Category Archives: Microbusiness

06.03.13
by

Live a Little!

ChinatowncheckersGo out and live a little! Experiencing the outside world and getting to know people is vital to your success. Getting in touch with the world helps you understand changes and what needs people have. Doing this will help you learn what kind of businesses to pursue. If you’re interested in a certain area of business, go to a meeting that is about that specific interest. Check out meetup.com in your area and see what you can find.

You can learn about the world quickly by spending time on your phone and on the internet, but there are elements of a physical meeting that the online world can’t yet fully capture. You can learn so much from partying or spending time with a group of friends in person. It’s obviously important to only carve out a small percentage of your time for partying, but taking time for those experiences is important. Forget about social networking for awhile and be social for real. Get out from behind your desk and go meet new people in person!

05.28.13
by

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
by

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.

 

04.15.13
by

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
by

Motivation Station!

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!