I would love to start a business on the side, but I just don’t have enough time.

I wish I could run a business, but I’m far too busy with my other commitments.

If only I had what it took to start my own business I would be so successful.

Does this sound like you?

Too many young professionals are guilty of over dramatizing the amount of work that they do. We act as if we work all day, every day, build houses in Ethiopia on the weekends, and then go back to saving the world with our day jobs. That’s just not true. We all waste time. We all have more than enough time to get stuff done. We all have the ability to start a side business and stay focused with a 9-5 gig.

As a young professional it’s easy to get distracted with life and everything that comes with it. It’s also easy to make excuses. It’s even easier to blame the world for your problems and delay taking action. Since you read Studenomics I know that you want more out of life. You want to know how you can start a side business and remain focused on it.

I wanted to show all the young 20-somethings that read Studenomics how you can stay focused on building a side business while still living life:

Focus on what matters with your business.

Yes I know that this common advice. We think that we focus and laugh when someone suggests that we focus. The problem is that none of us actually really focus. We pretend that we’re focused, but the odds are that we have a few distractions at all times.

• Tagging photos on Facebook while you do “business research” is not focus.
• Writing articles while you watch funny videos on YouTube is a distraction.
• Texting while you drive is not focus.

It’s really easy to get caught up the minutia. I can spend hours on Twitter chatting about nothing sometimes. I try to justify this as “networking,” but deep down I know that I’m just killing time.

If you want any success at all in this world you need to learn how to focus, even if it’s only for a little bit. There’s two strategies that I recommend for extended focus:

1. Do work in batches. This is where you buckle down and don’t get up until a certain amount of work is done. Bloggers can use this tip to write more articles.
2. Set a time schedule. Set aside anywhere from 20-60 minutes to get work done. Grab a bottle of water and set a timer. Twenty minutes doesn’t sound like much, but it’ll add up over the months.

Are you ready to be more focused on what matters?

Get your work done first and then go out later.

As tempting as it is to go out and do something fun, you must remember to get your work done first. I get dig very deep into this point but I won’t because it’s simple. Do your work and then go out. That’s it. You’ll thank yourself when you’re out with a big smile on your face because you know that you got everything done.

Stop reading, start producing.

My biggest problem for the longest time was that I would read like crazy. I would read any personal finance or entrepreneurship book that I could find. Then I would check out the suggested titles in Amazon to get more books to read. I was consuming like a mad man. I wasn’t producing anything.

My suggestion to you moving forward is to read less and do more. Give it a shot.

Avoid the trouble.

You can easily get yourself in trouble in your 20s. You can rack up massive amounts of credit card debt. You can marry the wrong person. You can buy a home that you can’t afford. You can get arrested for doing something dumb unintentionally. There are many ways that you can get in trouble. If you avoid the negativity and stay positive, you have a higher chance of growing a side business.

Turn your mind off.

If you’re working a part-time job to pay the bills or if you’re in a company that you hate 9-5 then it’s best that you turn your mind off and just coast until you get home to work on that side business that drives you. There’s no point to stress out about the petty issues in life. You’re better than that. You have the ability to turn your mind off and not let the world’s problems get to you.

That’s the quick-and-easy young professional’s guide to running a side business and always staying focused. You don’t need to read any more books or blog posts for now. Start getting work done right now.

Do you want to work for yourself? Are you fed up with your annoying boss and even more annoying co-workers? Do you want to finally break free?

You likely do. I have a feeling that you want to see what it’s like to be your own boss and set your own schedule.

2011 was the first year that I worked for myself. It was an interesting experience. Instead of sharing my emotional reflections on the year, I wanted to share some simple rules that you need to follow or be willing to follow if you want to break off on your own.

What are the 7 laws of working for yourself?

1. You can NOT pass the buck.

You’re on the hook for everything when you work for yourself. You can’t have a lazy day. You can’t let the evening shift finish off your work. You can’t take a vacation and leave your work behind. You always take your work home with you. You always have work on your mind. There are no weekends. You absolutely can not pass the buck if you want any success at all.

You can’t blame anyone else for your failures. You can’t rely on anyone else to finish the job off for you. This is the toughest aspect mentally when it comes to working for yourself. We’re all so used to passing the buck, that we need some time to get used to the idea of being on the hook for everything.

2. You need to be willing to work the most random hours.

The hours are ridiculous! When you’re on your own there are no set hours. Sorry to tell you. This goes hand-in-hand with the point earlier on not being able to pass the buck. Your hours are now going to be completely random. If you want stability in your life, I suggest staying in your current job. If you’re willing to work random hours, then you can consider working for yourself.

You can’t really close down for the day. If something happens you need to deal with it. You also can’t decide when your best ideas will hit you. You can’t pick and choose when you’re going to be hit with problems.

The good news is that you get to set your own hours. You can work any 18 hours of the day that you want to. I’m not trying to smarmy either. I just love to be ruthlessly realistic.

