[Video] How to Start a Business

[Video] How to Start a Business

by | Apr 12, 2012

Maggie Mistal, Career Coach, Martha Stewart Living Radio

Here are Maggie Mistal’s insights and tips to help make the decision about starting your own business a little easier:

How to decide whether you’re too old to start a business:

No matter what your age, if starting your own business is something you want to do you can do it. Once you have an idea you can do a couple of things to get started. You can tap into your friends to see if they want to get involved or have ideas for starting a business. You can also access local resources like your chamber of commerce where you can actually go to some meetings and see other entrepreneurs making it happen and begin to network.

Resources to help you decide what kind of business to start:

If you want to start a business but you aren’t sure what kind of business to start there is a great web site you can access called www.vocationvacations.com. Once on the site, you can test out lots of entrepreneurial adventures and really see what kind of jobs suit you best. You can try being a bed and breakfast owner, a spa owner, or a wine bar owner. You can even test out being a private investigator. Before starting your own business you can “try it on”.

Determining whether you’re suited to be an entrepreneur:

It’s important to assess your skills and lifestyle to determine whether you are cut out to be an entrepreneur; to be your own boss. You need to think about whether you are a quick learner and if you like to learn, because when starting your own business you’ll be learning a lot of new things almost every day. Ask yourself if your lifestyle allows you the time on weeknights and weekends to devote to starting/owning your own business. Another good “how to start a business” resource you can access is the Small Business Administration’s web site www.sba.gov. Their web site provides lots of examples where you can see what it really takes to be an entrepreneur.

How to know whether the business you’re considering is a good fit for you:

There are a few really great ways to investigate if a business idea or a new career is right for you. One way to learn about a business is to job shadow someone, where you can physically follow someone around and work side by side with them. The great thing about a job shadow is that you can actually see if doing that kind of work or owning that kind of business suits you. If you can’t participate in a job shadow you can do an informational interview, in which you talk to someone to learn about the business. This talk can take place on the phone or in person and can provide excellent insight into how to start your own business. Throughout the interview you can ask them questions like: What do you love about your job? What do you hate about your job? If you were going to do it all over again, what would you do differently?

Keep in mind you don’t need to recreate the wheel, especially in the age of the Internet. Everybody is doing interesting and creative things. If you just do a little bit of research you can get a lot of insights and avoid the pitfalls yourself.

How to match passion with career:

Some people are at a point in their lives when they don’t have to work to support their family and instead can create a business or find a new career that they are passionate about. For many the biggest question around how to start a business is figuring out what to do. To help yourself figure out what kind of business to start or what kind of career to get involved in, you should ask yourself this question: What would I do if I knew I couldn’t fail? Or, think back to what you enjoyed doing as a child. Often those childhood activities that were fun for you (that you weren’t paid to do) such as conducting science experiments or doing arts and crafts will inspire you to find a new career that’s right for you.

Additional Resources:

Vocation Vacations

Small Business Administration

Single Mom Money Tips: Get a Side Gig for Extra Money

by | Sep 7, 2011


Find a way to make extra money from your skills and talents.

I talk about this on my blog and now I am talking about it again. It is almost a sin to not have multiple streams of income. It doesn’t have to be consistent at first but enough to give you extra money for the special thing you want to do or have.

You don’t have to have an MBA to run a business but you do need something you are passionate about or just be able to see what people need/want and fill it.

Check out my blog for side hustle ideas.

Reader Question: How To Have a Successful Online Business

by | Feb 17, 2011

The other day I got a call from a regular reader, Kathryn, who wanted to know how to successfully promote her business online. She is part of a direct sales company and really believes in the products she has at her disposal. The problem is she has so many products to promote it is easy to get overwhelmed and lose focus. The other problem is getting traffic to her site.

For the first problem I suggested she focus on a few products in a particular niche. I gave her the example of targeting the travel niche because (more…)

Side Hustle Series – Seasonal Tax Employee

by | Nov 28, 2008

Even though the holidays are here it is not too late to think about the upcoming tax season. Now is the time to apply for seasonal jobs in the tax offices that will be in full operation by January. If you have clerical, accounting, or data processing skills you are a prime candidate for working in your local tax office.

Hiring has already begun but it may not be too late to apply. (more…)

Side Hustle Series – Rent out your space

by | Nov 26, 2008

We live in an age where people accumulate stuff and refuse to let it go. That is why there are so many storage rental places popping up all over the place. Depending on the size the space the rental fee can range from $25 to $125 a month to store all the, ummmm, stuff that can’t fit in the house. Sometime though, people, other single moms, students, or people in transit need a temporary place to store their goods. That’s where you come in. (more…)

Side Hustle Series – Deliver Newspapers

by | Nov 24, 2008

As hard as it is to believe, there are people who still subscribe to the local newspaper. The internet has taken quite a few former newspaper readers online, but there are some who are die-hard real newspaper fans. They expect their newspaper at their door step every morning like clock work. The postal service is not in the business of delivering papers so somebody has to do it so why not you.

Delivering newspapers is a great way to earn extra money on the side while working your regular job. Most of the time newspapers are delivered early in the morning, usually before sunrise between the hours of 4am-6am. Those early hours are great because you are making money early and easily.

This is one job that you can take your kids on. You can put them in your car and let them sleep while you drive. Take a small snack, a pillow, and blankets and do your rounds. You will fall into a great routine over time so your mornings will go buy effortlessly. Since you are already up you won’t have to struggle to get ready for work.

There is a downside to delivering newspapers though as with all things. You may encounter late delivery at your pick up station which will make you late delivering. Some customers may blame you for that. You have to pay for the wear and tear on your car and pay for your own gas.

The popularity of newspapers is going down because of Internet access to the news. So this may limit the number of newspaper delivery jobs right now. There are other types of delivery that can be done such as phonebook, community newspapers, free newspapers, and free magazine delivery to storefronts and other public gathering places.