By all accounts, I failed severely in 2010.

If any accountant, business consultant, or even lay person looked at my business after last year they would’ve agreed…”What the heck was he thinking?”

Fired nearly all clients.

One of the first things I did in the first quarter of 2010 was fire nearly 80% of my clients. Not that they had done anything wrong, but I wasn’t interested anymore in spending energy at all hours of the day, doing work for them. Believe me, it wasn’t them…it was me. I did it to myself. I should’ve never have helped launch over 200+ websites/businesses in the previous two years. For the clients I kept, new boundaries were established (we didn’t have healthy boundaries prior to that) and they all now understood that most of their communication would happen with me Monday – Thursday anywhere from 8am – 5pm. Weekends were off-limits. There are still a couple clients that I break those rules with, but they are also such great friends/clients that I don’t feel like it’s work. Plus most of the time we are also talking family, fun, and other things so it’s good because they fill my soul in other ways.

Either way, this is what I needed to do the most. The crazy days of working 20 hour days, nearly 7 days a week had to end. It wasn’t fair to me, my wife, my family, my friends, my clients, and my business. They needed me to be completely present when I was with them and there was no way I was able to do that the way I was doing it.

Got rid of nearly all community service.

Most people are like, “Give, give, give” and for the longest time, I just did that. I gave a lot…to a lot of people and organizations that I thought were good. That’s why it surprised many people when I fired most of the organizations that I belonged to. I held many positions in various organizations including the Board of Directors for the local Chamber of Commerce.

“Why did you quit?”

I’m not a guy who puts up with negative energy for very long. I tend to only be around positive people who are doing positive things with their life to move forward. When you live in a small town, there is a tendency for a large group of people who have an opinion on everything, yet are willing to do nothing to help out. It’s small town politics at its best. Honestly, I don’t know if people loved me or hated me (usually its both, but nothing in the middle), but I didn’t really care. I just kept on doing work for the good of the community. After dealing with this for a couple years, I decided last year it was enough. Why was I wasting an hour of my month, going to meetings that was filled with such constant negativity, only to work on projects that no-one else wanted to do or with only a handful of the same positive people that wanted to help out. Oh yes, then to pay to be part of an organization like that. No thanks. No more.

Quit softball.

Not many people know that one of my true loves/passions is coaching softball. Not the slow-pitch, drunk-fest type of softball, but more like high school softball. For the past three years I was the Head Coach of a High School Varsity Softball team. I loved nearly every single second of it. The kids were amazing to work with and just a blast. The parents were…..well there was a reason that this thing was invented called a dugout, so you didn’t have to listen to them. Most of the parents were great and supportive too, there were just a handful, that were exactly that….just a handful. Even before I started coaching, I was umpiring high school softball 6 days a week throughout the entire summer for the longest time. I’ve been coaching/umpiring softball most summers for the past 18 years.

At the end of last season, I decided to step away from it, for now. It wasn’t fair to me or my wife to be away most nights for 10 hours each day, six days a week. She works during the day, so she would come home and I would be gone, then she would go to bed and I would get home to do stats. We’d usually see each other on Sundays. I’m not sure how exactly how I am going to deal with not have anything to do for the first time in MANY summers. Drive by and you might just see me pacing outside in the backyard.

Now, softball was something I truly did enjoy. It just didn’t fit my lifestyle. I plan on still keeping connected in some sort of fashion. I plan on going back to coaching again at some level, but one with less time commitments.

Got clear

By now, some of you are feeling like I am having some sort of Eat. Pray. Love. type of thing happening to me. LOL! Nah, that’s not really the case, but I was really trying to clear out the way so I could begin to get clear on some things in my life that I truly wanted to hyper-focus on. I really wanted to figure out what I wanted my lifestyle to look like; my relationship with my wife; my business; my hobbies; my health; and more.

After spending a lot of time thinking (and after I had been accepted into Dream Year), I decided that for my business I wanted to combine all the projects I’ve nearly ever done and put it all into one resource on the internet to help people start and grow businesses that conform to their lifestyles. This also includes ongoing training, instruction, ideas, etc for people who want help at an affordable price to get started. When I was working on the pricing, I wanted to do something where I felt like they would be committed to being part of the program, yet a price that wouldn’t cheat me for my time, the quality of the product, or the people that I would serve. I would rather serve 100 people paying $47/mo than 1,000 people who are paying $7/mo. That’s just me.

