Complete Library to Entrepreneurial Wisdom by Ginger Marks

Let’s Talk Turkey

When do you know it is the right time to bust loose from the 9 to 5 JOB? Do you have what it takes to really make a go of this opportunity we call a home-based business? What if you give up your job and things don’t work out as you planned? These questions and more come to mind when you first begin to consider if owning your own business is right for you.

Right up front you need to look at the numbers. Read the details. A visit to the US Small Business Administration website reveals that 66% of start-up businesses are still operational after 2 years, while only 50% of those remaining will survive another 2 years. Furthermore after an additional 2 years only 40% of those remaining will continue to be serving the needs of the public. This means that after six years out of 100 businesses that opened their doors only about 13 will still be in business.

One thing I want to clarify here though is the fact that just because they are not in business after six years, those that are not operational could have closed for many other reasons than failure. On the contrary, this could mean that they were so successful that they wisely put together an “Exit Plan” and sold their thriving business or they may have moved or retired. Any number of reasons could account for this low number of viable businesses surviving for a mere six years.

Nevertheless, how do you keep from becoming just another statistic? Looking at the reasons start-up businesses fail will help you understand better what it will take for you to succeed.

Business owners who take the time to sit down and pen a business plan greatly increase their chances of survival. Why? The simple answer is that a business plan not only gives you direction but it details the way you will accomplish each phase of the business development. When you need additional funding what a financial institution is looking for is a clear statement of what you plan to offer and how you plan to take your idea from concept to delivery. Besides these reasons a well thought out business plan will help keep you on the track. It should be—and will be—your roadmap to success.

Insufficient funding is another reason businesses fail. With the business plan in place additional funding can be sought through investors and financial institutions. Consider applying for a small business loan through sources that are there to help you. Angel Investors is one source other than governmental assistance that you might apply to for support if you need additional backing. It is advisable to have at least two years of funding set aside in case things don’t progress quite how you had planned.

As I often recommend, do your homework. Know your market and your competition. Is there even a market for your product or service? Decide who your target market is. Will you offer a product or service that should be geared to a local customer or will your business be better suited for the Internet community? Be sure that you have the proper education and experience to run a business. Lack in these areas can, and often does, lead to poor decision making which can cost you dearly in the end.

On the other side of the coin are the issues that lead to success. Do you have what it takes to be successful? Do you have that education? A proper education enables you to not only make good decisions but ensures you have the base knowledge to skillfully operate a business. Maturity is helpful here as well. With maturity comes the knowledge of how to handle difficulties with finesse. 

You may also have the resources in place to assist you in case of an unforeseen obstacle may rear its ugly head. Mature business owners, not necessarily the maturity of age, are able to focus on the goal and commitment to success. Actually talent can be a factor here as well. Do you have the natural talent and ability in place to achieve your goals?

Know when and how to expand your business, how to located suppliers and to spend within your budget. Many home based businesses are initially started for emotional reasons. Because many are started with no plan in place and very little start-up capital the home based business is at risk. However, due to the lower expenses many home based businesses are beating the odds and surviving past the expected norms.

So, know what you are in for, be prepared to take the necessary action to achieve your goal and commit to success and you will most likely beat the odds and join the ranks of the successful home based business owners.

Read first chapter here
BookSpotlight - Read more about this book here.

Complete Library to Entrepreneurial Wisdom by Ginger Marks

ABOUT COMPLETE LIBRARY TO ENTREPRENEURIAL WISDOM

The Complete Library of Entrepreneurial Wisdom with over 150, power-packed, articles to choose from, the busy entrepreneur has at their fingertips, bite-sized training lessons to help them on their success journey. It covers business basics, including how to and how not to start your business; marketing; marketing design, which is a topic rarely covered; writing, which covers technical, practical, as well as, marketing aspects to writing; and life reflections, such as planning for emergencies and disasters—both natural and man-made. There is so much information packed into this book that it could well be the only book on core business issues that you will ever need. Purchase at:

 

