There seems to be a fear that investing 5,000, 2,000 or even 500 dollars in a business is dangerous. While the fear of investing that much money is understood if you’re new to being “in business”, it’s only a fraction of what you’d typically invest in a business. Technology now allows you to tap into a world of connected individuals across the globe with practically no expense, in relative terms.

As you struggle to get a job, or for that matter, a better job, why not make a difference for yourself? Today’s technology with the growing number of solutions in nearly every corner of the web, it’s nearly impossible to not find a solution for your technology needs. And with that, comes an abundance of opportunity.

My challenge to you is to open your mind and think outside the box. Everyone has ideas yet those ideas are valueless, until put into action. As Nolan Bushnell is quoted, “Everyone who’s ever taken a shower has an idea. It’s the person who gets out of the shower, dries off and does something about it who makes a difference.” And it’s really the foundation to many areas of our lives.

Over the past several days I’ve chatted with a few friends who’ve mentioned their struggles of being unemployed, not happy with their “job”, or that they have talents bigger than their current career.  And what’s stopping them from stepping it up a notch? Simple answer: Action. Do you have a great idea? Awesome, now take that idea and make something out of it. Are you skilled in creating graphics? Great, find a need for your skill and add a little spin. Or, have you considered a specialized consulting using your skill(s)?

A great example is from Lila Frances (owner, Anna) who turned her childhood enjoyment of twisting and bending items into recognizable shapes to create a custom product around hangers. Who would have thought such a small niche would be worth while? Well, she has so many orders it takes up to 10 weeks to get your own.

Cut out an hour of TV watching per day, using that time to establish a business. You don’t need to become a success overnight nor have all the answers, but start somewhere. You can’t drive across that finish line without first getting out of park.

While this is not meant to bring forth attention to the negative side of news (notice how the majority of it IS negative), I want to open your eyes to a different, abnormal way to listen. It may be unconventional but have you realized that much of the recent success behind so many start-ups is because they have NOT been conventional? They’ve thought out of the box, different than their competitors.

I’ll admit openly that being in business for yourself is certainly not for everyone. However, thinking of positive ways out of a negative situation does not mean you have to be an entrepreneur or start a business. In fact, Career Builder explains 6 success strategies for a poor economy in which they share some simple yet effective tips for those who are concerned with their job security. And on a side note, there really is no job security – I hate to be blunt, but no job is “secure”.

Now, for those who feel they need to cut spending and invest more carefully, I’ve got a tip for you: Stop Listening to the News!As I mentioned, they play a big part of your psyche. Mindset is a major part of how you think, act, react and make decisions. Better yet, absorb material that is exactly opposite of negativity that is the news. For example, listen to/watch this video talking about how attitude can make all the difference by Zig Ziglar.

Sometimes it’s not necessarily as simple as soaking up positive material but the point is your success should not be a reflection of economic “news” reported by media. If they reported tomorrow that a massive shortage of available cash would begin taking place within 3 months from now, would you freak out and stop spending? I sure as hell hope not.

The truth of the matter is you’d want to do whatever it takes to get MORE money into your pocket than ever before. And how can you do that? Hire. Yes, I said it. Add to your sales force – it could be part-time or even on commission-only, but you need more people selling your product/service.

As an entrepreneur, a crappy economy doesn’t hinder my business, it actually offers more opportunities to step over those who hide, waiting for the media to tell them to come out of hiding. I see more opportunities now than I did 5 years ago. Yes, one could say that’s partially attributed to being wiser and more driven to seeing through to my business goals.

Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal. – Henry Ford

So, I challenge you to shut out the negativity, stop bowing down to what media does to your psyche. Instead, spend that time reaching out to more customers, expanding your brand’s awareness, creating better & more attractive products/solutions. Set your mind on milestones, push yourself to complete objectives.

I, like you, am a victim of my own bad habits. There’s nobody else to blame for the failures. In one hand I typically set the bar pretty high for myself, sometimes to unrealistic challenges, while other times I keep certain things at levels that aren’t even going to require effort to accomplish.

