Be The Hero You Are Meant To Be!

Posted on October 13, 2017 by JLHilleary

We’ve talked about getting started online, creating a digital income source, and have identified several obstacles entrepreneurs face. Check out these blog posts for more: Here, “2 Reasons”, and this one (“Can I Make Money Online?”), and here (How Hard Is It To Start My Own Business?)

Today I want to look deeper, at what’s inside, what you control about your online journey.

There are books and videos that will teach us (if we take the time) how to do the technical pieces of registering a business entity, set up tax structures to keep the most income, help us build a list, drive traffic to that list or to an offer to build a list of potential buyers, and so on.

But the one thing these tools can’t do is personalize your outreach for you.

Connecting with your buyers means thinking about what makes YOU unique. That's what makes your story! Click To Tweet

This is a useful activity as you’ll use your story in many different ways.

Is this a grey area for you? Or have your tried to create a compelling story only to get tangled up?

I’ve gotten so many questions on this that I am creating a course specifically to teach this start to finish- today we’ll take a high level view that should get you well on your way.

Too often entrepreneurs blindly follow the guides that offer “swipe” mail templates, pre-designed pages and send it off, never adding any personal touches at all.

That’s a huge red flag to buyers! (Hopefully you’re not in that situation!) It isn’t that those products are bad, it’s that people don’t take the time to personalize them for their specific niche or circumstance.

So let’s talk a little about what a story is and why it’s important for you.

Getting Yourself Out There: Dos & Don’ts

When it comes to pulling the trigger on an email campaign for the first time, or doing something new, most of us have felt that momentary case of nerves and adrenaline jitters.

Having confidence in your story, why you’re doing what you’re doing, comes from knowing your story, what in your background has led you to this point is necessary to carry you through the implementation point.

It’s what compels you to offer this solution to potential buyers experiencing the same issue you did once. You feel their pain and want to help- that’s your why!

Or, at least it should be.

Read this quote below and tell me in the comments how this makes you feel- would you buy from this guy?

Can you tell from this short question what his focus is? How does his approach make you feel? Even though this is just a question, what can you understand about doing business with him?

Okay, I love the concept of Affiliate Marketing, but for me, though internet and advertising savy, it’s just a concept.

Would love some highly successful affiliate marketing guru to teach me the ropes. Anybody that wants to do something fun, like teach a 53 year old the how to of this fantastic system? I’d be forever greatful : )

I just lost a huge chunck of money with an account that just dropped of the map. Need to put something solid together quickly that’ll pull in at least a grand a week. Anybody up for the task? Thanks,

Ok, what’d you think?

Now, let’s look at another example.

(Just FYI, This business has been sold and is no longer available for sign ups, though if the video does its job well, you may wish you could!).) Watch this one and take some notes and tell me what stands out for you on this one.

This video clip of Chris has the story elements that connect well with an audience. He has sincerity, humility, and concern. You feel that Chris is not talking down to you, but sharing a story with you.

Make sense so far?

Sharing You: The Framework of an Effective Story

There are any number of patterns that writers use to craft an effective story, but each method uses a similar, basic framework:

A Broken World

The Humble Hero

The Mentor

A Magical Gift

Now before you laugh and say that sounds too froo-froo for you, let’s put it another way:

Problem

Solution

Method

Offer

Better? Does that sound more like you?

It’s the same concept, but in the second version there is the potential to overlook putting “you” into the mix. I’ve seen many newbies look at that standard format and make it all about the product, and forget that it’s meant to be about them. As we discuss this framework, keep in mind that YOU are the secret sauce, not your product. This is key.

People Don’t Buy Products, They Buy YOU

Think back to Chris’ video.

Can you identify the broken world (the problem)?

Right… it’s the people struggling, down on their luck, looking for a way out.

And the Humble Hero (Solution)? It wasn’t his iPAS system. It was his heart.
Russel Brunson has often said, “An entrepreneur is someone who takes responsibility for a problem.” I like that.

