Category Archives: Entrepreneurship

05.28.13
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Take a Break!

By Anthony Hilb

VactionI haven’t taken more than a few days off work for the last two years. Fortunately, running my own microbusinesses is fun, so I’m excited to get to work each day.

I just got married this weekend and a lot of my microbusinesses were put on hold – specifically my websites and digital work. Currently, my blogs are my least profitable endeavor. It was difficult for me to put them on hold, but I had to narrow my focus on my most profitable work while I was helping my wife plan our wedding. Taking a break doesn’t always mean taking a break from all of your work. Taking a break from a few projects can bring new life and excitement to them when you return.

The projects that are the most profitable for me right now don’t even require much of an online presence. I still have websites for a lot of those microbusinesses, but my customers are really more interested in talking with me in person. There’s still a market for people who want to meet face to face!

Now I’m preparing my honeymoon and plan to take a break from everything for about a week. I’m confident it will be helpful for all of my projects. You need to do the same when you get a chance!

05.07.13
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Weddings!

By Anthony Hilb

WeddingI’m getting married this May, and I’ve learned that weddings cost a lot! Not many people compete on price. There’s a tremendous opportunity in my area for businesses who are willing to charge a little less than the competition when it comes to anything related to weddings. And it’s not a race to the bottom – the majority simply charge too much. It’s as if they’re price colluding. I wouldn’t be surprised if they were.

However, my fiancée and I have found some great people in our area. The Seasons Lodge in Brown County and Mary M’s here in Bloomington, IN have both been amazing to us. Thanks, guys!

Starting a microbusiness that services wedding related activities can give you plenty of work. It’s the perfect kind of business to start on the side while you’re working a day job. Photographers and DJs are two examples.

 

04.27.13
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Members Only!

By Anthony Hilb

nordstromSometimes making your business exclusive is the right move. We’ve been seeing many membership websites launch over the years. Lumosity.com is a basic example. Colleges are an even better example. By only allowing a select group of people into their schools, more people want to attend. They’re exclusive. Getting into prestigious colleges often shows credibility.

I don’t believe colleges are the only way to learn, but even certain professions only allow members. Doctors, lawyers, professors, and engineers are all required to have certain degrees and pass specific tests. Fortunately, many business owners don’t have to worry about those degrees and tests. Yet they must be lifelong learners. In order to be successful, many of the most successful business owners are required to spend the same amount of time, if not more, learning as the top professionals. Becoming a successful business owner is often a members only situation too.

Making your business a members only organization shows that you have standards. This doesn’t always work when you’re selling products. But think about Nordstrom. Their prices are high and they sell quality products. It’s a membership business because many people simply don’t have the money to buy from them. So those people go to Walmart and buy a suit for $60 instead of the suit that costs $1,000 at Nordstrom. Nordstrom has to sell a much smaller quantity to compete with those who race to the bottom with their prices.

The people who buy all of their clothes directly from Nordstrom are in the rich club or perceived to be in the rich club. Buying from them is a status symbol. Once you set higher standards and focus on high quality, you can make your products and services a members only club too.

04.15.13
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Improvise!

By Anthony Hilb

Improvise!You gotta be flexible. Sometimes you MUST improvise. I’m improvising this entire blog post; I have no idea what I’ll say next at this moment, and I haven’t decided how I’ll end it. I’m only giving myself 10 minutes to finish this post. But so what! The importance of improvisation can’t be overlooked, and this is giving me a bit of practice.

Sometimes incredible opportunities unexpectedly present themselves to us. Often times these moments are when we’ll have to improvise. In conversations sometimes we just gotta improvise and go with it.

Not everything can be planned, and we have a restricted amount of time to work during the day. However, so much can be planned. To eliminate too much improvisation during your work week, set your priorities. Be ruthless about setting your priorities. This will help you predetermine what actions you will take in many circumstances.

When an amazing opportunity comes your way, you’ll be able to make an educated decision about your course of action. You might need to drop a current project or client in order to pursue a much better project/client. But you will still need to improvise and learn as you go no matter what you decide. There’s no doubt about that. Planning your every move won’t always work.

My 10 minutes is up. I hope you enjoyed my improvised rant. Get out there and take action! Set your priorities and improvise when you’re stuck!

 

04.10.13
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Motivation Station!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XHcPYorSJw

By Anthony Hilb

We don’t listen to Mötley Crüe too much, but that’s not the point! Musicians are creative, and creativity invents new paths. When you’re looking for inspiration for your business or personal life, listen to music that inspires you and pumps you up! That music may even be relaxing music. Whatever it is, be sure to listen to it at some point during the day. Unless you hate all music, this habit will help your business, microbusiness, and personal life!