Entrepreneurship

How I Built an Online Business Around My Passion

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online business passion

In 2006, I felt the urge to do something else. At the time, I was a professional poker player, but I felt like it was time to turn the page. However, I struggled for a long time. I wasted over $10,000 on get-rich quick programs and coaching. And it took me until early 2009 to create my first successful website. But when things clicked, they really clicked.

At the end of 2009, I was making multiple thousands per month via my online websites. I was starting to do what I was truly interested in.

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6 Things I Learned From Quitting My Job

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quitting my job

About a year and a half ago, I had an epiphany. I was in a job I enjoyed. The prospects were great. But I decided that I didn’t want it any more. I needed change. I seemingly became unemployable overnight. Not one to do things by halves, I quickly set myself a goal of quitting my job by 23rd May 2012 (exactly one year after I launched my first website). I knew at the time that the goal was not rooted in any logic – I had no firm plan that would get me to where I wanted to be. But I felt that any goal was better than no goal at all.

To be perfectly honest, whilst I was determined to achieve my goal, I had absolutely no idea whether or not I would. And as it turned out, what I thought I needed to achieve in order to quit my job wasn’t what I ended up doing at all.

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Are You Ready To Be An Entrepreneur?

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Are You Ready To Be An Entrepreneur?

In 2007, I left my finance job as a VP and opted for an entrepreneurial career as a Business/Life Coach, Speaker, and author. This meant saying goodbye to a good salary, bi-monthly pay checks, a life in New York City and living 15 minutes away from my mom and brother. I moved to California in 2009, wrote a book, Living in YOUR Top 1%, and this past week spoke to over 400 people at three different companies ranging from real estate to a Fortune 500 company in healthcare to an investment company. I never regret my decision because I wake up the majority of mornings being excited about my work and the opportunity to make a difference.

As an entrepreneur and the CEO of my own business (like every entrepreneur), I am in charge and directly responsible for developing new coaching programs, marketing, business development, giving talks to various companies and every other area. Some days are great and other moments are frustrating but I know this is my path. Here’s what I’ve learned along the way both from my experiences and coaching other entrepreneurs and companies to help them excel.

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Why Being Fired Was the Best Thing that Ever Happened to Me

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being fired

For some reason, my bachelor’s degree in creative writing and my master’s degree in literature landed me a position as a middle manager in a local bank’s organization. It was a job where I rarely got to put my literary skills on display, but it was also a job that sufficiently paid the bills — and funded a growing savings account. I decided, for quite some time, that this was a fact which made me happy. I could overlook paying for student loans that funded an education which I used in virtually no aspect of my job, just so long as I could furnish my particular lifestyle.

It all came crashing down roughly around the same time that the economy also came crashing down. Banks weren’t exactly high on the list of resilient companies during the most recent economic downturn and I, as one of the newer employees at this particular financial institution, was one of the first people on the chopping block. Armed with two weeks to finish my job, as well as a semi-generous severance package, I walked back to my desk after receiving my so-called “pink slip” and prepared for the worst.

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Should I Stay or Should I Go? Determining Whether the 9-5 World Is For You.

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9-5 world

If you believe the hype of many of the personal development blogs out there, figuring out your passion, kissing the 9-5 world goodbye and working for yourself is the best way to find happiness.

But is it really?

Self-employment has some serious drawbacks. Even if you put yourself on a schedule, you never really leave work because you carry work around in your head at all times. You don’t get paid vacations, unless you earn well enough to pay yourself to take time off, and if you want retirement savings or a health plan you need to pay for them yourself. And don’t get me started on the non-passion related stuff, such as administration, marketing, sales and customer service!

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My Beef With Multi-Level Marketing

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mlm

Last year I had two different, and yet strikingly similar, experiences with Multi-Level Marketing (MLM). For those who don’t know, MLM (also known as Network Marketing) is a business model that combines direct marketing with franchising. In both instances, I chose not to become involved. In this article I would like to explain why.

My first encounter with MLM arose because a close friend invited me to a meeting to get my opinion on a business opportunity. As she later admitted, she was never interested in my “opinion”. Her mind was already made up about the opportunity, and this was just her way to get me to the meeting. Well she did succeed in sparking my curiosity, and since I had nothing else to do I went along. This first MLM opportunity was with a company called ACN and basically involved reselling the services of a telecommunications company.

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