I’ve also committed to being a better husband to my wife by spending 2-3 hours per day being fully present with her. Most nights we eat dinner together, talk about life, play board games, go for walks, watch TV/movies, do projects around the house, go grocery shopping, etc. Honestly, I’ve watched more movies/TV in the last year than I have in the last 15 years combined. HAHA! When I’m not with her, I have spent more time on personal development, reading about being a better husband/father, and more. It’s all paid off dearly. I feel more connected to her than probably ever in our 8 years of marriage.

Gave more.

One of the most amazing things that I’ve really experienced this past year has come from truly learning how to give. I used to give to anything and everything, just because I did. My dear friend, Dr. Mollie Marti, gave me a book that has transformed my thinking and it’s called “Giving Thanks” by Paula Langguth Ryan. Now I don’t just give to give. I give with purpose and pretty much only give to things that feed my soul.

The downsides.

While these might be called the downsides, I don’t think they’re really the downsides. Yes, I am making less money now, but I’m also working much less. Before, I was working 120+ hours per week and now I work around 60. While some people might be upset about the income: 1) First of all, when you live in the middle of a cornfield in Iowa where the average home price is $54,000 you don’t need to make much 2) Second, I know the income will bounce back up once this other project gets rolling in the right direction. I’ve been a business owner for 18 years, so I’ve done this before and I’m not worried about it.

The big reward.

While going through this whole transition and also kicking off Dream Year in January, we got the news that my wife and I will be expecting our first child in October. It was a surprise and a blessing all at the same time. We were under the mindset that if it was meant to be, then it was meant to be. If not, then we were super okay with adopting. As I write this, we’re over halfway done with the pregnancy and by October we’ll have a beautiful little baby girl. We’re beyond excited. Even more than that, I’m glad that I made the changes back when I did, because I would literally be hitting a brick wall right now. HAHA!

The evolution of me.

The bottom line is that because I have technically “failed” in 2010 by definition in the book, but in reality, I have gained soo much more. I’m enjoying life more now than ever. I feel refreshed each morning I come to work and every night that I get to spend time with my family. This is the evolution that has taken place, but this is one that not only was much needed, but much deserved for everyone.

Each Monday, I am going to be featuring 5 random small business ideas that you might consider when choosing to start your own home-based business. The best part about most of these ideas is that they are inexpensive businesses to start that will allow you to work from home online. It’s important that you choose something based on your talents and passions, not just “Oh, that sounds fun” or “I could probably make a lot of money doing that.”

1. Online Tutoring
   With the growing demand of online schools, there is also a greater need for online tutors. Not only that, but as an online tutor you can also offer your services online to students who are attending offline schools. The best part about this business is the fact that you could have more clients than you could ever serve, since nearly everyone has access to the internet these days. It’s also good because you can specialize in the subjects you wish to tutor in such as math, social studies, business, etc. The toughest part initially would be finding where to market in order to bring in your first clients. It might be best to distribute flyers locally or become part of some online forums with parents whom you can befriend. There are also other ways such as social media, videos, etc. that you can use to market your business online. Business will definitely take off for you once you get your first few clients, get them seeing positive results, and then sharing their experience with others about working with you.
   
   
2. Virtual Assistant
   One of the most popular businesses I’ve seen people starting online has been a Virtual Assistant service. This is both a good and bad thing. While their is a ton of great virtual assistants online now because of the boom, there are also twice as many worthless virtual assistants who constantly over-promise and under-deliver while giving the whole virtual assistant industry a black eye. If you’ve had some sort of prior experience as an administrative assistant, then you might want to check out becoming a Virtual Assistant. Typically, Virtual Assistants doing administrative type of tasks for both online and offline businesses. The reason they’re called Virtual Assistants is because the reason that they virtually live anywhere in the world and serve businesses worldwide. A couple of suggestions I would make to you if you decided that you would like to go this route, would be to A)niche into a single business market (real estate, insurance, internet marketing, etc.) and B) once you’ve decided your niche, then learn every single piece of software that industry uses. By doing these two things, you will be heavily in-demand, but you will also be able to charge premium rates.
   
   
3. Recruiter
   You will be the one to decide if opening your own recruiting business is a good idea. Being a Recruiter is a very lucrative business, but it all comes down to contacts. If you are constantly networking and have a bunch of contacts then you will be able to really build a business quick. If you don’t, then you might be eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for a while. Think about it this way. Let’s say you’re a matchmaker. You may have all these amazing men whom you want to get lined up with dates, but unless you have a bunch of qualified women that would be the perfect match for them, then it would never work out. The same is true if you decide you would like to open a recruiting business. You may have all kinds of executives who are looking at you to find them a job or a better job, but if you don’t have contacts with any companies whom are looking for executives in that field, then everyone will end up frustrated. To make it a bit easier on yourself, I might suggest that you niche in a certain niche such as healthcare, industrial, etc. so that it is easier for you to find both, the talent and the companies that you wish to serve, much easier.
   