3. Be ready for ridiculous money fluctuations.

The money isn’t ridiculous in a hip hop sort of way. You know that steady pay check? That’s gone. Your income now depends on how and how smart that you work. You don’t get an hourly rate. You don’t have an income ceiling. You also don’t have a floor either. You can make an abundance of money. You can also make no money at all one month. You can even lose money for a few months. If you want to work for yourself you need to be ready emotionally and financially for the income fluctuations.

4. You got to figure out how to start your day.

You have no idea where to start. Some days you just don’t know where to start. You have so much that you want to do. You just don’t know what’s important. You don’t know if you should eat breakfast, go for a workout, get dressed, or watch music videos on YouTube. You just don’t know what to do first.

This is why it’s an important law when working for yourself that you create a plan for how you’re going to start your day.

5. You need to learn to stop.

You don’t know when to stop when you work for yourself.

As I’m writing this it’s three in the morning. I sort of have to be up early. Oh well. I’ve learned to deal with it by consuming a serious amount of caffeine. Not that I’m proud of that. I would eventually want to drink less coffee and have more natural energy. The problem is that I just don’t know when to stop working and this impacts my sleep greatly.

Another sub-law of working for yourself is that you always take your work home with you because you are your own boss.

These two factors combine and it’s going to be tough to stop.

You need to learn how to stop working and when to stop working. I’m pretty sure it’s not healthy to be always working. I try to set boundaries and time limits so that I don’t lose my mind working. Whatever you do, you need to find a way to know when to stop working so that you can live a balanced life.

6. Be ready to annoy your friends.

You’re going to annoy your friends. There’s only so much patience that your friends or girlfriend can have. It’s annoying when you bust out your laptop on a vacation. It’s annoying to be always jotting down ideas. It’s annoying to always be thinking about how you can improve something. You’re really going to annoy some people around you.

Your true friends will accept that you love working for yourself. Some will get frustrated and not want to hang out with you anymore. You can’t win them all.

You just must accept that one of the laws of working for yourself is that you’re going to annoy some of your friends. There’s no way around this one.

7. Your business will be your life.

The idea of starting an iguana grooming business so that you can spend more time on rock climbing (lifestyle design) just isn’t going to cut it. Your business will be your life. Your business will consume all of your energy and time. Besides thinking about sex and your social life, what else will be on your mind?

I just hope that you’re starting your own business because you want to work on stuff that matters to you. There’s no way around this. Your business will be your life. You want your life to be consumed by something that you enjoy.

Those are the 7 laws of working for yourself. Be ready to follow them if you want to be your own boss and thrive without a 9-5 gig.

Are you ready to break off and give it a shot? Are there any laws that I missed in this post?

Are you waiting to open your own shop? If so, I know how you feel. Before I opened my business 18 years ago, I was waiting for “just the right time.” Maybe you’re doing the same thing. I can tell you that I’d still be waiting today if my wife hadn’t pushed me into taking a chance and getting started.

Of course I’m delighted I took her advice. And looking back, it seems like a no-brainer. So why did I agonize over taking action? As I see it there are three main obstacles that keep us from making our small business ideas into a reality:

1. Plan

I don’t know about you but I thought about my business idea for years but never actually wrote down my plan. My wife was so tired of hearing me yap about my business dream that she “suggested” I write down the pros and cons of going forward. I did the writing and learned a great deal. While there were possible negative consequences, the pros vastly outweighed the cons. That was a first good step. (By the way, while we didn’t do this on purpose, it was wonderful that my wife was involved in the process. This way, she had “ownership” of what we were about to do. Genius!)

Once I saw that the business penciled out as a good idea, I felt a little more confident and I was ready to take it to the next level. The next thing I did was create a business plan. It was easy to calculate how much it would cost me to open and run the business each month. And since I’d been tracking my personal spending for years, I also knew how much I would need to keep the family afloat while I launched the business.

I also made some income assumptions but I was extremely conservative. As a result of these steps, I knew how long I’d be able to run the business without worrying about going broke. And I knew how long I could run the business before I’d either start making enough money to sustain myself or close shop and find a job.

This information gave me a great deal of security and even more confidence. I was ready to advance.

Your take-away:

• Write down the pros and cons and be brutally honest. Write down your fears too. Let it all out.
• Get your entire family involved in the process or at least your spouse. They will support you during your moments of doubt.
• Create your own plan. Gather information. Talk to other business owners. Estimate how much it will cost to launch your business and sustain your family.
• Establish your fail-safe point. The point beyond which your business has to produce sufficient revenue or you close your doors and find a job.

2. Funding

I knew what it was going to cost to keep my business and my family above water every month. I figured it would take a year for my revenue to get up to speed so I knew what kind of funding I needed.

