Out Of The Box

Since I decided to go solo and pursue micro entrepreneurship [ leaving full time employment] a few months back, most friends often ask “how am I doing”? A subtle way of saying “hey dude, are you not starving yet? You can still change your mind”.

Majority of my friends and relatives believe full time employment is a better option, and I used to believe that too. Well, a regular income, benefits as a regular employee and perks for being an executive is something that you can easily get comfortable with.  But is it worth it?

I thought, I am making someone achieve his dreams, but what about my own dream? Can the comfort of full time employment satisfy the craving inside me to make waves that I can call my own? After so much thought and consultation with family, I made a decision to be my own man, and in the process, become more of hands on dad, which a full time employment cannot give.

Economic globalization, off-shoring, outsourcing and the web paved the way even for micro and small entrepreneurs to go global.  Just tap your skill and strength,  find a need, offer a solution and convince the market that you got something that they need.

Its easier said, but can it be done?

Yes it can. It is not am easy path though. Allow me to share four steps:

First and foremost, an individual must decide which path to take. To be successful working for someone else, or become a COO of his own company [even though he is the only employee, ha ha ha].  No one can make the decision for you except yourself alone after you included in the equation wife and kids. You know which path will make you happy and find peace.

Secondly, before you make that big jump, take an inventory of your acquired skills and revisit your dream. Rekindle the flames of what you are passionate about. Ask yourself, what are the skills I have developed over the years? What can I do best? What am I known for? What are the things that I enjoy doing and willing to do it for free? Do I have ideas that I want to pursue even though this has nothing to do with the skills I acquired?

Thirdly, find a need that your acquired skill, or the idea you’ll develop into a product, will be the solution.

Fourthly, market yourself and go global. Globalization and the Internet have made marketing, buying and selling at your fingertips. With the advent of social web, you can expand your market outside the boundaries of your geographical location.  Set up your own blog, create an account in different social networking sites, participate in forums, and build your online reputation.

I have so much to share about social web branding  and marketing, but this is altogether, a different discussion [you can head on to my  Social Web Strategies blog to learn more about the subject].  As a testimony,  though, social web has made wonders to my career. I was offered an Asst. Vice President position because of this blog and my linkedin account. And  a stream of passive income was introduced from my online blog store.

Marketing is only half of the being global minded. A micro entrepreneur must position his business to allow international trading. Exchange of money or payments anywhere in the world should be made easy and accessible. And this is where a merchant account is needed. This facility is meant to allow debit and credit card processing . Since this involves legal process and can be tedious , due diligence is advised.

Being a micro entrepreneur has it’s upside and downside, so is being a full time employee. But you got to make a decision as to what will make you happy and be at peace with yourself.

Go out of the box if it means your peace. Go out of the box and create.  Go out of the box and be yourself. Go out of the box and pursue your passion.