You as an entrepreneur see a problem (a broken world) and take ownership of providing a way out, a better life.

Let’s keep going…

In Chris’ video, who or what is the Mentor (Method)? Were you able to identify the turning point for the Hero?

Sure… the guy who had been where Chris was and had the idea of a system. Chris took that information, and then integrated it with his vision of helping people.

In my life, I had what I call my Scarlett O’Hara moment (the one where she is on the hill, hungry, and shakes her fist at the sky, saying, “As God is my witness, I’ll never be hungry again!”).

I was newly divorced, frustrated, feeling powerless being outside the United States and couldn’t get back home.

Never again! I decided then and there to make changes and help others avoid that feeling of not being in control of their own lives. It took me 5 years to recover, but step by step through a lot of weird twists and turns, my story has a positive outcome. I survived to tell it and teach you how to thrive as well.

But… What If I Don’t Have a “Moment” To Build On?

Believe it or not, I have had people tell me they’ve had nothing unfortunate happen to them. (Lucky you!) Does that mean they don’t have a story?

Not at all. Your story doesn’t have to be a rags to riches, or homeless to mansion, ordeal. It only has to be what motivates you to be in business. What’s your purpose for starting an online business?

If you’re telling me that the only reason you are in business is because you want to make quick money, good luck!

Connecting with people is all about caring about them and their issues. If you don’t really care, it will be evident and the bad reviews will mount up quickly.

If you don’t have a turning point moment to build on, think about why you chose the niche you want to build your business in. Is it a craft you like? Are you a jewelry maker, skin care consultant? A Realtor? Do you have a Shopify store selling e-commerce products?

Without a higher purpose, the chances of getting frustrated or bored are pretty steep.

Think about what it is you want to do for your customers. Why should they buy from you?

What separates you from the next guy is your heart, your connection and ability to meet your buyer's need. Click To Tweet

Look back at your journey and see if there is a memory of the moment when you decided to start this kind of business. You likely had some thought why this and not something else. Hang on to that thought.

Writing My Own Story: The Process

In writing my story, I thought I didn’t have a Moment. I have never been on drugs or alcohol, never skipped school, never got into trouble with the law- what could I possibly have to write about?

Where did this passion for helping people come from?

This tip, #5 in the upcoming “Be The Hero You Are Meant To Be” course, was really helpful in sorting out all the conflicting ideas in my head.

Here’s the process I used to figure it out…

Create a story board or notebook- or use sticky notes to make notes of your memories.

Starting in your early childhood, think back to memories that stand out for you, ones where you remember learning something or realize that it affected you in some way. Write each one down in any way you want as long as you can sort them out easily as you work. Sticky notes worked well.

Here’s what came up for me…

I remember:

my dad preferring my little sister and me not knowing why

being punished for not doing the dishes “right”

having a Saturday job at 13 cleaning house for an older couple- I made $5, and always worried that I wouldn’t do a good enough job

being welcome next door- the first place I felt no judgment

the shame of nearly failing a math class- after being so advanced that they skipped me a grade

being abused

Don’t worry if you remember sad, or bad things. It is often that we are changed by adversity more than cheerfulness. And, don’t feel bad reading my list, there were good things too. I managed to be outgoing and social- I just kept a lot hidden away. These just shaped me along a different path than I would have had otherwise.

In my case, it was clear that I became a survivor who wanted to help others survive, thrive, and avoid pain.

I wanted to help others gain confidence and achieve their version of success. I realized the reason I was so afraid of taking a risk was because I had been punished so harshly for making any kind of mistake. I wanted others who are shy or worried about making mistakes to learn the ropes and gain confidence.

Six key memories out of a lifetime aren’t much, but from these I saw a pattern, enough for me to see where my “Broken World” was and to understand that I had come out of all that with a mission to teach others what I had learned.