ABOUT GINGER MARKS

In 2005, Ginger completed her first business book, Presentational Skills for the Next Generation. Soon after which, she established her publishing company, DocUmeant Publishing. She is an award winning publisher and internationally known designer. Ginger is the CEO and Founder of CALOMAR, LLC which is the parent company to three successful businesses, DocUmeant.net, DocUmeant Designs, and DocUmeant Publishing. In 2013 she was named by Covington Who’s Who as Entrepreneur of the Year and her design firm is among the Highest Rated firms at DesignFirms.org which lists over 20,000 designers, developers & marketing professionals. DocUmeant.net offers editing and writing services; DocUmeantDesigns.com, as you would guess, focuses on designs ranging from websites to book covers & layouts to buttons and business stationary needs; while DocUmeantPublishing.com’s focus was begun with the self-published author in mind. During her entrepreneurial career she has owned and operated a surgical clinic, a bar-b-que restaurant, and held several sales positions including that as a License Financial Advisor. This experience is what enables her to speak on various aspects of business ownership. Ginger is a member of DesignFirms, AAPS (Association of Authors and Publishers), IBPA (International Book Publishers Association), DBW (Digital Book World), and FAPA (Florida Authors and Publishers Association). In 2012 she was awarded VIP membership to Covington Who’s Who and her publishing company, DocUmeant Publishing, was awarded the 2012 New York Award in the Publishing Consultants & Services category by the U.S. Commerce Association (USCA). Currently she resides in Clearwater, Florida with her husband Philip who works beside her as her copy editor. You can visit her website at Ginger Marks' Books

 

Get your copy of Ginger's Free Special Report: 10 Easy Steps to Re-purpose Your Content. This is the insider's view of how the Complete Library of Entrepreneurial Wisdom came about. With the information you will garner in this Special Report, you too can quickly and easily create your very own new money maker.

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Is Your Teenager Wasting His Summer? by Carol Topp

Is Your Teenager Wasting His Summer?
By Carol Topp, CPA

Summer is a great time for a teenager to earn some money working a temporary job, but most jobs are a waste of time. Summer jobs are usually low-skill jobs with tedious tasks like running a cash register or cleaning up bits of paper at an amusement park. These jobs pay poorly and do not usually offer any paths to advance or grow. They do nothing to help a teenager develop his gifts or prepare him for a
future career. The best that can be said about a summer job is that it keeps a teenager busy and pays him a bit of money.

What if there was a way for your teenager to make some money, learn a lot and test a future career this summer? It would be a much better use of his time. What if your teenager learned time management, practiced math and writing skills, and grew in confidence and responsibility? That would be a very rewarding summer.

Instead of telling your teenager to get a job, encourage him to start a micro business. A micro business is a one-person business that can be started easily, usually without any up-front cash, using what a teenager already owns. Micro businesses are usually home-based and very flexible so a busy student can keep up with other interests, sports and a social life.

Teenagers can use their skills to develop businesses such as teaching guitar lessons, doing web design or caring for children. Some teenagers have started micro businesses by offering services such as house cleaning, pet care, and lawn mowing. One easy-to-start micro business is tutoring. Students can tutor math, Spanish, computer programs or any subject that they are good at.

The quickest way to get your teenager started is to look for a need he can fill such as teaching a subject he knows well. Edgar is bi-lingual, since his family speaks Spanish in their home. He is tutoring another student in Spanish as a micro business.

Other teenagers can turn their interests into a micro business. Kristin combined her love of reading and childcare. She assembled a small group of children one morning a week and in a two hour block of time read them a story, planned a craft, and fed them a snack. She charged $5 per child per week and conducted a six-week mini-camp one summer. It was so popular, she offered an afternoon reading
camp as well.

One benefit of running a micro business during the summer over working a job is that a teenager can try out an idea and see if they want to pursue it as a career. Joel has a talent for computer web design. He is teaching himself software like InDesign and makes money by creating buttons and banners for websites. His web design micro business will help Joel determine if her wants to be a full time graphic designer. Meanwhile he is learning time management and customer service skills while getting paid.

So don't saddle your teenager with another summer of working a boring, tedious job that offers no challenges or opportunities for growth. Instead, encourage him to have his best summer yet by starting a micro business.