   
4. Cake Decorator
   For the creative types of people who also love food, this is a great idea. Cakes are used for various occasions throughout the year such as weddings, graduations, birthdays, anniversaries, grand openings, etc. Most cake decorators are just looking to sell a cake. I would market and position the business a bit different so I was basically the cake person for that family during their life. Sounds weird I know, but look at the number of cakes that a typically family needs over the course of a lifetime. Wouldn’t you like to serve only a certain number of families, but provide them with the cakes they need throughout the year. I might even suggest putting together some packages so they get cakes from you 2-3 times per year so you have a better guaranteed income as a cake decorator. As you continue to grow, you may want to add on some things such as cupcakes, cookies, and other things you can provide your clients. Don’t forget to check with your local Health Department to make sure you can do this in your home. If you can’t, then you can alway check into renting a kitchen somewhere or sharing a kitchen with a restaurant, catering business, etc. Be creative!
   
   
5. Family History & Genealogy
   This one is fairly uncommon, but its a great idea for the right person. Let me just start off by saying if you’re thinking of doing this, you will need to make sure that you are a super organized person and also one who has no problems being very investigative both online and in-person. There are many families out there that have all kinds of information about various parts of their family both current and in the past. If you decided to become a Family History & Geneaology Specialist (BAM! See that awesome title), then it would be your job to take all that information from the various family members and piece it all together into some sort of family chart. From there you would see where the missing holes are and then do some researching and interviewing to figure out the missing parts. The awesome thing about this business is the stories that you would hear and be able to share with other family members.

Question of Week: Hi Aaron, I love what you’re doing and would like to start up my own home business, but right now between work, the kids, activities, etc. I can’t find time to do it. What should someone do if they don’t have enough time?

My simple answer is: Horse Manure!

First of all, when you are looking to make the decision to started a home-based business, you need to decide how badly you want it. If you don’t want it that bad, then you’ll find every single excuse in the book why you can’t make it work. If you want it badly enough, you will make time to do it.

Second, find the gaps where you can make time. Do you watch TV for hours each night? Cut it out and use that time to develop your business? Do you need to get 8 hours of sleep a night? Lose a couple hours and use 2 hours to work on your business. Got kids? Wake up at 4am and spend a couple hours working on your business before the kids get up and need to go to bed.

Finally, when you make the decision, commit to it. I can’t tell you how many people have plenty of time to complain to me about how crappy their job is or how in debt their family is, but yet can never find time to do anything about it. Honestly, I usually don’t waste my time arguing with them because they will almost always have a comeback.

My wife and I have a friend who about once or twice a month, she will call us crying or upset about how bad her job is or how they’re treating her. Each time we get off the phone, we’ll be reading the newspaper when we glance over at the “Help Wanted” section and we’ll see a few job openings in her field that she may be interested in. My wife calls or texts her to let her know about the job openings and she acknowledges her with the same feedback that it sounds great and she’ll check into it.

<Insert ball drop sound here>

A month later the phone rings and its this same friend, who is crying/upset about the same thing. Repeat cycle. Do you think she ever checked into those jobs or threw a resume in to try and get an interview somewhere different? Nope.

No sympathy from me no more. Last time she called, I told her in the nicest way possible (which I still probably sounded like a jerk) to not call again whining, crying, upset, unless she’s applied for a minimum of 5 jobs.

Most people are like this. They want change, but they aren’t willing to make the changes themselves. Sorry, but I’m not the guy who’s going to tell the drunk to quit drinking, but then give them money to go the bar. They’ve gotta want it themselves. Once that happens, then I have no problem helping them out.

Again, if you can’t seem to find time to start a home-based business, then you need to re-evaluate how badly you want it.

“Turn the page, continue reading, and let the next story begin…” — Suzanne Weyn

WOW!

I honestly never thought I would be doing this. While I’ve always had this idea and always have seen the pieces out there, I’ve never been able to put them together. For some reason I thought I always just needed the answer.

JUST DO IT!

Back in October when I made the commitment to sign-up for Dream Year and submit my proposal to see if I was accepted into the program, I was overcome by fear and doubt. Weird, because I am very rarely a person that has fear and doubt. What would cause it in this instance? I’m not sure, but I did hit me….until I hit the “Submit” button on the application and then it was truly out of my hands.