I sorted memories into categories as you’ll see in the workbook. For me, things I learned fell into rough categories of family, failings and successes, influencers in my life, and other strong reactions that left a mark (never again, and repeat this often)

Looking back I also recalled:

My Grandmothers were both writers- which meant words were important

Plays I put on with neighborhood kids for our families

Creating make-believe “stores” by collecting cans and empty food/cereal boxes

Going to summer camp in the mountains- working with my team to win points

I led games and taught other kids how to do things (apparently I was smart and bossy as a kid)

At age 12, being in charge of buying groceries and preparing dinner each night after my mom and dad divorced

From those memories I saw that I had early leadership potential, organizational skills, vision and drive.

There were patterns I can continue to see at different points in my life.

So how does this create a story?

From these sticky notes on my board, I could see my broken world.

I could understand my passion for helping others avoid the pain I felt, I had a couple of mentors who showed me that I could do things well, and this all added up to…

The magical gift (offer)…

It took a while to be able to distill this down to the take away. If I had had this process laid out first, I think it would have been more easily apparent. But dealing with both the process, going through the memories, and with figuring out what it all meant at the same time took a little more effort.

Now though it is clear that the gift was understanding I was here to help others who lack confidence. I have always felt my talent was in being an encourager, but never knew how or in what way I could use that. Now it makes sense.

Once I had gone through this process, and identified the memories that shaped me, I gained confidence that this was something I was capable of doing, and even more clear, that I had a way of making a difference for others.

Take a look at my About page here on Strategy Links/About. Can you see this story in that text? It’s always been about helping those who aren’t able to succeed alone.

Now It’s Your Turn…

"Be The Hero You Are Meant To Be" course workbook image

Download the workbook and learn how to write a compelling story to use in your Bios, About pages, use snippets in emails, blogs, and more.

Using this framework ensures your story will be consistent across the board, building more authority for you as people read and learn about you!

Good Luck! Let me know how it goes, and especially if you have any questions or issues downloading the workbook…

Top 2 Reasons Newbies Struggle to Make Money Online: How To Overcome Them

Posted on October 6, 2017October 9, 2017 by JLHilleary

2 reasons Nebiews Struggle to Make Money Online image of gold miner with gold

94% of Newbies Struggle to Make Money Online!

The gold mine question is: why?

To answer that, let me start with My Least Favorite Word.

This may sound silly, but my least favorite word is “just”…

As in, “all you have to do “just” take massive action…

Or, “Just fake it till you make it”…

Come on, really? I thought we were past all that!

What I dislike about this word just is the way it makes newbies feel small or that we are somehow lacking because it seems sooo obvious to everyone else!.

If we all grew up knowing how to take “massive action” on any given idea, we would have a much different world. But we don’t. We don’t all know how to get started easily. Some people struggle because they are shy, and some others may have missed that day in school.

I know that’s how it was for me… literally!

When I was in the 7th grade, the school skipped me to 9th grade math. I was so lost, I went from making A’s to D’s. My confidence sank lower than the bottom of the pothole that plagued our parking lot.

I survived and got through it, but as an adult I actually had to go out and buy an arithmetic primer on basic fractions and converting percentages. It was part of what I missed when I skipped that grade. I felt stupid, and always felt I had to hide my struggle from others. I was determined to teach myself what I didn’t know- I was embarrassed not to know how to do this. And it didn’t help when friends said, “Oh, that’s easy, you just…” Ugh!

So you see, I have a soft spot for new entrepreneurs who join a network marketing program (maybe a $1 trial, maybe a $29.95 monthly fee), and then cannot seem to get started. I know how that feels. That’s why I dislike uplines teaching their people and others, and falling back on cliches that start with, “You just…”

Did you know that statistics say 94% of network marketers will not ever make more than $900 before they finally quit?

Do you know WHY this is?

You’ve no doubt seen the ones who get plugged in and have all the pieces in place, take off;

While the ones who can’t “just” figure the puzzle out before they burnout, they fizzle out and quit, leaving their investment behind, in someone else’s wallet. These programs assume everyone learns the same way.