Carol Topp, CPA advises teenage business owners through her Micro Business for teens books series. Carol's day job is accountant to business owners, and she enjoys teaching teenagers to succeed beyond their dreams.  Students appreciate how she shares what they need to know in clear and helpful lessons.  Her web site is MicroBusinessforTeens.com


Visit the book tour here.
Visit guest articles:
How to launch a Mirco Business: 10 easy steps
Spring Cleaning: a time to make money
Celebrate Independence

Celebrate Independence: Start a Micro Business by Carol Topp

Celebrate Independence: Start a Micro Business!

By Carol Topp, CPA

The Fourth of July is a time to celebrate our country's independence and appreciate our freedoms as Americans to follow our dreams. This is a great time to encourage our children, especially teenagers, to cherish their freedoms. Not every country in the world allows a teenager to have as many freedoms and opportunities as the United States. One important area of freedom that our children probably take for
granted is the freedom to become whatever they want to be, which includes starting a business.

My 16 year old daughter, Sarah, was introduced to a man who grew up in East Germany. He described his youth where he had no choice in what he would study in high school or what career he would have. He was assigned to a technical high school where he learned science and math. There was no consideration of his abilities or talents. Sarah began to appreciate her country in a new way. She has an
artistic bent and would have hated being forced into a math and science-oriented high school. Instead, she has been allowed to purse her love of art and photography.

Sarah celebrated her independence by starting a micro business. She used her interest in photography to take senior pictures of a few friends. More friends saw her work and hired her for their senior pictures. She was kept quite busy for several weeks and grew in her skills and business knowledge. It is quite easy for a teenager to start a very small business—a micro business—and learn a lot while making some money.

A teenage micro business owner will learn business skills such as marketing, customer service and salesmanship, but they will learn also life skills such as time management, planning and careful use of money. As a parent you will see them develop confidence, responsibility and the ability to overcome fear as they face new challenges in running a business.

We should encourage any spark of entrepreneurial spirit we see in our children because it helps them grow in many ways, but it is also good for our country. Small business ownership is the backbone of our economy, paying 44% of the total US private payroll.1 But not only are small businesses responsible for America's wealth, they encourage free enterprise, responsibility and leadership.

The GrasshopperGroup has produced a short video, “Entrepreneurs Can Change The World,” that inspires us to remember the entrepreneurial spirit on which our country was built. You can view the video at YouTube and it says, in part:

“In case you haven't noticed, we live in a place where one individual can make a difference. Want proof? Just look at the people who built our country: our parents, grandparents, our aunts, our uncles. They were immigrants, newcomers ready to make their mark. Maybe they came with very little; or perhaps they didn't own anything except a single brilliant idea. These people were thinkers, doers and innovators until they came up with the name entrepreneurs.”2

Remember the freedoms we have in America this Fourth of July, and especially the precious freedom to work for ourselves, start a business and follow a dream. Encourage your teenager to exercise their freedom by starting a micro business.




1 Consortium for Entrepreneurship Education http://Entre-Ed.org
2 http://www.youtube.com/user/GetGrasshopper

ISBN: 978-0-09829245-0-1
Retail price: $9.95

Carol Topp, CPA advises teenage business owners through her Micro Business for teens books series. Carol's day job is accountant to business owners, and she enjoys teaching teenagers to succeed beyond their dreams.  Students appreciate how she shares what they need to know in clear and helpful lessons.  Her web site is MicroBusinessforTeens.com


Visit the book tour here.
Visit guest articles:
How to launch a Mirco Business: 10 easy steps
Spring Cleaning: a time to make money

Spring Cleaning: A Time for a Teenager to Make Money by Carol Topp

Carol Topp, CPA advises teenage business owners though her Micro Business for Teens book series. Carol’s day job is accountant to business owners, and she enjoys teaching teenagers to succeed beyond their dreams. Students appreciate how she shares what they need to know in clear and helpful lessons. Her website is MicroBusinessForTeens.com

If you missed it Visit the book tour and a giveaway offer here.

Spring Cleaning: A Time For a Teenager to Make Money

by Carol Topp

Most people see spring as a time to declutter, clean out and recycle our unneeded stuff—but it is also a
great opportunity for a teenager to make some money. There are several micro businesses a teenager
can start by helping people with spring cleaning.

A micro business is a one-person business that can be started easily, usually without any up-front cash,
using equipment that a teenager already owns. Micro businesses are usually very flexible so a busy
student can keep up with homework, sports, and a social life while still earning some extra money.
They may be temporary, only lasting a few weeks. On top of that, micro businesses are easy to start and
easy to close down.