Since I was accepted into the program in December, a ton of things have shifted in my life. Yes, I had submitted the proposal about what my year long (and life-changing) project was going to be, but as I began on the journey I noticed that the sails needed to be adjusted. This was a good thing as it provided me with a ton more clarity. Over the past few months, all those pieces I talked about earlier, have come together and grown into something even bigger. I’ve had many sleepless nights in which I tossed and turned all night thinking about this project and the lives that it will change:

• Thinking about that one family that is able to save their home from foreclosure because they now have a side business that is bringing them in income.
• Thinking about that family that needs a two-income household but can only have one because one of the parents has to stay home at all times with their disabled child.
• Thinking about the person who cannot experience true growth in their life or their gifts because they are confined to a job that mentally destroys them.
• Thinking about the family who can experience a trip to Disneyland for the first time because of the extra income they created in their life doing something they love.
• ….and the list goes on and on.

As I began the research on this clever term “Lifestyle Business” it was interesting to see the lack of positive meaning. In fact, many of the instances in which it was discussed, it often was turned into a curse word. Many of the large corporate or start-up companies claimed it as a bogus-BS word for a lazy entrepreneur who really doesn’t have a business or a future sellable asset.

I’d like to have the opportunity to interview their kids and see if they wished that their parents would have owned a “Lifestyle Business.” I think the results would be mind-boggling and possibly even leave a tear in your eye. Do you honestly think places like Google put in cafeterias, sleeping rooms, dry cleaning, gyms, etc for the “culture” they claim? NO! They put all those amenities in there so you will NEVER GO HOME! Do you think the kids of those types of employers notice? Yes! Do you think the parents realize it? Yes, but usually it’s too late when they figure out the life they missed out on.

Too many people build businesses and then design their lifestyle around them. That’s why you see the local pizza owner working from 9am -12am seven days a week and he never has time to enjoy the things he likes such as golf, church, and family.

The kind of “lifestyle business” that I’m referring to is one where you create the lifestyle you want to live and then design and build a business around it that fits your needs. Maybe your the mom that wants to make sure she picks up her kids after school every day, attend all their sporting events, and be able to stay at home with them if they’re sick. You also enjoy cleaning houses. Well, then your perfect “lifestyle business” might be starting a residential house cleaning business where you clean houses only from 10am – 3pm each day. You might eventually grow it so you decide to hire a couple people to help you out and then you’re able to still maintain the lifestyle you want, but within the hours your willing to devote to it. You’re satisfied with your life on all levels and your kids love that you’re home with them every day and part of the summer. You can’t put a price tag on that.

As I begin on this new journey, I continually am amazed daily at the big thinkers and dreamers that I get to hang out with. These are the type of people that put hope back into this supposedly bad economy. I can’t wait to see what the next 7 months of my life has in store as we begin to truly launch this entire project worldwide. Join us for the ride!

Wow! What a trip it has been!

As you begin to read the posts over the course of the next couple of weeks, you will figure out why I have decided to go this route.

Last October, I was presented with an opportunity to apply to be part of a special program called “Dream Year”. Only 20 or so people are accepted into the program and they are given one year of super hyper-focus to achieve this dream. There are other components to it such as coaching, group stuff, email support, and more.

In December I was told that my application had been accepted to be part of this program and I would begin in January. My project that I had applied with is to write a book that will help people start a lifestyle business that really helps them encompass the life they want to live.

Initially, it started out as a book, but quickly developed into an entire platform in which I decided to combine many of the projects I’ve done in the past to all be in one area. Simplified.

And then it happened….the big news!

At the end of January, my wife and I heard the news that in 9 months we would be expecting the arrival of our first child. Talk about life in overdrive.

Did I mention that I was all about simplifying everything in my business? Yes, but now that would start to be done at a rapid pace.

As I stated before, I am going to be going through some of the process and decisions that have been made over the past few months in order to combine the projects. In the end, YOU become the winner as I’m giving it all up.

Keep tuned into this site as I continue to post content 6 days a week for free and we’re also going to continue building the member’s area side of things too. More updates soon!

Thanks for hanging out with us!

Welcome to the very first episode of the Home-Based Workplace Podcast!

WOW! Just to think that about 2-3 months ago, we were in the process of finding out exactly what we wanted to hyper-focus on and now we have a full fledged, business, website, and podcast. Maybe it’s because I know how to do all this business building stuff fairly well or maybe its just because I’m tickin’ on all six cylinders when talking about lifestyle business and how to build a home-based business around your lifestyle.

Alright, enjoy this (short) first podcast.

In this episode:
I spend the time to understand the whole Home-Based Workplace concept and why people are embracing it more and more these days. It’s about building a business that conforms to your lifestyle.

Links we mentioned
Home-Based Workplace – www.HomeBasedWorkplace.com