Investing In Yourself First!

With times as they are, it is now your time to invest in you! Become your own lender, financial resource and payment stream. How biased is that? Pretty darn! However, the Corporations Bureau simply asks that you require the same of yourself as you would from any other finance stream.

What does that look like?

Repay Yourself First: Most financial experts and money managers would all agree on Rule #1...Pay yourself first. One of the benefits of being your own disciplined lender is that you know when you are going to be repaid. Be as committed to your repayment as you would to be repaying any other lender.

Seek Experienced Lending: Look for an experienced Small Business Lender who can meet your organization's needs and expectations from either local or state levels. Sometimes, staying "close to home" finances benefit you as you build local relationships that will continue to flourish along with your success.

The Box: Clear and Simple, get out of it with your financial thinking. Everything you knew traditionally regarding lending, business loans and corporate business plans are no longer valid. That is your box.

Now let me tell you what's outside of that box- Non-traditional loans and lending organizations, your local City Commissioners, City Council and Town Hall members usually have small business funds they MUST use each quarter/year to distribute. Contact me to find out if your city is one of them, but we have worked closely with Miami-Dade County Board of Commissioners on several opportunities to get funds to small businesses.

Be The Relationship: As a new entrepreneur and small business owner, everyone you meet is a new relationship and financial resource. The hand you shake may the hand you hold later. In that same arena, don't get caught up in the online loan process. You are just another IP address attached to a lending URL address. Don't be yet another link, so do all that you can to expand your opportunities by getting in the face of your lender. You lose your "wiggle-room" online, because there is no face attached to the 'username.

Spend time looking at the benefits as well as the pitfalls of becoming your own lender, however, prop yourself up to empower your own success...Your time is now!

Downsized? Hit the Career Refresh Button

Times are tight no matter what you do. You can find the resume and spend your time rewriting it ten ways for ten possible jobs, or you can invest your time following your dream. Continue your current career out of a sense of necessity or you can reinvent your career, with all the knowledge and skills you've earned over the years, and truly take charge of your life. This page shows you where to start on your new path as an entrepreneur, guiding you through all the first steps and giving you a firm foundation to build your new business.

If you've already got a sense of your new career direction, close this box and explore the Franchising, Financing, Small Business and Legal tabs. If you're starting from scratch, close the box and check out the Explore Entrepreneurship tab. By pressing the refresh button on your career, you gain an new perspective and new found appreciation on what it means to be your own boss and/or manage others.

Define what you think success is. Be ready to attack the untapped potential in the "niche markets". What is that exactly?, well, just remember that there is no need to re-invent the wheel to obtain success. Instead, re-inventing what you view as successful is going to go a long way.

Reinventing your career can mean looking beyond the obvious alternatives. More small businesses will be started in the next twelve months than in the last fifteen years and The Corporate Bureau wants to make certain that these newcomers to the "world of start-ups" are informed and prepared for the success to come.

If you are being downsized or have been downsized, consider this new path of promise. You've put your faith and trust in everyone else's ability, now find favor in your own. Your dreams can become just as much of a reality as they last employer you worked for. Your time is now.