Now that 2011 is upon us, take an approach that may be a bit different than previous years. Grab a full-size piece of paper and a pen, then write out each goal you have in mind. The order doesn’t matter but just make sure you write them all down including as much detail as possible. Once you’ve done so the next step is very important and probably something you’ve never done before. Next to each goal I want you to write the date you wish to accomplish/reach the goal. Getting specific such as “By March 2011″, “June 1st” or another specific date. Do NOT write “Within 90 days” because that does not set a time frame – the start date has no value. Lastly, go into your calendar such as Outlook, Google Calendar, iCal, or whatever program you use the most, and add all your goals with the corresponding dates attached. Be sure to set up a reminder (even multiple) prior to that date to help make sure you’re on track.

You may be surprised but this approach may very well help you stick to those resolutions unlike years past. For me, this is exactly what I’ve done. In years past I’ve been terrible with using a calendar even in my work/business life, but have been trying to make that change. Now adding goals with dates…I KNOW I’ll be more determined. Measuring my success rate will not only be exciting but educational, and I certainly look forward to hearing how this works for you.

Will you stick to your 2011 resolutions? I’d love to hear how it goes for you.

There’s one thing I know for a fact; you’re not getting any younger. Is there really enough value in watching reality TV shows that you spend a few hours (or more) in front of the television? Now of course some of the shows can be informative but the majority? Definitely not worth the time.

Instead, I challenge you to take an hour, grab a book, and read. I’ll be the first to admit that reading is not my thing. Heck, if I could have everything in video or audio form, that would be sweet! Let’s not kid ourselves – somethings are better in text form anyway. But lately I’ve began doing the unthinkable – picking up a book and swallowing up the content. And I must say that I’m actually enjoying it.

You’re probably wondering what exactly it is that I’m reading, right? As this probably isn’t a shocker, I’m not really reading for “fun” per say but instead for motivation, keeping up my drive, staying connected with other entrepreneurs, and trying to remain up-to-speed.  A couple months ago the book I picked up and read through in a couple days was Crush It by Gary Vaynerchuk, and you can read my Crush It review if you’re interested in hearing about the book. Currently, I’m reading Rework by the co-founder of 37Signals, Jason Fried, and Partner, David Heinemeier Hansson. Seeing as I’m only about 50 pages into the book thus far there isn’t a whole lot I can share, but what I’ve read up to this point is awesome. For the early entrepreneur, the enthusiastic go-getter, the type of person who loves making this happen and seeing the results, this book is  a perfect fit. Generally speaking it’s a testament to those who are trying to build a product, service, and/or business with little money, a team made up of 1-3 people, and even those who think spending 80 hours a week working is crazy. If you fit any of those molds…get this book and then let me know what you find most interesting.

Spending that extra 2 hours a week, flipping open those pages in a book such as Rework or Crush It can absolutely change your life. It’s not about some grand ole’ plan to determine your path but instead get your off your butt, moving towards what you want to accomplish. Life is short and the TV can certainly be put aside.

The main point I want to make is ‘Don’t give up before you start’. What I mean by that is to realize your business, goals, dreams and success take time, plain and simple. You could work for 24 weeks on your website, spreading the word about the service for sale only to make a handful of actual sales. Do you give up? No. All that time you’ve spent for 24 weeks would be a waste, right? How do you know the success of the site is not simply 2 weeks away because you haven’t advertised on a certain website yet? You don’t.

Someone I’ve loved listening to, Gary Vaynerchuk, spent a couple years building his internet-based Wine show before it picked up steam. Now…he’s doing extremely well with a huge book deal, thousands and thousands of fans, speaking at events, and so on. You see, all the hard-work he continually spent on his brand for those initial years is and will continue to pay off for the rest of his life and business.

