What The Heck Is A Micro Business?
A micro business is any business which, according to The Association for Enterprise Opportunity (AEO), has five or fewer employees, requiring $35,000 or less in initial capital.
There are over twenty million of them in the USA, which makes up around 90% of all businesses in America.
So many of the people who use places like Squidoo and HubPages to make a living are running a micro business. It is just a fancy term for a (very) small business, whether you work from home or not is irrelevant to whether you are a micro business.
There are over twenty million of them in the USA, which makes up around 90% of all businesses in America.
So many of the people who use places like Squidoo and HubPages to make a living are running a micro business. It is just a fancy term for a (very) small business, whether you work from home or not is irrelevant to whether you are a micro business.
The Micro Enterprise Journal Blog
Dawn Rivers Baker
If you are thinking of starting one and want a few sources of inspiration then try places like Dawn Rivers Baker's The Micro Enterprise Journal. Occasionally she gets a bit high faluting about it all but there are some wonderful little posts on there which make it all seem far more human than most business blogs which usually seem focused entirely upon greed. Such as this one, her Microbusiness Manifesto post:
Microbusinesses are not designed by their owners to be money-making machines. Instead, they are designed to provide a (usually) modest living for their owners and employees. Everything about the firm is about people - owners, employees, clients, vendors.
Microbusiness owners are more comfortable that way. They don't want layers and layers of organization to distance them from either their products/services or their workers or their customers. They don't want the organization to get so large that the people stop being people and start being numbers or other abstract concepts.
Microbusinesses are often run by corporate refugees, people who don't want to have to compartmentalize their lives, people who once worked in an environment in which they were expected to put everything about their lives on hold during "office hours" and to cheerfully become a cog in the machine.
Microbusiness owners tend to prefer a more holistic way of living, in which their work is not separated from their life because, in reality, life is part of work and work is part of life.
Sometimes all you need is a little:
Microbusinesses are not designed by their owners to be money-making machines. Instead, they are designed to provide a (usually) modest living for their owners and employees. Everything about the firm is about people - owners, employees, clients, vendors.
Microbusiness owners are more comfortable that way. They don't want layers and layers of organization to distance them from either their products/services or their workers or their customers. They don't want the organization to get so large that the people stop being people and start being numbers or other abstract concepts.
Microbusinesses are often run by corporate refugees, people who don't want to have to compartmentalize their lives, people who once worked in an environment in which they were expected to put everything about their lives on hold during "office hours" and to cheerfully become a cog in the machine.
Microbusiness owners tend to prefer a more holistic way of living, in which their work is not separated from their life because, in reality, life is part of work and work is part of life.
Sometimes all you need is a little:
Are You In Business?
Tell us what you do
If you are running a micro business or thinking of starting one, let us know. Tell us if your successful or even if you are struggling at the moment. Give a little inspiration to others.
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khakigirl
Jan 12, 2012 @ 3:07 pm | delete
- I want to start a wedding photobooth business. It would cost ~$5,000 to get started and would have 2 "employees" - my husband and me. I have a business plan, designs for the booth, even a domain name. Now I just need the funding. Any suggestions on where to get funding? I have terrible credit so I can't get traditional funding.
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cogentcoach
Jan 12, 2012 @ 1:46 pm | delete
- Great lens. I coach and do SEO work for small businesses and micro-businesses are a portion of my clients. I enjoy the challenge of helping them craft a business and getting moving towards their goals.
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floridainvestigator Jan 8, 2012 @ 2:43 pm | delete
- Great lens! Yes, I run a private investigation agency and eMedia business (online training, magazine, marketing agency, etc.). By my own standard, I've been successful so far (but I suppose that's always subject to change, right?). 3 months ago my family and I found the courage to leave everything we had in the United States and live in Costa Rica to expose our children to a life "a little less ordinary." Microbusinesses can make dreams come true!
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LDWorld Dec 30, 2011 @ 11:42 pm | delete
- Yes I am, I have 4 micro businesses, http://freedomnow.ineways.com is just one of them. thanks for the info
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ggalea
Mar 22, 2011 @ 10:46 pm | delete
- Of course, I get website, blogs, lens on squidoo, affiliate links and lots of stuff online, but I cannot find the wave to let me on top, but I don't do down, and keep trying.
Thanks by share
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What About Seth?
Squidoo's very own Seth Godin
And if Dawn doesn't do it for you how about our (Squidoo's) very own Seth Godin, he's the Darth Vadar of Squidoo in opposition to the saintly Megan Casey's Luke Skywalker. (Not that I'm implying she looks like man.) Moving on, before she turns up with a baseball bat. You could head on over to Seth's lens and download all his ebooks (for free!).Seth Godin not only set up Squidoo but a few other businesses as well and while they hardly qualify as micro businesses some of what he has to say in his ebooks about marketing and business can be applied to any business, or indeed any life.
Some of Seth's books
The Man Himself: Seth's Blog
Or, to be more accurate: one of Seth's blogs
Give him a read - sometimes he even makes sense.
