Archive for February, 2010
Rich Dad Poor Dad – Being a Business Owner Takes Something Special
Posted by: | CommentsI’ve been doing some reading lately and that includes revisiting the Rich Dad Poor Dad Series. I love to read. You’ll find my bookshelves lined with books on Business, Raising Children, Biographies, Personal Development, Fiction. You name it and I might have it. I also love to collect old books. Especially those from the late 1800′s and early 1900′s – you know, Classics.
Well, during this revist to Rich Dad Poor Dad I realized, the more things change the more the stay the same. The principles that Robert Kiyosaki wrote about years ago – a changing economy, more people out of work and choosing to become self-employed and struggling to figure out their best path, sounded familiar to me today in 2010 as we continue talk about “The New Economy”.
He spoke about the mentality around us and that comes from our parents.
The deal is, not everyone is cut out to be self-employed, or a business owner with employees nor is everyone to be a long term employee. The challenge is figuring out your path. Part of it is nurture and part of it is nature. Let me explain.
I grew up in a family where neither of my parents were employees – both were self-employed. Their guidance to me was always, “Go to college, get a good job”. I knew from the time I was in first grade I was going to college. That was my path. Yet, they were silently nuturing me to be my own boss as they were, that is what I grew up knowing and understanding, even though they spoke otherwise.
I started working outside of the family business at 14 and haven’t looked back. I became self-employed in the Real Estate industry during my junior year in college while I pursued my degree in Entrepreneurship. Most 20 year olds I know don’t know how to run a business – I know I didn’t. But I learned.
I educated myself through school, through books and the on the job training (i.e. mistakes and great choices). I worked with mentors who helped teach me and guide me. And I had the personal drive and dedication needed to work hard and build a business.
While I was nurtured to go to school and get a job, by watching my parents entrepreneurship became a part of my being, part of my nature is to end up willing to take the risks involved with my own businesses.
I’ve had success and I’ve had failure. If you want to be self-employed or become a business owner you have to be willing to take calculated risks and sometimes just take the leap of faith that your gut is telling you to jump.
Others people may think you’re crazy, silly or both. If you really have it in you, you cannot hold back. And yes, you can learn to be a business owner but you have to be willing to put the work in to do so.
What’s your path in 2010?
Why We Need Experts – An Elance.com Review & Recommendation
Posted by: | CommentsMost of us are experts at our chosen line of work. That is why our clients come to us for our wares or services. I would never claim to be an electrician, plumber, or graphic artist. I also never claim to be a web design guru. During the transition of this site I made what I thought was a fatal error when the site vanished for days and I tried everything to recover it. I spent hours with tech support and browsing user guides and just when I was about to give up and start over I remembered a friend of mine told me about Elance and the positive transaction she had after her blogs were hacked.
I quickly phoned her and got the name of her Elance contact. Within less than 10 minutes I had registered at Elance.com, found her recommended contact, posted my job request and was on my way.
Since it was a Friday night I didn’t expect an answer very quickly. However, later that evening my request was answered and I was on my way to having my blog back.
By chosing to use a WordPress expert I had my blog back in less than 24 hours. My fatal error wasn’t fatal, just not something I was unable to figure out since I am not a computer programmer or web designer.
My Elance.com experience was terrific. Their policies and procedures are very protective for both the employer and employee to ensure as quality a transaction as possible.
Now, not everyone on Elance.com will be as great as my guy was and I recommend you do your research, check out reviews and do your diligence before hiring someone to work on your projects. I was lucky as I went with a personal recommendation as well as the reviews.
Experts are just that – people who know what they are doing in their line of work.
If you’re ready to take your business to the next level, sometimes you have to let go a little bit and get help from an expert.
If you’re ready to start thinking out of the box and want an expert to listen to your thoughts – drop me an email and we can set up a time to have that conversation together.
All Things Marketing & More is now VaNessaDuplessie.com
Posted by: | CommentsAfter a number of technical difficulties we’re back online and have a new site name. In an effort to head the advice of some of the marketing gurus I follow we are now www.VaNessaDuplessie.com.
While I will continue to discuss All Things Marketing and More here and the focus will also include helping you navigate personal branding.
It’s nice to be back!