That being said, please make your own judgement calls. Maybe a certain business is simply not worth spending 2 years trying to build – that I can’t tell you without knowing lots of details. However, do not give up too easily or too early. There is no doubt in my mind that Gary smiles when he goes to sleep thinking to himself “I knew my hard work would pay off”. OK, maybe not that thought exactly…but you get the picture.

Personally, I’ve seen some great things happen with my business. Had I given up after a few months of trying to grow them, I’d continue to struggle and struggle…and struggle. Whatever you do, be passionate and ready to give it plenty of time, and hard work. Set your mind. Focus. Do whatever you can to make it happen.

Those who know me the best will certainly agree that I don’t read often or even a book a month, or 6 months for that matter. Honestly, reading isn’t my “thing” – it’s not for me, I feel it’s not productive, but that’s who I am. Having me sit down for about 3 hours total was hard enough for me but I’m glad I did it.

Several months ago, maybe 8 – 10, I somehow landed on winelibrary.com but for some reason I did not stick around. A couple months later I believe I was on Twitter and heard about Gary again so I went back and checked it out. It was at that time when I saw one of the videos with the appearance on the Ellen Degeneres show and Conan O’Brien – I was impressed and entertained. From there I stuck around and have watched MANY more of both his Gary Varynerchuk AND WineLibrary videos.

Continuing to listen and pay attention to Gary has been somewhat inspirational but certainly motivational. Starting with an idea that had no guarantees on the success, it has flourished into a huge following on several platforms such as twitter, facebook and of course the winelibrary AND Gary Vaynerchuk websites.

The book isn’t a 300 page, bloated read that takes several chapters just to get into anything useful. Instead it gets to the point, nearly immediately – after the first couple pages of gratitude and thanks to his family, friends and contacts. In fact, the book is about 135 pages that really stand out past the common fluff you find in many other books about business and marketing.

One great part of the book is that Gary talks about his experience – how he basically went from nothing, hustled, and got to where he is today. Now, to be entirely honest, it may have been easier for Gary to do this as there was already revenue flowing. For people who have nothing to start with, they may find it harder to tackle a similar model to what Gary did…but there are creative ways to go around that of course.

While you learn about Gary’s experience he also tells you what to do (at least what worked for him). Some of you may be struggling to find that magical formula or maybe you’re keeping your fingers crossed it will fall into your lap. Whatever it is your thinking, if you’re ready to hustle, Gary will lead you down that path. And when I say hustle, you’re probably underestimating what that means.

Learning how hard Gary worked between creating content, traveling, connecting with people, having online discussions, etc., it was eye-opening. Personally I’ve learned that my work ethic needs improvement if I compare myself.

So what do I suggest?

- If you’re stuck at a job you don’t like…
- If you’re unhappy with your work situation…
-If you want a better lifestyle…

…and you are ready to work for it…

…pick up “Why now is the time to Crush It! Cash in on your passion” by Gary Vaynerchuk. Read it through, absorb what he says, and drop the excuses.

And no, I have no affiliation with his book.

Success doesn’t come from luck. Well, sometimes it can but generally speaking it does not. Some lucky cases might be those where business decisions are made without much logic or analysis, yet the results of the small actions are excellent. You might be the type of individual who plays the lottery – you’re lucky if you win but you also wouldn’t have won had you not taken the action of playing in the first place, right? I don’t consider the lottery completely luck because of that pure fact.

Anyway, the reason I know you’ll be successful is simple; you WANT to make it happen and you WILL make it happen. Those are primarily the only two factors that you need to have engraved in your mind. You first need desire, without it there is no reason for success in the first place. Secondly you need to make it happen by putting forth the effort and accomplishing the tasks which will lead you up the ladder. This may sound very simple, and you’re right – it is.

I’ve been involved in internet and network marketing for many years. When I look at the people I met when first starting out or even simply a couple years ago, I see them not much further ahead than they were back then (if at all). In my eyes, it’s because they’re not being as productive as they should be…