Here are some ideas for a micro business a teenager can start this spring:

• House cleaning: Offer to tackle large jobs like washing windows, moving furniture, etc. Many
people are grateful for a young, strong teenager to help them with heavy lifting. What is easy
for you might be very difficult for them, especially if they are an older person.

• Routine house cleaning: Some customers need regular house cleaning and may hire you on a
weekly or monthly basis. Don't wait for them to ask: offer to come weekly or twice a month and
see what they say.

• Attic cleaning: Offer to help people do a job that they put off, such as cleaning an attic.

• Garage cleaning: A big job that can earn you big bucks!

• Yard cleanup: Offer to trim bushes, pull weeds, plant flowers and spread mulch to spruce up a
yard.

• Car and van cleaning: People spend a lot of time in their automobiles and their cars and vans
need frequent cleaning. Melissa gladly paid to get her van cleaned inside and out every week
because her four children could really make a mess in it. You can make some cash by offering
to clean a van inside and out.

• Organize. Organize a house, playroom or garage. Charge the customer for any bins, tubs and
labels that you purchase for them and then add on the value of your time. Take before and after
photos to use on your advertising fliers.

• Declutter: Do you love HGTV shows on organization? You might be able to find someone to
hire you to declutter their house like you see on TV.

• Garage sales: Advertise, organize and run a garage sale for your neighbors. Get several
neighbors to participate together and really earn the bucks!

• eBay sales: Offer to sell your neighbors' stuff on eBay and take a cut for yourself. Combine the
decluttering, garage sale and eBay tasks into a full package to help your customers profit from
their excess stuff.

Do not be too hasty to reject some of these ideas. No one likes any job that has the word “cleaning” in
it, but you will not be doing it for the rest of your life. A micro business based on spring cleaning does
not have to last long—a lot of money can be earned in a few weeks. It may take a bit of planning to be
ready to work when the first signs of spring start.

Tips to get started:

1. Choose what you will offer: cleaning, decluttering, full packages, etc.

2. Who will be your customers? Think of places that people gather and see them as potential
customers. Focus on your neighborhood, your church, or families from your sports team. Make
a list of neighbors, friends, teachers, your parents' friends, etc.

3. Conduct a market survey. Start by asking a few potential customers if they need your service
and what price they are willing to pay.

4. Decide on a price. From the market survey, you should be able to set a fair price. You may get
your first customers by undercharging the competition. One teenager charged half what other
house cleaners were paid and quickly had several customers.

5. Volunteer to do a few jobs for free to practice your skills and to build a reputation. Use
recommendations from these jobs in your advertising.

6. Launch your first advertising campaign. Try to use free advertising such as emails, on-line
forums, Facebook posts, and handing out fliers to friends and neighbors. Be sure to include
several ways to contact you, including email and phone numbers.

Many people are very happy to hire teenagers for spring cleaning jobs. Start advertising your micro
business services now and be ready when spring arrives.

Learn more about Starting a Micro Business book here.

GRAND PRIZE!

The Complete Set of Carol Topp's Micro Business for Teens Series

Find out how to enter the Grand Prize here. 

Leave a comment here for a bonus entry to this Grand Prize giveaway.  Remember this is a bonus so you must do the mandatory entry first here to have a bonus.

For the bonus:  visit Carol's site and tell me another micro business (different from those listed above) for a teen to start.  She has many ideas posted.  Visit her site here. 


A copy of this book was provided for this review by ...

Starting a Micro Business by Carol Topp

ISBN: 978-0-09829245-0-1
Retail price: $9.95

(Cincinnati, OH) With unemployment rates high, the teen population is finding it harder and harder to find work. Adults are competing for the same minimum wage jobs. But there’s an alternative—starting a micro business. What is a micro business? It is a very small, one-person business that you can start easily and quickly with what you already know or own. No money needed, low risk and no debt! Students can spend as much time running a micro business as they wish and can even close it down during busy times. The best advantage for teens to own a micro business is that it not only brings in extra cash (often more than imagined), but students end up learning a great deal about business, money and themselves. It may lead to an entrepreneurial life or at the very least, prepare students for higher learning opportunities.

