Starting a Small Business
People really hate to admit if they are stuck in a rut. This is different than following a routine. A routine is a way of staying organized to make the most efficient use of time. A rut is doing something because that is the thing you have always done, being in a rut rarely has a great deal of enjoyment. It took me a while but I had to admit to myself and my husband that I was stuck in a rut. I did not get any enjoyment from my job and the only reason I was going to work was to gather a pay check. I believed that there were more enjoyable ways of earning a living.
Once my husband found out how miserable I was at my job he told me to find something else. He told me it was no use wishing my life away waiting for retirement. After I did some checking around on the internet I decided to try starting a small business. This was a huge step for me because I had never been involved in the business world. My formal training is in social work. I knew this training would help me in my communication with others, but starting a small business would require additional skills that I would need to develop. After a great deal of research and talking to many other people that were in some stage of starting a small business of their own I decided to be a dealer for an environmental products company. This company had a solid reputation, had been in operation for over twenty years, and the support from other business owners as well as executives in the company was very good.
The first step in starting a small business is getting familiar with the products that re going to be retailed. I accomplished this through reading about the products in the catalogs, and on various websites. I also ordered several of the products to use in my home. The company offered a week on live interactive training on the telephone as well as on the computer. This gave me an opportunity to ask questions as well as learn from the questions that others that were starting a small business were asking during the training. Those of us participating were from all over the United States and Canada. It was so reassuring to know that I was not the only person that was taking this giant step in attempting to become financially independent. I am not sure where this new adventure will take me, but I do have a new enthusiasm for my work and I feel that I am making an effort to be happier in the way I earn a living.