Have you ever been (or are you now, today,) in this situation? Where you want to get started but can’t figure out where to start? And you frustrated listen to the Saturday morning calls where leaders tell you to “just take massive action; just do it!”

(By now you’ve figured out that I’m not a big fan of that approach!)

That’s why I put together this (free) “6 Steps to $6 Figures” e-book (that I hope you have downloaded by now). And that’s the idea behind my StrategyLinks.net website… trying to help wannabe entrepreneurs learn to make money online.

Consistently!

The problem of making money online consistently boils down to two basic reasons … “just” two.

#1: We either don’t have the right information, meaning we don’t know the right people and have the right product or services; OR

#2: We don’t believe we have what it takes to compete.

The good news is, each of these issues is fixable.

These are the two paths to succeed…

1. ) If you have that confident mindset, that natural way with people, you can sell anything.
… We succeed because we know that success is just around that next corner, and we don’t give up.

2. ) If you know for certain you have the right product or service, and know the people who need it.

If you believe this is a fact, even if you are not totally confident in yourself, you can still succeed when you believe that some combination greater than your understanding says it is right.

This is why we see people we cannot imagine how in the world they are this successful doing the things we wish we could do.

This is also why we see others who start with us out working us, winning when we haven’t even figured out step one. They either believe in the product/service or they believe in themselves.

What has to change for this to be you too?

Belief in yourself is a process.

You’ve no doubt known people who have read something like Napolean Hill’s book, “Think & Grow Rich” and have gone on to tell what a great difference it has made in their life.

There are many tools to improve your mindset if you feel unsure of yourself, tools like our Inner Circle audios and others on the free audio resources page as well as products you can purchase in the StrategyLinks store. It’s like me going out and buying that basic math book!

One thing I wish I had had is a tutor or a mentor. Today we have coaching services that offer guidance and support as you step through your marketing processes. Let me know if you think that would be helpful to you.

Gain confidence in your product or service

The other issue, feeling sure you have the right product or service, and knowing who needs it, can be overcome by making sure you know:

— what business you want to have (what kind, how it will work, will it be online or offline, etc);

— making sure you know who your target audience is (completing the persona or avatar worksheet with all the details to help you know this audience); and finally,

— doing your market research to ensure the market is large enough to support you and that you know what keys unlock the access to this audience.

I have a free mindmap to help you answer some of these questions if you are hesitatant still. Check this product out in the store- it ‘s free to download and I think it will be helpful to you.

Remember that there are resources here to help you overcome the “just” too hard issues, or the indecision that may be holding you back. (In the event that you’re flying along, leave me a comment and let me know what has been the biggest secret to your success! It’s great to share the knowledge!)

So, 2 reasons newbies struggle to make money online? Self-Confidence and Information assurance. Tackle these 2 hot issues and you’ll find that the online marketing world begins to open up for you.

How do you tackle them?

My suggestions:

1. Download the (free) 6 Steps guide if you haven’t already. ⇒ Learn the exact steps to take in the exact order.

2. Download the mindmap I mentioned above- also free! ⇒ Understand how the pieces all fit together

3. Watch the video with my friend Jon Ochs here. ⇒ Jon talks about the action, the mindset, and motivation to keep going.

Those steps, if you’re serious about creating a business, will set you on the right path and teach you so much more than you know right now! (And none of them will cost you a cent!)

Do leave me a comment below and let me know if this is meeting your need… or, if you have a question in a different area altogether! I am here to help you shine!

How To Survive a Disaster… Keep Your Business Running & Avoid Learning Lessons The Hard Way

Posted on September 13, 2017 by JLHilleary

Image of Hurricane Harvey Flood Houston Texas August 2017

#HurricaneHarvey Disaster Aftermath, Houston Texas August 2017

How To Survive A Disaster…
& Keep Your Home Business Running

You’d have to be living in a cave or under a rock not to know that the summer of 2017 has been challenging for many in the US.

