Loving it! I mean, really loving it!!!

I don't know if you can tell, but I love working for myself!

I know that you hear that from the arrogant internet business gurus trying to sell you something, but it's so true. I am totally serious. In fact, every time the e-mail rings (I guess cash registers have gone the way of the ink well), I get excited.

I love owning my businesses and I am astonished at how the internet has, literally, turned the "kitchen" tables on the survival, customer-base and start up resources of small work-from-home businesses. Think of all the great sales, opportunities, friends, and information that you can get on-line now, not to mention the "globalization" from all of the customers I make internationally that couldn't have happened even 15 years ago.

Question:

Have you made the decision to start your own business? If not, what's holding you back?

If it's capital, get real! You can get a starter business for as little as 0- $30.

If it's FEAR, see my previous BLOG.

If it's lack of credentials, Give me a break, most winners started out as uneducated nobody's and failures in their peers eyes only to laugh back when they broke free and pursued their own dreams!

If it's lack of drive, just get off your seat-warmer and change your life by doing something, anything to get started... ! I mean, really... Aren't you tired of having to ask someone else for a few hours off or getting told what to do? Do you hate that your efforts pad the pockets of others while leaving you unappreciated and unfulfilled?

If it's lack of an idea, listen to my first pod-cast to get the ideas going.

Do yourself a favor and do SOMETHING to get the ball rolling now. Being in business for yourself is NOT about "do the following 20 steps in order and THEN, and ONLY then, you will be your own boss... That's just crap!!!! In fact, it sounds a lot like what your boss would tell you, so we know to be skeptical... ha ha!

Here, repeat this... first to yourself and then to everyone else:

"Yeah, in addition to working with (not "at") [insert name of slave ship here...]. I have my own company, we are in the beginning phases of a new secret product launch and it's SO exciting, can I send the info to you to look at when it's released?"

CONGRATULATIONS! You have just started your own business! Now drop me a line and tell me about it, so I can give you some suggestions as to how to get started.

In the meantime, Rob
PagelessBooks

Getting Items to Sell On Ebay

I started my internet business by buying and selling on e-bay. I would get up early (that's the key) Saturday mornings with $100 - $150 cash in small bills, a map I made of all the good yard sales listed in the newspaper, and I would buy. After returning home with a car-load of stuff, I would list it on e-bay.

I learned, by trial and error, what things would sell and what wouldn't and would make a decent amount after expenses... usually around $500 - 600 a week NET. When I went full-time, I made PowerSeller in 90 days.

My suggestions:

1. Haggle! Say, "all I have is $10 (show them the $10 bill alone).. will you take that?" Usually, they will.

2. Get new items and AS SEEN ON TV items. Audio books are good too. Make sure that the items are working while you are at the yard sale. Most yard sales will have these in original boxes where people got them as gifts or impulse purchases and never used them. Also, designer clothes do well too. As for anitques and collectibles, you have to know what you are doing.

3. When listing them, write (or copy and paste) as much as you can about the product. Take pictures that are big (700 pixels wide) , upload the pictures to your own host and copy them into the description - - that way, you will not have to use e-bay's expensive picture service.

4. I am not a fan of consigning unless the item is higher than $100 in value. Even then, I think you are better off to buy the item from someone. Get listed in e-bay's Trading Assistant program and that sould generate some good Consignment calls for you.

5. While you are hunting for goods, have someone available via cell phone at their desk to look things up for you on e-bay or Andale to see how they are selling currently while you are shopping. I found a bunch of unopened Cabbage Patch Kids, but the seller wanted too much for them. I knew this because my wife was on the phone with me looking up their value on e-bay.

6. You can always belong to a wholesale buying group. I belong to a few of these. E-bay and I recommend Let me know if you have any questions. There are some very good guides out there. I recommend the Auction Secrets program (that's what I used to increase my bids and profits about 25-35%) and the e-bay forums are really good too for getting quick tips on everything from postage to fees. I will be listing some auction e-book packages on the website soon. Hope this helps .

-Rob Dearmon
PagelessBooks.com

Creatively Overcoming Fear

F.E.A.R. =
False
Evidence
Appearing
Real


Some people are highly motivated by fear, yet others can't stomach the pressure. What can you do to achieve optimum creative success without being in constant panic mode?

Theresa Amabile, head of the Entrepreneurial Management Unit at Harvard Business School, has been studying creativity for 30 years. For the past 8 years, she has collected nearly 12,000 daily journal entries from 238 people working on creative projects in seven large corporations. She and her team scoured journals for moments when people struggled with a problem or came up with a new idea.

The following rules for using fun to motivate creativity are inspired directly from Amabile's research:

Deadlines are fear-based; if you want to be creative you must give yourself an "incubation period." Deadlines create distractions that rob your attention, the research indicates. Even with a deadline looming, to get creative you should focus on your work in an environment protected from distractions.

Competition is fear-based; collaboration is fun-based. If you want to amplify your creativity, the research tells you to foster the confidence to share your ideas with others. Be open to debate with collaborators and create a noncompetitive environment. You'll hit new heights of creativity!

Catching people doing things right, rather than punishing them for doing things wrong, is fun-based. Public celebrations, according to the research, of accomplishments are a boon for creativity. If you want to spark creativity, publicly recognize someone's work or contributions!

Sparking intrinsic motivation is what fun accomplishes when you use it as a motivator. Intrinsic motivation, the research proves, is critical to creativity. Anyone, it turns out, can be highly creative - when they become intrinsically motivated! Motivating yourself with fun clears away barriers and allows your experience, knowledge, and skills to foster new, creative ways of thinking.

You are more likely to have a creative breakthrough if you were happy the day before. When you're happy, which usually happens as a byproduct of fun-based motivation, the research clearly indicates a great chance of your happiness "incubating" overnight to show up as a creative idea the following day.
How about that?

I couldn't have asked for more compelling evidence that fun is a better personal and professional motivator than fear.

Brian Tracy has a good audio series that I recommend on the "Psychology of Success" where he explains these things very effectively. I found his steps and his ideas to be very easy to implement and a great listen in the car on your way to the next sales or work meeting. In fact, I would listen to his Psychology of Sales Series before each sales call to get majorly confident and PUMPED! My first year, I took his challenge and actually doubled my income with those ideas. I really liked his unconventional closing techniques and objection handling.

In any case, he offers new customers a free audio book and a free newsletter if you are interested. Check it out.

Have creative fun today!
-Pagelessbooks

Newsletter

Sent out the first Pageless e-zine Newsletter!!!!

I am excited to start building a community of like-minded successful work-from-home business "e-trepreneurs" . The Newsletter was simple, but I just wanted to start getting the buzz going about the site and have people start checking the site daily. Anyway, I am sure I will think of other things to tell you later, so check back again.

-Rob