Do you wake up in the morning and hate your job? Do you feel depressed when you get out of bed? Is the morning commute a struggle? Would you rather make money without needing to change out of your sleepwear? If you answered yes to any or all of these questions then maybe it is time that you set up a home based business.Here are three great reasons that you may want to work from home.You don’t have to answer to anybody else- Many people passionately dislike the people that they work for. You don’t have to stay stuck in this situation. With a home based business you do not answer to anybody else. You can be your own boss. If you work from home, you can structure your business in a way that suits you. If you would rather work at night, there is nothing stopping you. If you hate getting up in the morning you can stay in bed. You don’t have to live by the 9-5 conventions of more traditional jobs.You can meet many other business owners at networking functions- Working from home does not mean that you never leave the house. You will want to go out and attend functions where you can meet other business owners. You can share advice and create strategic alliances. It is a good idea to get out occasionally and meet other people so you can keep your finger on the pulse of traditional society, You should organise lunches and coffee catch ups.You can turn a hobby of yours into a business- Many people set up home based businesses so that they can make money out of their hobbies. Do you have a passion that you can share with others and make a profit? You could do this as a great part time earner or, if you get big enough, you could do this to replace your current job. Hobby businesses are great online. For example, you could write ebooks or guides related to your hobby and sell them to other enthusiasts throughout the world. Chances are that your hobby is not unique and there are people with similar passions. If you position yourself as an expert, they will look to you for more enjoyment out of this hobby. Once you get used it, you could write eBooks on a variety of topics of interest to you to make more moneyI have outlined in this article three great reasons that you may want to start a home based business. Do yourself a favour and get started today.
Student Motivation: What Is Wrong With Education!
Working as an educator for the past 30 years, as a teacher, counselor and school psychologist a major interest of mine has always been student motivation. I have had the opportunity to have worked with students from the pre-Kindergarten to twelfth grade level in school systems in Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Connecticut. I have been in inner city, poverty-stricken districts and affluent districts. Which means I have seen students with significant social-economic disadvantages succeed, and ones that had “everything” going for them fail.
Personally, I fit into the first category. My parents divorced when I was 2 years old, my mother was a waitress that never finished High School and my stepfather who raised me (after age 7) never went to High School. My older brother quit school in the 10th grade. No one in my family attended college so I had very little family influence to pursue any academic goals. I remember as a child my stepfather telling me to get “C’s” in school. “C’s are good,” he would say. Perhaps, because he never even achieved that when he was in school. Of course, this was when I was repeating the first grade so he was trying to get me to do better at the time. I muddled through elementary school and do not believe I started to get any career interests until Middle School. There I began taking an interest in science. It was exciting times in science and technology in the late 60′s with the moon landing, Star Trek on TV, and Jacques Cousteau exploring the ocean and I was caught up in it.
However, I still had no clue on what it would take to succeed at something in life. Fortunately, High School sports changed that. I had a freshman football coach that didn’t accept excuses, and gradually it began to sink in that if you were to get anywhere in life you had to apply effort. I also started to get the idea that if other kids could go to college and have a good career, why couldn’t I? I was just as good as them. I began applying effort to my academics as well and did go to a four-year college after high school pursuing my interest in science.
As a teacher I was always very aware of how my background related to many of my students. With the students that struggled in school, the ones that had behavior issues and applied little effort to their academics, my first question to them was always, “What do you want to do after high school?” Unfortunately, most of these students had little idea of what they wanted to do. They had no realistic career ambition. Sure a lot of students up to 9th or 10th grade would say they want to be in professional sports for a career, but again few had any idea of what that would require. They were clueless to the fact that most professional athletes are recruited out of good colleges and that passing their classes is a requirement in high school in order to be on a school team.
I have learned that the key to student motivation is a career goal. A case I witness that exemplified this was a student I had in middle and high school. “Julie” was a severely behaviorally disoriented student up through the eighth grade. She would be noncompliant with teacher requests, would be augmentative all the time and swear at teachers and staff in most of her interactions. However, in the 9th grade a light went off within her. She decided she wanted to be a veterinarian and started to take school seriously. Her behavior problems disappeared and she went from a D-F student in a special education class to an A-B student in a mainstream class, all because she now had a goal in life!
Unfortunately, many students learn this much later in life. They are ten years out of high school, perhaps not having a high school diploma and they can’t stand their hourly paid position in a fast food restaurant or retail store. The most common statement I have heard from “drop-out” alumni is, “I wish I had done better in school.” Or, “I wish I had taken school seriously.” I have never heard, “I am proud that I failed in school.”
So, what is wrong with education? We are not motivating our students or providing them with enough realistic career choices.
Not every student is going to go to a four-year college, or, should. The majority of four-year college graduates today do not find work in their majors and have huge college debts to pay upon graduation. I obviously believe in education, as I became a teacher and psychologist, however, my experience in inner city schools has taught me that 90 percent of the students do not go to or finish a four-year degree. Yet, 90 percent of the high school curriculum and emphasis is on going to a four-year college! This creates a huge educational disconnect among many students that increases behavior problems and lack of student motivation. Sure, if we continually work on student’s self-esteem issues and expose them to a number of professional career role-models that could increase the likelihood of them attending a four-year college. But, again that will not work for the majority of inner city children as they have too much negative peer and family pressures around them.
I believe education needs to be about offering choices to students based on where they are. Students do need to have realistic career options after high school. For the students that find learning difficult, that can be identified before middle school, more emphasis should be placed on vocational options. Middle and high school programs should offer vocational career exposure in addition to their mainstream academics. Career education needs to be emphasized at all grade levels (Kindergarten on up) letting students know what it takes and the difference in being (for example) a carpenter, builder, architect or engineer. Most of our public high schools are failing because they are not meeting student’s needs. Public high schools, particularly in urban districts, need to be vocational centers, teaching students real-world skills that can lead them to careers that will give them higher standards of living. I have three brothers that never went to college. One is a carpenter, one is a plumber, and one is a police officer, all have as good a standard of living as I do with my B.S., two masters and PH.D degrees.