This is going to affect multiple millions of people, not just in the US but globally, and it will for a long time to come.

This is also the anniversary of 9-11… I don’t know anyone who hasn’t got a memory connected with that tragedy.

So all in all, a good time to talk about how to keep your business up and running when you have to evacuate or are faced with disaster.

We’ve touched on how to start an online business, and whether you can make money doing it. But today I want to talk about how you can survive, what you can do to keep your business running in the face of disaster- what you need to think about ahead of time, and when you are affected by disaster.

After all, if there is no computer, there is no way for your business to operate when the power and internet are restored. What can we do to prepare and survive to see another day with our families?

I’m a Texan-in-exile (as I put it)- I’m from Houston, my family has been in Texas for nearly 150 years, so our roots go back a ways.

My daughter is carrying on the family tradition in Houston, having completed her undergrad university, grad school, residencies, and post-doc fellowships around the country, she is now back in Houston as a geriatric neuropsychologist, working with Alzheimer patients. So we talk about a lot of “What if…” questions. How to prepare for disasters, especially if you have older loved ones to care for as well.

#HurricaneHarvey and #HurricaneIrma have tested our “what if” scenarios, and allowed me to refine some lessons I’ve lived to tell about into this checklist that will help you survive disaster in general and keep your business going.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with my background, I’m here in Washington, DC right now and have worked with Homeland Security, FEMA, and the Defense department prior to setting up my own business, Strategy Links, almost 9 years ago. IN 2008 I started a blog about my work overseas when the former Soviet Union collapsed – I was there from 1996-2005 (WhatTheWorldTaughtMe.com). More recently I built a network marketing team with affiliate system that just last month went belly up. So, yeah, #^%$t happens!

I’ve known my share of disaster. And I know how it can touch each of us in some way.

My goal is to help you prepare, even if you’re not convinced you need help… yet!

True story from last week:
My aunt & uncle flew from California INTO Florida last week to visit friends- friends who said, “Oh, these storms never hit the Gulf side of Florida…” – the friends who live just south of Tampa! “Hasn’t happened since 1921…” they said. But it happened yesterday in 2017. Ok then…

What Do You Need To Know? Why Is This Important?

You’ve been working hard to get your business set up and to get it running. You depend on regular content to get the traffic that will be your fans and purchase your products or sign up for your system, plan or program, right?

When the time comes to board up windows or shelter in a hotel or school, how do you keep your content posting and getting viewers who may be unaffected in Michigan, or sleepless in Seattle? 😉

I went back through all my experiences with earthquakes and fires in California, political unrest in Baku, the derecho in DC, “Snowmaggedon/Snowzilla” plus my time with FEMA and more to make this checklist of important steps to take before, during, and after a disaster to make your life a little easier- or at least to avoid adding one more headache on top of all those about to happen!

Now, keep in mind, this checklist is not exhaustive, nor should it replace local authorities directions for you and your family. First things first. Let’s just get that out of the way.

But, assuming someday you need to evacuate, make plans to shelter elsewhere, or some other action that will take you out of your normal home business in a hurry or under stress, I want you to have this plan set up before that day comes. Like I say, I’ve been there in floods, fires, earthquakes, and political unrest overseas. You do need to plan ahead for these events because sometimes you’re given very little warning – like this time... (https://whattheworldtaughtme.com/2013/09/09/ex-pat-living-how-do-you-survive-life-in-a-war-zone/)

With all the situations just this past 30 days, you can see why it is important to your family that you think about how to continue your source of income coming in while disaster swirls around you. This may sound callous, but if you went into a home business for any reason other than to have fun and meet people, protecting your income could quite literally be a lifesaver.

So here is what I would advise… I’ve laid this out in 3 columns: Pre-, During-, and Post-Disaster Preparations in a Checklist with a column to check of when the action is done.

