Creative Ideas Business Consultant

Yesterday morning, I had to leave the house very early for a dentist appointment. Six-thirty to be exact. That may not be early to some of you - that might be running late!

As I was driving, I was thinking about all the people that were driving into work. There were a lot of them! Everybody in a hurry, driving their SUV's and sedans to work - in what seemed to be autopilot mode.

I thought about them, on Sunday night, setting their alarms for the next morning and going to bed. I thought about them waking up to the annoyingly horrid, "eh, eh, eh" of the alarm and shuffling into the shower after they started their coffeepots. Then I thought of them kissing their spouse and kids and rushing out the door so they could get to work on time.

What a nasty circle... get up, go to work, come home & go to bed, get up, go to work, come home & go to bed, get up, go to work, come home & go to bed... Oh wait! It's the weekend! Let's do something FUN!

For WHAT? To work at a job that will simply pay their bills? To be told what to do by a person who is making a hell of a lot more money than they are, and to make that person look good? So they can pursue the things they enjoy on the weekend and for two weeks out of the year? I ask again... for what?

I know. We all have bills. But, do you know what? That is an excuse. Bills will get paid. When push comes to shove, we all find a way to make things "work". (Or else a lot more of us would be living under bridges.) So what else besides bills? To live in luxury? What luxury? A big house that people never get to enjoy because they are working? A nice vehicle to drive to work in? Fancy "toys" (boats, 3 wheelers, the latest electronics, etc.) that they only get to talk about and not use that much?

And on a side note - do they really want these things, or are they just buying them to "fit in"? Are they buying these things because that's what their co-worker bought? Perhaps it is because their boss bought it, and they want to get "in" with the boss... Maybe they actually did want the toy - but only to fill a void they feel in their lives.

Why do people live like this? Why are people okay with getting a 3% raise each year when the national inflation rate averages about the same? Why do they succumb to going to a job that they find lackluster (at best) just to exist in a life where they find little satisfaction? Why?

"Well, what am I supposed to do about it?", somebody asked me. I told them to look at their lives. What did they like, and what didn't they like? What could they live without so they could live with a whole lot more?

It is time to downsize, America. It is time to re-evaluate what is really important. This isn't for the sake of your finances (though it will help). It is for the sake of your life, your happiness, and for your spirit. We are all here on this earth for a reason. What is your reason? Why are you here? What makes you happy? What excites you?

When you do what you enjoy, you will be happy. When you do what makes you happy, you will succeed. When you succeed, you will be helping other people. Now, that is a circle of life we should strive for...

This can be a radical concept for many people to get their heads around. We have been taught, since birth, the "way the world works". I am telling you - it doesn't have to work like that. You can literally create the world, and the life you want. Not only can you create it, you do create it.

When you change the way you think, the way to allow yourself to see things, the reason you want to get up in the morning... you can have the life you want. No more rat race. No more working for somebody else. No more promoting other people's crap online. No more trying the next new scheme that pops up before you. Take if from me - you must do what you love in order to find real success. If you don't, you might find temporary success. You might find "success" they way our society defines it... but, there is a much greater definition of success.

What is your definition of success?

Before I get all kinds of hate comments - let me add this: If you love the job you go to everyday - good for you! This article is not for you. This article is for the bulk of society who is simply surviving. If you have found your bliss, your passion... no matter where it is... good for you! Tell us about it! :) If you haven't found your passion, or you don't know how to make a living from it, that is why I am here. I can help you. I promise, I won't be angry when you email me. :)

A recent article I read stated the stone cold facts about recent college graduates not being able to find a job. More precisely, that generation not being able to find a job that matches their college degree. The article said that young adults in their 20's are facing basically the same predicament as people did during the great depression. In fact, 14% of people in this age range are unemployed and living with their parents.

Sobering, isn't it?

It went on to say that they are having to take jobs that are not what they want to take. Now, for us older generations, we have come to learn that sometimes in life you simply have to do certain things in order to survive. These young adults have not yet learned this lesson.

But should they? Really, should anybody have to learn this lesson? Why does it seem like a "right of passage" into adulthood? Why should we expect our kids to endure such a somber way of life? And for that matter, why should we endure such a way of life?

As I continued reading this article, it stated that the young man in question, Scott Nicholson, has been doing some work on the side. He has been mowing lawns, he put up a fence, and is a volunteer firefighter. Sure, I am sure this is something the college graduate did not see himself doing when he graduated from college - but what if he thought a little bigger. I little more outside the norm of society?