The Art of Non Conformity
This is Chris Guillebeau's blog
And if neither Dawn or Seth do it for you then how about Chris Guillebeau's blog The Art of Non Conformity. Written by Chris who has been self employed pretty much all his life and is currently making a living from his blog which is about non conformists and unconventional lifestyles, in other words people who think for themselves and want a different life to the mainstream herd. People who are willing to put some thought and effort in to getting what they want. He also has a couple of free ebooks on his blog and some great posts that are well worth a read over a coffee and doughnut (or is it just me who's the junk food junkie?).
You could read the posts: The Case for the $100 Business, or this one: Unconventional Ideas.
You could read the posts: The Case for the $100 Business, or this one: Unconventional Ideas.
Chris Guillebeau Has A New Book Out
Even Squidoo's very own Seth Godin has a quote up on Amazon for the book:
"This is a direct, honest and truly scary book. I hope you have the guts to listen to what Chris has to say, and not become one of the monkeys he warns you about."
-Seth Godin, author of Linchpin
See, told ya.
"This is a direct, honest and truly scary book. I hope you have the guts to listen to what Chris has to say, and not become one of the monkeys he warns you about."
-Seth Godin, author of Linchpin
See, told ya.
The Art of Non-Conformity: Set Your Own Rules, Live the Life You Want, and Change the World
Amazon Price: $7.43 (as of 02/16/2012)
If you've ever thought, "There must be more to life than this," The Art of Non-Conformity is for you.
Based on Chris Guillebeau's popular online manifesto "A Brief Guide to World Domination," The Art of Non-Conformity defies common assumptions about life and work while arming you with the tools to live differently. You'll discover how to live on your own terms by exploring creative self-employment, radical goal-setting, contrarian travel, and embracing life as a constant adventure.
Inspired and guided by Chris's own story and those of others who have pursued unconventional lives, you can devise your own plan for world domination-and make the world a better place at the same time.
Important!
Steve Pavlina
Yep, yet another great inspirational blog
If you decide to go for it then I wish you all the best, there is nothing better than being self employed and having your own business. The pleasure of being your own boss rather than someone else's slave, of having a life instead of just existing. In fact check out these posts on Steve Pavlina's blog about just that, the first is called: The Courage to Live Consciously.
"Don't die without embracing the daring adventure your life is meant to be. You may go broke. You may experience failure and rejection repeatedly. You may endure multiple dysfunctional relationships. But these are all milestones along the path of a life lived courageously. They are your private victories, carving a deeper space within you to be filled with an abundance of joy, happiness, and fulfillment. So go ahead and feel the fear - then summon the courage to follow your dreams anyway. That is strength undefeatable."
And the second one is: A Fixed Income Is a Sucker Bet.
"You're free to opt out of the fixed income sucker bet whenever you want. When you do this, rest assured that the other suckers in your life will bark at you for pouring lemon juice on their cuts, and the higher ups won't appreciate that you saw through their scheme. But you'll be free to decide how much you earn. You'll be able to write your own paycheck, not with airy-fairy wishful thinking but with a commitment to creating and delivering the best value you can, regardless of how you choose to express yourself."
Go and read the rest of both posts. But be warned: Steve writes long posts so they are probably a two coffee and doughnuts session.
"Don't die without embracing the daring adventure your life is meant to be. You may go broke. You may experience failure and rejection repeatedly. You may endure multiple dysfunctional relationships. But these are all milestones along the path of a life lived courageously. They are your private victories, carving a deeper space within you to be filled with an abundance of joy, happiness, and fulfillment. So go ahead and feel the fear - then summon the courage to follow your dreams anyway. That is strength undefeatable."
And the second one is: A Fixed Income Is a Sucker Bet.
"You're free to opt out of the fixed income sucker bet whenever you want. When you do this, rest assured that the other suckers in your life will bark at you for pouring lemon juice on their cuts, and the higher ups won't appreciate that you saw through their scheme. But you'll be free to decide how much you earn. You'll be able to write your own paycheck, not with airy-fairy wishful thinking but with a commitment to creating and delivering the best value you can, regardless of how you choose to express yourself."
Go and read the rest of both posts. But be warned: Steve writes long posts so they are probably a two coffee and doughnuts session.
Just Do It!
And when you have read everything... make a decision and act on it. Start to live - today!
The RSS Feed From The Micro Enterprise Journal Blog
Fetching RSS feed... please stand byMicro Business In The Blogosphere
- The Ephemeral Micro- Business, What its Owners Should Consider
- If the micro-business is a significant source of income who is going to run the business if you are gone? Who is going to replace income earned by your spouse or care for the household if your spouse dies? Coverage should be sufficient to cover ...
- 1 in 4 micro-business to fold within 2yrs
- Commissioned by credit card company Capital One, which has launched a new Business Platinum credit card specifically for micro-business owners and the self-employed, the report investigates how micro-businesses are coping with the economic conditions ...
- Waterford Micro Business Network Meeting
- Waterford Micro Business Network continues to grow from strength to strength following a large turnout at its February's meeting. Speaking at the meeting, local business man John Molloy, Managing Director of Azzurri Sport gave an extremely inspiring ...
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Solitudinarian
Solitudinarian
A solitude lover, arch individualist, and the ultimate grumpy old man, who loves just ambling along. A tortoise in a hare's world. Give me a tree to s... more »
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