Depending upon the school district, high schools should still offer college prep programs, for that top ten to twenty percent that are headed in that direction. However, I believe the charter schools are more equipped to get their students ready for four-year college programs. They require parent involvement and continued student performance in order to be in the school. In charter schools students have to pass their classes, be in class and not be behavior problems, or they are asked to leave. This is why charter schools will always outperform public schools. I realize there are always exceptions, I’m aware of some outstanding high schools across the country, however, they often adopt a charter school mentality in order to succeed.
Teachers at all levels need to continually talk about career options and what it takes to achieve them. I have had countless high school students over the years that had no idea that you had to go to college to be certain profession, or what it takes to get into a four-year college. Often they find out in their senior year and it’s too late. I have a nephew, who has an above average IQ that refused to do homework in high school. His grades reflected that decision. Reality hit him the end of his senior year when he couldn’t get into the college he wanted.
Teachers can have a huge impact on student motivation in so many ways! They of course, can be excellent role-models in education, teach and inspire students in career education, but they can, and often provide students with a positive and caring adult in their student’s life. When a teacher conveys the attitude that they care about their students and where they are going in life they can help a student become motivated to succeed. In my crisis intervention trainings with school staff I always ended with my favorite quote:
“Students don’t care how much you know; until they know how much you care!”
My second career interest in life was in psychology because of my 11th grade psychology teacher. In many ways a positive and caring teacher can have more impact on a student’s success than a parent.
What is wrong with education? In this country is our public educational system meeting the needs of the majority of the students? Or, is it letting 80 percent of our students down by not motivating them to pursue some form of postsecondary education and training because of antiquated notions that all students need to go to a four-year college? In order to make education viable today it needs to motivate students and help them get a career that they are interested in and suited for. This is how we can motivate our children and create a skilled workforce at all levels. This is how we motivate students and change education!
Are You an Entrepreneur or a Small Business Owner?
Do you want to be an Entrepreneur or a Small Business Owner? Is there a difference, and does it matter?
There is a difference, and it’s easy to confuse the two or use the two terms interchangeably. A Small Business Owner owns their own business, but also actively participates in that business. Often the Small Business Owner is critical to the ongoing success of the company. Without him or her, the business either does not exist (i.e. medical, legal, accounting, consulting, freelancing) or would suffer greatly in the owner’s absence for any period of time.
We often use the term “Solopreneur” to refer to the individual practitioner who is their own boss but must personally deliver a service or create a product for their business to generate revenue. While this may certainly be better than working for someone else, it’s still about trading time for money – and time is our most limited resource.
Whether you are a Solopreneur or a Small Business Owner, you likely own a business that depends primarily on you. Perhaps the business is run by you and a couple of other founders. The point is, only a few people know and can execute on the secret recipe at the foundation of your business. And those key people must be present for the business to operate.
An Entrepreneur instead builds a business and supporting systems that are independent from the founder. The founder may well be an integral (or exclusive) part of the businesses initially, but the goal is always to grow the business to the point where the owner does not have to be involved in day-to-day operations. When you build a business that continues to generate revenues in your absence, then you have created a truly leveraged model and can call yourself an Entrepreneur.
Many of us start as Small Business Owners, enjoy success, and grow our companies. We may then move on to creating a larger business that does not require us to be present, and we graduate to the level of Entrepreneurship. If we repeat this multiple times, then we may call ourselves Serial Entrepreneurs.
“Entrepreneurship is the pursuit of opportunity without regard to resources currently controlled.”
Howard Stevenson, Harvard Business School Professor.
You may not be clear at the start as to which one you want to grow up to be, an Entrepreneur or a Small Business Owner. But by asking yourself a series of hard questions, and honestly assessing your true desires, you are more likely to start a business that suits you best. And it’s certainly acceptable if you want to be Small Business Owner… we are not saying that’s a bad thing. But it’s important for you to begin understanding the difference between the two as it may impact the type of business you build and how you plan to develop it.
It’s also important to avoid creating another low-paying harder-working “job”, like the one you may already have! Michael Gerber explains this situation best in his seminal book “The E-Myth”. This book is a must read for small business owners, with one of its major themes being the difference between working “in” your business (you make the pies) versus working “on” your business (others make the pies following your recipe and systems).
As you prepare to become your own boss, or if you have already started a small business, it’s important to keep your long-term vision in mind. Doing so will help you determine the type of business you start and build, helping ensure that you achieve your definition of success.
Do you want to be an Entrepreneur or a Small Business Owner? Here are some questions to ask to help you determine want you really want:
Do you want to own just one or two locations (i.e. one or two franchise units, or your own practice) or do you want to create something bigger with multiple locations and perhaps grow internationally (i.e. offer franchises and hire others to run the business)?
Do you want to work in the business (i.e. make the donuts) or do you want to have someone else manage the day-to-day operations (i.e. someone else makes the donuts following your instructions)?
Are you looking for a job or are you looking to create a self-managing company (a business that does not rely on your day-to-day presence for success)?
Do you prefer to create or do you enjoy executing?
Do you envision creating multiple different businesses across multiple industries?
Are you able to let go of all of the details, or are you a micro-manager?
Are you the only person who can deliver your service or product, or can you teach others how to do it?
Is your goal to work hard until a certain age and then retire, or continue creating and leading your businesses until you are no longer mentally capable?
Can you sell your business as it currently operates and without you having to continue being part of it?