Scott is in search of a career that would yield him a high paying job in marketing for finance. He obviously can't find work in those fields. What if he created his own job? What if he took his knowledge of marketing and finance and started a business?

Do you think this is a radical decision based on the fact that he doesn't even have much money coming in? I am here to tell you that he (and you) could start a business for basically nothing; and he (or you) could be making a profit within the first week.

It is simple. Here is the outline:

1. Decide what you want to focus on. (I can help you with that - that's what I do!)
2. Get together a group of friends/acquaintances who can even out your "team".
3. Start marketing that idea for free or inexpensively and build up client list. (Also - what I can teach you.)
4. Hire laborers to do the work for under what you are charging the client.

That's it. It is so ridiculously easy, yet highly profitable.

In the case of Scott Nichols, I would suggest this:

1. Start a lawn/home improvement business and offer to always check the outside of the home for fire dangers.
2. He is already savvy in marketing and finance, so he would just need to add a person to take care of phone calls from clients (if he didn't want to do this on his own).
3. Start getting word of mouth referrals, ask his current clients for referrals, post on craigslist, make a simple website (it would cost under $10 per month), hang fliers on doors, and offer great incentives for hiring his business over somebody else (free fire safety check in one). Of course, Scott already knows all of this because of his degree...
4. Advertise on craigslist and in the newspaper for laborers to actually do the work. (This can include hiring people to hang fliers.)

Potential Profit: (Let's do some assumptive math...) Monthly totals in red.

* Hire an assistant to take the calls and book appointments: 15% of gross income ($576)
* Fliers: $30 per month ($30)
* Website: $10 per month ($10)
* 3 people doing the work: $7 per hour per person - $21 per hour in labor ($61 per day labor in this example) ($1464)
* Total cost to run business per month: $2,080
* 4 yards per day (6 days a week) @ $40 per yard = $3,840 gross per month
* Profit per month: $1760

And this can be much, much more if he increases the amount of yards done in a day. And for what? A few hours of his time each week - just to make sure everything is running smoothly.

This method can (and is) used for virtually anything. The key is to focus on something that you really enjoy and love doing because it will shine through in your final product or service.

My point being... if you are unemployed, underemployed, or can't find work for any reason, you can make this work for you. If you are living with your parents - they will be so happy that you are doing something to bring in an income! This business model has the potential to be so lucrative that you might even want to consider changing careers.

If you need help with coming up with your own idea to make this model work, a creative way to market it, or any other aspect, please contact me. I can help.

Last night I cried. I cried until my head hurt and my fresh dental work ached. Ed, my husband, was trying to figure out what was wrong with me - exactly what was going through my mind.

All I could convey was that I want so badly to help other people.

* I walk past you at the grocery store and feel your confusion.
* I see you crying outside of the ER and know, instinctively, that your father has just passed. Your mom has been gone for a while, and you are at a loss for life.
* You are driving to work and pass me on the street. I can feel your disgust for the "JOB" you are going to. You know that there is something else for you to do, but you either don't know what it is, or how to accomplish it.
* One day, I passed a woman turning her car into her apartment complex. She was going to try to kill herself. If this person is you - I'm glad you didn't succeed at that venture; and hope you will forgive me for not stopping to talk with you.
* I watch as you struggle so hard to make things "work" in your life. I see the simple solution - you just have to ask me what it is...

So, why was I crying? I so badly want to help you. I go through my life feeling your pain. I want to take that pain away and replace it with hope and excitement. I want to see you turn your thinking and your life around to something you can be proud of.

Call it what you will. I don't know how or why I have the capabilities that I do. I just have them. I am tired of not using them. I want to help you.

Why should you trust me? Everybody else does. Ed says that I must have something tattooed on my forehead that other people can see, telling them to tell me anything and everything. I have people tell me their life stories while I am checking out at the grocery store. People will strike up a conversation with me, while I am trying to drink some coffee at a local coffee shop, and tell me some of their deepest and darkest secrets. Some people will come to me with the most normal predicaments and actually ask for my opinion on what they should do.

I promise. I don't have a secret blog that exploits your troubles. I don't make fun of you. I don't run and tell anybody else that will listen. In fact, I don't tell anybody. Your secrets are my secrets; and unfortunately, your problems become my problems.

I hardly offer up my thoughts - my solutions to your problems - because you don't ask. I hate giving unsolicited advice.

I am asking for you to trust me, and ask me for what you should do. For some reason, I have the answer.

All you have to do is trust me.