"No Money, No Time"- Sorry Mom, But I Ain't Buyin' It
By: Carrie Lauth
This week on Work at Home Moms Talk Radio, my friend Kelly McCausey talked about Moms who say they don't have enough money to start a home based business. She went on to explain that she wasn't born with a silver spoon in her mouth either and had to scrape together $15 from her grocery money to start her online venture.
Her diatribe got me thinking. I don't buy the No Money excuse either. I've known women who did whatever it took to get the cash to start their business. Let me give you some examples.
One Mom took her little girl's fancy Sunday dresses to a consignment shop and used the cash to buy her Direct Sales kit. You think her daughters are upset with her about that? Nah. Now she takes them with her when she travels around the world.
One Mom had a yard sale, and used that $80 to invest in a business. She also gave a flyer that she had printed up on her computer to the people who visited her sale. (They can't run away! Added bonus.)
One Mom went around pre-selling the product. She told everyone about how great the stuff was, took orders, and collected the money. She deposited the checks and used that money to buy the product at distributor price. She then turned around and sold the product to those customers at retail.
You can quite literally start a business online for around $20. For instance, Dayana will host your website for an entire year for $15. You can buy a domain name for $2.99-$10. You can start with that, and as you begin to earn money, reinvest in your business. You'll need a mailing list manager and a couple of other tools to really succeed, but the point is to start somewhere.
In this country, if a person cannot come up with that little cash, they're likely either extremely lazy or totally uncreative. That kind of person isn't a good candidate for a home based entrepreneur anyway so it's just as well.
Other ideas:Get a loan from a friend or family member, complete with a written agreement to pay back the money. If you're really hard up and don't have a family member or friend who loves you enough to loan you a few bucks, then you have other problems!
You could even approach your sponsor if you're considering joining a Direct Sales company. Tell her you will book 5 parties in your first week and give her all the profits until the money is repaid. If you got that down in writing, told her your plan of attack and are sincere, I can't imagine her saying no! She knows you're a temporarily broke but highly motivated, "out of the box" thinking person who she knows will likely be an awesome addition to her team.
Sell some stuff on eBay. You can clean out your closets (or somebody else's!) or go to a thrift store and buy some Baby Gap clothes to sell on eBay for extra cash. CDs, DVDs, and hardcover books also sell well.
Do a quick, temporary odd job. I know a Mom who put up a handmade sign at a local health food store: Non Toxic Cleaning Services. She pocketed $150 for a few hours work, and guess what- she used her own natural cleaning product and likely made a customer too.
Cancel the cable. Contrary to popular belief, cable television is not a need. Use that $60 a month or more to build a business. That will give you a leg up on the other favorite excuse too...
Another excuse I don't buy? The "No Time" Excuse
We all have 24 hours in a day. Some people are able to do amazing things with their gift of time.
Remember the Mom who sold the dresses at the consignment shop? She had 7 kids. 7
home schooled
kids. She built her business one person at a time, just by inviting them over to her house for a cup of tea while her kids played around her. If anyone had "no time", it was her. But she took the time. Now she enjoys a residual income that allows her to go on cruises and spoil the grandkids.
People have time to watch their favorite TV shows every day or every week, but they don't have time to exercise? To quote Homey the Clown, "I don't think so."
If you have kids, why not work out a babysitting co-op with another working Mom? You could watch her kids for a few hours two or three days a week and she could do the same for you. During that time you could focus on building your business. If you're very careful with how your spend your time, a few hours 3 days a week could be enough to start and build a profitable business!
As you begin to earn a profit, you should then commit to reinvesting in tools that will save you time and automate different tasks. You could also outsource some of the easier activities, or the things you don't enjoy so much, to someone else so you can focus on the things you're good at that really earn you money.
When you have a home based business, you get good at making the most of your time around the house. You become more efficient with household tasks, and you ask for help and delegate more too. Those things save you time.
I know what I've said here may step on some toes, but I speak truth. Stop making excuses. Get creative and figure out how to solve these problems so you can move forward with your goals.
Now go get 'em!
Carrie Lauth is a work at home Mom of 4 and is excited about helping other Moms succeed online. Sign up for her free newsletter and get a free report on how you can earn money from your own online magazine:
www.Business-Moms-Expo.com
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