Starting a Micro Business will help teenagers earn money while learning how to start their own business. A micro business is simple to start, usually home-based, low risk, educational and easy for a busy student to run. This book offers ideas, a business plan, starting with no debt, pitfalls to avoid and resources to get a teenager started making money running their own micro business.

Carol Topp, CPA advises teenage business owners though her Micro Business for Teens book series. Carol’s day job is accountant to business owners, and she enjoys teaching teenagers to succeed beyond their dreams. Students appreciate how she shares what they need to know in clear and helpful lessons. Her website is MicroBusinessForTeens.com

Visit a guest post from Carol here. 

Teens are always in need of money.  What better way to help them learn responsibility than to help them start up their own business.  In Topp's book, explains what a micro business is and takes the reader a step further by  giving details as to what is needed to make a business start up,  Even tells how to write a business plan and gives an example of one.  It is a very easy book to read and understand.  Everything is spelled out in black and white.  She covers risks and and scams and the purpose of even wanting to start a micro business.  Discusses problems and banking/financing issues involved.  Topp is very thorough in her book and it doesn't take a rocket scientist to understand what she has wrote.                                                                                

GRAND PRIZE!

The Complete Set of Carol Topp's Micro Business for Teens Series

(Winner will receive the four books shown below)

To enter please leave a comment below telling me which article on Carol's site that you found most interesting.  Be sure to leave a way of contact.  I will draw a name on April 22nd to be entered in the Grand Prize drawing to be held by KCWC on April 25th.

Want a bonus entry?  Leave a comment on the Guest Post here.  

Carol Topp's

Micro Business for Teens

Giveaway Winner is ...

  

Lady Dragon Keeper

from my Blog

A copy of this book was provided for this review by ...

Fashion Unraveled by Jennifer Lynne Matthews

I must say this book wasn't what I expected, but it has proven to be a very interesting read.  This book is a 400 page textbook to help you learn how to start and manage your own fashion design/craft business.  It is for the entrepreneur.  It gives an in-depth look at what it takes to start and run the business.  Each page is designed with wide margins for jotting down notes, even provides lines for you.  There are work sheet pages to work through in setting up your business.  The author states from the ground and moves you up. The Introduction discusses the fashion industry and entrepreneurship.  Then you move into developing your line such as:  defining your market and customer, creating your brand and identity, and moving on to developing your collection.  In the production section things such as fabric, pattern and samples, cutting and production are discussed as well as fast fashion, slow fashion and sustainable fashion with one chapter on tee shirt business.  Moving along to marketing and sales, starting the business, law and regulations, running a business and closing with building a business plan.  No stone is left unturned, it's all in this book if you are in the market for starting and running a fashion business.  You can learn from someone who has been there.  This book is well laid out and you come away well informed about everything that goes into a business of fashion.

Read guest article on  Reasons for using a Business Plan by Jennifer here.

Read an interview with the author @ Pump Up Your Book tours

Fashion Unraveled offers an inside look into the operations of a small fashion design business. This book offers tips, tools of the trade and valuable insight into the industry. This acts as a guide for developing a customer, market and collection. The book introduces the reader to sourcing and production, as well as explains marketing concepts. Whether the reader is an entrepreneur, designer, student or craftsperson, this book will guide one through the business implementation process.

Fashion Unraveled introduces an in-depth look at creating a costing model, solid pricing and realistic budgeting. Fashion Unraveled is user friendly and was designed for the creative mind. Chapters are laid out with definitions and web links located in the sidebars of the book for ease in use. The second edition features over 400 pages of information transforming this into the “must read” resource for every designer entrepreneur.

This book offers a new case study feature, following a small fashion business through their business launch, including their business plan. Fashion Unraveled also features several designer interviews, including a Q&A with British designer Timothy James Andrews and couturier Colleen Quen.

As an educator at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising (San Francisco & LA), Jennifer Lynne Matthews, recognized that there was a need for a step by step educational manual to teach her students on how to start their own business. Consequently, Matthews wrote the first edition of Fashion Unraveled in 2008 to provide such educational material; the second edition is due out in early 2011. Matthews, also a lingerie designer and entrepreneur, began her path in the fashion industry in 1994. She attended Florida State University, then the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City, completing her degree in 1999. With a specialization in intimate apparel, Matthews began working in the industry as a stylist and freelance designer.

