twelve years. My reasons were different. I'm not an advocate of "at will" employment doctrine, not having any choices / decision making abilities, being dependent on a company for a paycheck and benefits and they hold it over your head as a tactical tool, performance reviews without them being reviewed, politics, chemistries, personalities, cultural fitting, etc. In general, don't particularly like authority figures and prefer to manage rather than being managed.

To many, I sound a little bitter and angry. Yes, I was. I didn't like the way some (not all... some) businesses treat people. As a consultant, I see the ugly underside of business and the way they treat their employees. Some employees are so scared, they can't even get up in the morning to go to work. It's not a pretty thing to witness. But that's me. That was my motivation. Yours may be similar or different, but either way, you need to decide to take the chance.

The toughest part is between projects. It is hard to sell while you're on a project. No matter how proactive you are, market forces and economic conditions dictate closure velocity (IOW getting another project). Has it been satisfying to me? There are a few painful aspects about it, but once you settle into it, then overall, absolutely!!

I got rid of all my debts, cleared my cc balances, cut down my expenses,
half the fear is gone!

Next i quit my regular job, became a consultant instead (earned more than regular employment), started exploring the market
and now have good biz coming from consulting, training and manpower.

All i needed was some working capital to stay afloat after quitting regular employment,
which i made as a consultant.

Fear comes from lack of backup (working capital), so plan on saving some backup
money by getting rid of all debt and doing some consulting/freelancing on the side.

If you had a 100 Grand, wouldn't you try taking a 1-2 year break ? And surely there would
be a lot less or even lack of fear! So first step is to get that backup cash! Then you can
take a break and have time to think over things clearly for your business!

It worked for me and should work for others too!

get a thousand grand and skip the whole "work" phase...

Paraphrased somewhat, but he said something like ...
"There are lots of ways to get rich.
You can get rich by being cheap, but the problem is, you're cheap.
You can get rich by being a crook, but the problem is, it's a dangerous line of work and you could lose your friends or your life in the process.
You can get rich by marrying someone rich, but the problem is, we all know what that makes you."
Etc.

I co-ran a small training/consulting business some years ago. Didn't really make a lot of money, but during those years I learned stuff a) that I doubt I would have learnt otherwise, and b) at a speed which I doubt I would have learnt otherwise.

The mind, left uncontrolled, tends to feed itself and build up things to silly proportions, especially fears.

"... by beating your fears, youll change your worldview ..." I second the hell out of that.

I've noticed a few comments from people who actually did overcome their fears to start a business, but struggled to be profitable. From talking to many consultants/freelanceres, the biggest causes for struggling with your business profitability are:
--not charging enough
--not creating marketing pipelines, thus struggling to get consistent work

To be able to charge more, you'll typically need to be in a more specialized niche. For example, doctors who have a specialty--gastroenterologists, for example--are able to charge a lot more than a general practitioner. The key is knowing how to research and identify a profitable niche. A couple other benefits of being in a specialized niche are that it's easier to stand out, you'll have less competition, and clients often come to you instead of you having to market to them.

To create marketing pipelines, you'll need to identify where your prospective clients are, and create a presence in those channels, establishing yourself as an expert who can solve their problems. The wonderful thing about marketing pipelines is that they automate your marketing, so you no longer have to spend as much effort on it. I haven't made a cold call in probably 2 years; instead, new prospects seek me out, and I follow up on warm leads who already know that I'm an expert. It makes it a ton easier to maintain a consistent and growing workload--that's how I've been able to consistently grow my revenue by over 30% annually over the past 5 years--even during the global economic meltdown--and actually work LESS than I did at my day job.

Other great tools for project management than Basecamp, is Trello or Acunote if you follow the agile/scrum methodologies in your organization. The point of the article is correct though, there are a lot of great tools available and new way to do things that will help cut your operating costs and improve the value of your offering.

This article is a keeper, thanks for writing it Greg.