Download the whole Checklist here (.pdf)

And, as always, please ask your questions in the comment section at the end and share this with your friends and family. Also, if you’ve just gone through a disaster and have a tip that worked for you, or have learned a lesson for next time, please share your hard-earned wisdom here! We can all learn something for the future… Glad you’re here!

Disaster Prep Checklist 2017

I hope this gets you thinking about what to plan for ahead of the next event. You know what they say these days: “Disasters are like buses- there’ll be another one along in a few minutes!”

Be safe, and be prepared! Your family and your business need you!

Starting An Online Business…Where Do I Start?

Posted on July 17, 2017July 22, 2017 by JLHilleary

When we talk about starting an online business, becoming an Entrepreneur, the ads make it all sound so… EASY, right?

Just get a domain name, set up your web hosting, install an instance of WordPress, load up a theme you like the looks of, and in minutes (multiples of 60 to be really honest) and start typing. You are a blogger! Congratulations!

What? What’s that? You don’t know what a domain name is or how to redirect it to the other place it should open? What are preferences? And how do you set them up?

Beyond that, there are more details no one even mentioned in the slick ads. If you want to make money with your blog, exactly how do you do that? It really was a lot easier when we just wrote letters by hand… Lol!

Having “A Why That Makes You Cry”

I wrote out some of the questions I had to grapple with when I formalized my business after having a blog for already 4 years. This is the thought process and questions that need to be addressed when you decide you want to start an online business- it’s more than just having “a why that makes you cry”.

(I could have retyped all this- put it in a Cheat Sheet, made it look pretty, and left it sitting on my desk till I got it just perfect…)

UPDATE: As you can see I did go back and put this in a mind-map after all to make it easier to read and use. Download the free .pdf here!

When looking back, I wanted to start an online business. Why? Because the network marketing group I was in had so many people who just gave up. That bothered me… a lot. Why should people buy systems and products that “should” give them a turn-key business to build, only to find they need to sink more money in and still not get anyone to stay past a 7 day free trial?

This computer business idea, instead of being simple as the ads say, was just too foreign, too complicated, too unknown. What is a back office? When did a dashboard go from being a part of my car to being something I need to watch? I just want to blog- and now you tell me that to blog, I need more viewers and to do that I need to build a list… and to build a list I need to do that SEO thing. And then I need to jump on a Skype call to get the time for our Hangout; or check a FB group to get the link to our ZOOM! Ay, yay,yay! No wonder people just walk away without making that easy cash!

So You Want To Start An Online Business…

If this sounds like you or someone you know, subscribe and make plans to read these posts. Either we’re having these questions or we’ll laugh because we remember when we did!

My plan is to write about each topic, sharing what I did, what I learned and what I would do now if I was starting again. I want to bring hope- you are not alone in this- and guidance to get you out of whatever quicksand you find yourself in. I want you to think about next year’s taxes and what you need to do today to maximize your deductions- yes even from a blog- and provide resources to get you official and legal so that you can keep more of what you earn.

If that sounds good subscribe here and let’s get this party started!

First things first… Can I Succeed?

Everyone talks about passion, mission, the why that makes you cry… but really, most people just want to make some extra money to make a better life for their family. It doesn’t matter how as much as that it can happen.

The good news is that there are billions of people using the internet to learn things, to buy things and to share things. That means theoretically at least, that you have a market that can be taught, sold, or serviced in some profitable way.

What keeps some from making their first dollar while others tout the millions they have made is a thing called hustle. Gary Vaynerchuk has it, and preaches it daily. Tony Robbins has it and uses it to motivate others. Kim Garst has it and that’s how she got to be the Queen of Periscope then Facebook Live.

If you have it you know it. It’s that restless feeling that you have to do more, be more- make a difference. Just wanting to make money isn’t hustle. The feeling that to make $100 you would do anything it takes, that’ s hustle… If you don’t have it naturally, don’t despair. You can learn it, and I’ll show you how.

What is it that you’re better at than the next guy? Writing a blog with no “So What” factor will just cause people to read and say, ok, that was pleasant. But it won’t make you money. That’s not hustle.