In 2002, Matthews opened her own business, Porcelynne Lingerie. Fashion Unraveled is built on Matthews’ experience in both opening and sustaining a successful business. She brings the knowledge of running a small business and her expertise in the industry into her book and it continues into her classroom teaching.

Matthews has won numerous awards for her designs and has received worldwide accolades for her work, including the Best of the East Bay and the Best of San Francisco Mastermind awards for her lingerie designs. Her most recent project has been on a reality TV show (currently being pitched to networks) as a co-producer and fashion consultant for a lingerie design competition show.

Future plans include authoring a collection of books on lingerie design, draping and clothing construction. She also aspires to open a showroom and education studio in the garment district of Los Angeles.

For more information on Jennifer Matthews and her work, see www.fashionunraveled.com and www.porcelynne.com.


A copy of this book was provided for review by Virtual Book tours

Micro Business for teens

Carol Topp, CPA

Accountant,

Author, Advisor

Cents & Sensibility

Carol Topp, CPA advises teenage business owners through her Micro Business for Teens book series. Carol’s day job is accountant to business owners, and she enjoys teaching teenagers to succeed beyond their dreams. Students appreciate how she shares what they need to know in clear and helpful lessons. Her website is MicroBusinessForTeens.com

Ambassador Publishing

ISBN: 0982924526

ISBN13: 9780982924525

102 pages

September 2010

Ambassador Publishing

ISBN: 0982924501

ISBN13: 9780982924501

116 pages

September 2010

Ambassador Publishing

ISBN: 0982924518

ISBN13: 9780982924518

138 pages

September 2010

Your Teen Can Own a Micro Business

How to Launch It in Ten Simple Steps

“I want to walk dogs; what do I need to do to get started?” asked a teen boy. I had inspired him to think about starting a micro business and he was ready to get going!

I encourage teenagers to start very small businesses—micro businesses. A micro business is a one-person business that can be started easily, usually without any up-front cash, using what a teenager already owns. Micro businesses are usually home-based and very flexible so a busy student can keep up with homework, sports and a social life.

Teenagers can use their skills to develop businesses such as teaching guitar lessons, doing web design or caring for children. Other teenagers have started micro businesses by offering services such as house cleaning, pet care, and lawn mowing. One easy-to-start micro business is tutoring. Some students tutor math, Spanish or computer programs such as Photoshop.

After your teenager has an idea, he or she can launch a micro business in a short amount of time with very little start up money. Share these starting steps with your teen:

1. Conduct a mini market survey. Start by asking a few potential customers if they need your service and what price they are willing to pay.

2. Decide on a price. From the mini-market survey, you should be able to set a fair price. You may get your first customers by undercharging the competition. One teenager charged half what other piano teachers charged and quickly had eight students.

3. Volunteer a few jobs to practice your business skills and build a reputation. Use recommendations from these jobs in your future advertising. Sarah took senior pictures as a favor for a friend and received three other jobs from referrals.

4. Launch your first advertising campaign. Try to use free advertising such as emails, Facebook posts and handing out fliers to friends and neighbors.

5. Work your plan on a small scale. Start with one customer at first. Learn a lot from that experience and grow slowly.

6. Evaluate, adjust and change. As you grow in experience, you may be able to charge more. You will probably need to create a payment policy. Sarah discovered that she needed to be paid up front and have a cancellation policy when she scheduled photo shoots.

7. Pick a name and register it. Usually, you can use your own name, such as Cathy Smith's Babysitting Service, without needing a name registration. If you do want a business name, learn what your state or local government requires. This website is a good place to start: http://www.business.gov/register/business-name/dba.html

8. Open a checking account. Accountants usually recommend a separate business checking account to keep from mixing personal and business expenses. A teenager can usually get by with one checking account, if you keep good records. Usually a parent must agree to be a co-signer on a checking account for minors.

9. Read up on taxes. You’ll need to file your own tax return, may owe federal or state income tax, and may be subject to self-employment tax also. Self-employment tax is Social Security and Medicare taxes for self-employed people.

10. Learn about customer service, marketing and record keeping. Become a student of business and seek to be continually learning more. Read books, take a business class, find a mentor and ask a lot of questions.