OK, so now that I've run off two posts, I can officially say I am a blogger. In my first post, I gave a brief explanation of what this blog is all about. In my second post, I gave you a sample of what the content will actually look like. Taking advantage of time zones is not a secret weapon, its just clever. Moreover, its a great way for those of us with day jobs to reduce the amount of day tasks we have to deal with related to our side-projects.
Many entrepreneurship publications, blogs, podcasts, and more are available for you to tap into if you are looking to blaze your own trail by launching a business.* The trouble is, these experts give you the pep talk you need to quit your job, reel in your discretionary spending and jump in with both feet. I applaud any entrepreneur who takes these steps. Taking these steps is the hallmark sign of a true adventurer who shouldn't have had a day job in the first place. But what about the rest of us? What if the day job is your source of medical insurance? What if you need the day job to build your resume and track record for a few more years? What if you actually like your day job? In cases like ours, the small business doesn't have to wait, it simply needs to take place as a hobby or side-project (pick your favorite). That's right, you really can jump in using strictly your spare time. I did it and built a profitable business from scratch boosting my yearly income by almost ten percent. In the years to come, I'd like this number to approach one hundred. In fact, this is a great way to learn the ropes, get connected to key contacts, set up your legal elements and mull over your business model in a lower stakes game. That's what this blog is all about. We are a special group within the global community of entrepreneurs, and for us, the architecture is a bit different. We are employed and self-employed. We are building our careers in industry while having our entrepreneurial adventure in parallel. We are the ones who are confident that we can juggle it all.
With that said, our biggest challenge is to avoid fizzling out. We have our normal lives to go back to if our businesses don't work out. We can't let this become an excuse. Structuring the balance between all key components of life is critical to avoid this. For this reason, the best businesses to set up on the side are the ones that run themselves. All businesses require the entrepreneur's time and effort but there does exist innovative and elegant business models which fall into operational rhythms like a well-oiled machine. We'll get into this topic early and often.
Lakeside Eco-Taxi LLC is a new company located in Holland, Michigan. The company was launched in April of 2011 entirely as a side-project. By late spring, the company owned 3 bicycle taxis and leased them to a group of about 15 drivers to serve a pedestrian-heavy market around Hope College and Downtown Holland.
*I like a new podcast by Anthony Lacopo because its unvarnished and in its infant stages right now. As far as I can tell, the audience still has a lot of room to grow and he knows it. I added a link in my "ent. links" gadget (side of my blog page).
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