I believe in small businesses.
They are innovators, start ups, work from home (rs) and their businesses are based on their skills and passions. So it's not just a job.
Small business owners or start ups or people who work from home, came to their business from corporate worlds or jobs that just did not satisfy their needs or wants. Or stayed home to raise their families. Or lost their ways. Or lost their jobs and started doing something they loved and it became their career. There are hundreds of stories of how people veered off their career paths and found that the skills they initially overlooked or didn’t think would get them somewhere, got them further than an 8 hour a day, low income job would get them.
These are the people who inspired me. A tiny cookie company in Byron Bay. So many bloggers who got book deals. Or started knitting or crafting and made business from this alone. Or lost a job as an architect, helped others study for architecture via an online business and e-book and made millions. Or cooked from home.
Some or most small business owners seem to want to give back, to pay it forward, to build a community, to give to charity ... but most want to work in a career they love, to be the boss, to be able to use a wide range of skills that they have and to feel that at the end of each day, they have accomplished something more than just getting a salary or getting through the work day.
As Robert Frost said, "By working faithfully eight hours a day you may eventually get to be a boss and work 12 hours a day."
But we all need to find support and others working in small businesses and trying to make their way into the world.
I've found some great small business sites on the net and will be buying a few of the brilliant sounding A Blonde's Guide from this centre - Sydney Small Business Centre. I love this website, there is a lot of informative content.
The Eastern Suburbs Business Enterprise Centre, there's a few of centres around NSW so find your local centre, has loads of information and networking events and helps with small business from basics to training to mentoring to events and resources, so good to just find information.
And then there's my favourite for resources and staying in the know. I read Forbes Europe daily when I was was running my second hand bookshop and I really wanted to get an understanding of being a woman in business. I have received great insight and tips on being an entrepreneur from this site.
Join meetup.com and find others who do the job you dream of doing, join networking groups, find people who work from home. Embrace being a small business and being able to be your own boss.
But find support you need, inspiration from others and books like these to make your business grow and to ensure that you love doing what you love.