People part with their cash when you show them how to make double that amount back. Or because you have solved some problem that was costing them twice that each month.

What can you do for others to make their lives better? What product or invention can you bring to the market that will make them more productive? What will you do to make a difference in people’s lives?

In my case, I saw confused new sign-ups sitting in a group orientation. You’ve seen this a hundred times- in any meeting there will be the 10 really engaged people, the middle group listening and taking notes and the back row who had to bring 3 projects to do at the same time, while going through that onboarding process.

If you’re one of the 10, I want to save you time- with products that make list building and SEO super easy, a membership that brings products to you. I want you to get where you’re going faster and easier.

For you in that middle group, I want to give you the shortcuts, sharing what it takes to be successful, the behind the scenes tips uplines “forget” to mention (like how they spend $10,000 per month on traffic to generate those 5 high-ticket sales per day!) Yeah… I didn’t think that was part of the overview!

(Note: the people in the back row, they haven’t got the time or attention to take on a new business, so this isn’t for them! Not to be mean, but seriously, let’s think about what it takes to win… )

You Know What You Want To Do, For Whom, And Why… What’s Next?

Deciding HOW to provide your products or services brings you to the legal side of things. Once you know how you want to sell, teach or coach, you have a good idea where this will need to happen. Will your blog have an “online store” to sell the products you review? Will your coaching service have a website from which to make appointments and hold coaching classes or one-on-one sessions?

These answers will tell you whether you need a business license, what kind of business form will be most beneficial to you, and what fees and taxes you’ll need to prepare for.

Four years ago, after having my own physical business- teaching business skills to people who wanted to work for western oil companies in Baku- I wanted to set up an online business to prepare me to transition from consulting to that “massive passive income” everyone was talking about online.

I followed a link, listened to the video and made the decision to join that night at 11:30pm- Halloween night! I “got all in” and spent the entire night listening to video after video, filling in form after form. I understood the potential and decided how I wanted to use it. (Relax- I am not here to recruit anyone!) But as a teacher of business skills, I knew if I was challenged, people like my mother would be lost and at the mercy of those who would say, just buy more stuff! That annoyed me… I want people to succeed, not feel like failures when they run into walls of hype and complexity.

Decision Time

I decided that night, in order to do what I wanted (help other newbies succeed) I needed a business license. I registered a business (an LLC,meaning a Limited Liability Company) here in Virginia (I did it online) and applied for my IRS EIN (tax ID number). Not hard to do, but you do have to do things in order to ensure the right numbers go in the right boxes. Ideally we would all know to do this before we wanted to join a plan or program. It would be so much easier! But as a first time business owner in Virginia (my physical business was incorporated in Delaware when I lived in Texas and worked in Baku… whew!) I faced the same unknowns as you will or have.

Once I got the business type decided, and got my IRS forms sorted out, I could register for this network marketing system not as me but as a business. The best advice they gave that night was to sign up with their bookkeeping partner. Why? Because if it had not come from them that night, I would have put it on the back burner until I was making money. Then tax time would have rolled around and I would have missed out on about $28,000 of tax deductions.

**Disclaimer; not everyone will invest this much into their business in the first year, and therefore not have much to deduct, but because I talked with the planners, we organized it so that I could invest as I began making small sales to legitimately be able to deduct my set up costs etc.

This is why it makes sense to plan in advance so that we don’t leave money on the table… or even better, we can take money off Uncle Sam’s table legally! We’ll get into more of that in the next post…

For now, if you are one of the new business entrepreneurs- solo-preneur, mompreneur, dadpreneur- whatever flavor you want to be, please take time to read the questions above and tell me which ones spark your thoughts and questions. And what questions have I not put on the list that you are thinking about?

Don’t forget to subscribe so we can keep the conversation going. Leave me a comment below with your thoughts on this subject– has it been easy for you or have you had more challenges than what I listed today? Let me know, and let’s discuss!