Thanks  Tim

  What Does Being  In  Business  Mean  To  Me  ?

      I  know  part  of  What  It  Has  Done  For  Me .

  It's  a  way  to  do  the  things  I  wanted  to  do.  I  was  Very  forchant  to  get  to  be  around  a  lot  of  wonderful  and  wise  older  people  as  I  was  growing  up .   It  helped me  make  good  habits. 

     I have  been  in  one  kind  of  business  or  other  sence  I  was  nine  years  old.   I  have  had  the  pleasure  of  helping  others  help  themselfs.  ( That's  the  best  part  For  Me  )

  So  I  can  see  wher  Jerome  is  coming  From.

  Your  Friend

        Elbert  L  ( gouardhead )

Always good to hear from you Elbert!
Helping others is a great way to get ahead in life and in business.
We also have to be aware though.. that our help has a value and we can sometimes be faulted for giving away too much, too often.
It's my belief that I have to develop a business attitude that is colored with compassion, generosity, and honesty.
I have to become willing to work harder than most and I have to be willing to continue to be a student in this career, and in this I will become better at what I do.

Thanks for joining in the discussion!

Hi Tom

I am new a starting my business and I know there is a mountain of information to learn.  Being in business to me  means freedom to be myy own boss, unlimited earning potential, and early retirement. My passion is helping others, and  helping them find their passion , building relationships and trust. That is the true success is the top.   

Hi Tim:

I noted the answers or opinions that so many have been saying on your forum about "what business means to you" and realized that while I have posted in this forum, I never threw in my two cents worth on this important topic.

For the most part what I have read is summed up in what Li has said not just on this particular forum, but also what I have heard  others have say elsewhere through talking to people and while I find it heartening to hear these statements I also have to say I am also alarmed.

Thanks Li for making these comments as they do represent what most people are looking at  :-) when it comes to being in business.

I wont talk about the heartening aspects too much as they are a given, they are very idealistic and that is never a bad thing, so I will tell you my viewpoints as to what I am finding alarming and I can sum it up in one word -  Being Realistic!

1. Being in Business means hard work, which one of your readers did state by the way.
If anyone thinks that they can be in business and not have to work, think again.  It takes time and more time to build a business whether it is from the ground up as we are doing or if you are in any affiliate /commission business.

2. Being in business means having a level of focus and commitment not to mention professionalism that is not for everyone!  While we all look at the lofty ideals of the end game of being in business, the reality is that we also need to keep to the present and realize that you/we will be giving up a lot of our "free" time just to get any business off the ground.  If you are working a day job and if you have a family, be prepared to be tired, very tired at times, just so that you can realize the dreams of being in that business.

3. Being in business whether offline or online, means being willing to LEARN every aspect to running a business, which means learning not just the marketing aspect, but also the business laws, learning how to use all the tools just to get your product and service known  and also learning everything there is to learn about your chosen "niche".

4.  Being in business means learning how to be a leader in your chosen business, becoming that expert on what you are doing and if you are a good leader, you will pass that on to others -  ok that sounds all fine and dandy but the other side of the coin is being a leader, a CEO, lol  an Administrative Director means also learning how to be strong and learning how to say no to people which is not that easy to do, in fact it is very difficult for many and yet being in business means learning how to say..NO..this will not fit in with what I am doing. Learning how to talk, type and being professional is not all that is cracked up to be and yet many of us dont know how. So it should be noted.

I think I have stated both sides of the equation as fairly as I can and yet I still have not really answered your question have I?

ok!

To me being is business means being SMART! 

a) Being in a business means looking at the trends of the market place and then looking to see if the business will even be around in lets say  5yrs - will  the market place be glutted or will the need for what you are going to do be there to give you that ability to have the that long term income.  Another factor is again looking at the trends and making a decision as "will the business you choose be able to adapt to the growing needs of the people that you are "selling" to whether it be a product or service?"

b) Being in business in something that will hold your interest for a long time to come is so incredibly important.  Why would anyone in their right mind want to be in a business that they have no clue as to what they are doing and might not even like?  I know for example that what we are building is almost a love affair, we are building something the we have a keen interest in and it is something that creates that fire to want to see it last for a very long time!

c) Being in business means being able and willing to not only taking the time to learn every single aspect to what your are doing, but also being willing to spend money if need be on all the aspects to making your business work and work well.

d) Being in Business means becoming the highest of ideals of being professional on every level, so that people will seek you out because of the respect you have earned from creating or being in a business that has nothing but credibilty backing its name.




There is nothing quite like being in business for yourself, even with all the challenges that you will meet, if you are able to keep an open mind, stay realistic and add in that wonderful spice of passion for what you are building then to me and I hope you agree that when that business is thriving, stable  with that wonderful ability to grow then what you will feel at the end of the beginnings of that journey of having your own business will be summed up in one word

Diane,

What a great post.

Lots of work and great content.

I shall go read some more.

Roger