I never thought about borrowing money from friends or a bank to start my business. I focused on savings. Once I had that amount, I put my plan into action.

Looking back, this could have been a mistake. I am a very cautious man and I don’t like to owe money to anyone. That’s fine but it slowed me down quite a bit. These days there are so many unique ways to borrow money, I may have been a fool for not considering the alternatives. One funding source I certainly should have considered is peer-to-peer lending companies like Lending Club. The cost would have probably been on par with bank rates and I would have been able to get the loan approved faster. Since my business was very profitable, waiting until I saved the money to start it cost me a great deal.

Your take-away:

• Calculate the amount you’ll need to sustain both your business and your family for at least a year.
• Consider all the alternatives and don’t rule out borrowing if it makes sense.

3. Faith

At the end of the day, I needed faith. I could review the numbers on my business plan until I was blue in the face. Until I found faith, I wouldn’t budge. My head was full of fear. I didn’t want to fail but I had to accept the possibility of failure before I would take action. What finally got me off my butt? I looked at the worst-case scenario and accepted it. I realized that if the business failed it wouldn’t be the end of the world. I had a “plan B”. I understood that my family and I wouldn’t be homeless and broke if the business didn’t succeed. I could always just find a job. So what?

Once I reduced the stakes, it was easier to take action.

Your Take Away – Discuss and accept the “worst case scenario”. The will help you reduce the risk and anxiety.

I’ve been operating my own business for over 25 years. I love being self employed and wouldn’t trade the experience and freedom I have for the world. Most of my self-employed friends feel the same way. I don’t even care if other people make more money than I do. I just love being my own boss. If you feel the same way, why not use these three steps as a stepping off point for yourself? What’s holding you back? Why?

Neal Frankle is a Certified Financial Planner in Los Angeles and owner of Wealth Pilgrim a personal finance blog. One of his most helpful recent posts discusses how to get a free credit score without using a credit card.

As a college student I was quite a risk averse individual. I wanted a safe path to a credible, well paying degree that I can use to land a decent job within which I can climb the ladder overtime and rise to a level where I could comfortably support myself and my family. I suspect there are many others who shared the same sentiment back then and there are equally as many who share it today.

As I write this post, I am no longer the risk averse individual I once was. My entrepreneurial success has a lot to do with that and I certainly don’t expect anyone to make the same transformation without having experienced such success.

But with all that said, risk averse students can use these two tips today to prepare themselves for the best of both worlds tomorrow, Corporate America and entrepreneurship, and perhaps full time entrepreneurship at some point down the road if they so desire. These are the very same tips I applied to prepare myself for the future.

Just because you plan on excelling in your field doesn’t mean you can’t study others. Grant it that your priority maybe to learn management accounting inside out so you can someday become part of management in a company raking in a comfortable $250,000 salary, but this does not mean you cannot start learning about how to incorporate a business, or how to start a website or the tax advantages entrepreneurs have over those who simply maintain a professional career.

What I am getting at is education and awareness. Even if you don’t plan on applying what you are learning today, learning nonetheless benefits you tremendously so that you are ready if and when you do cross a point where you need to pull the trigger. At the very least, it makes you a more informed and educated individual.

The other tip is to get clarity as soon as possible. For many, entrepreneurship or passive income seems to be the ultimate dream and path to wealth and riches. Without getting into the pros and cons of these paths, many are simply delusional to the reality of passive income and / or making big bucks through entrepreneurship.

It is important to realize the most people in this world make a living working as an employee for someone. It is also important to recognize that just because one owns their own business, it doesn’t automatically make them richer, wealthier or having more control over their time and freedom. In fact there are business owners who work more and make less than many young managers in their thirties earning a six figure salary in Corporate America who have every weekend off.

This clarity is very important because it makes a big difference in your psyche and they way you plan your future. Clearing the delusion is the first step, and preparing yourself in the event you’d like to pursue another route is the second.

Take comfort in the fact that life will provide you with many opportunities as you grow and evolve as an individual and professional. You can pursue entrepreneurship later on if you’d like. But understand that even if you are not able to, fail or simply choose not to, a career in Corporate America can be perfectly fine just as it has been and is for the majority of this world.

I hope these two tips help you avoid getting lost in the minutiae and instead focus on your goals, just as they helped me.

Do you want to start a business with no money? Are you ready to finally get into the game and start your own online business?

“I can’t think of any good ideas.”

“I don’t have the money to start a business.”

“I didn’t go to a prestigious college.”

No more excuses. Today you’re going to start your own business. I’m serious. If you’re not serious then I don’t want you here. Close this window and find another personal finance blog to check out.

Here are the 6 easy steps to start your own online business right now:

1. Stop stressing about the money.

Your first step to starting a business is to accept that you don’t need lots of money to get started. You don’t need “money to make money.” You’re not getting into real estate and you’re not buying a sports franchise. You’re starting a simple online business. This is a one man (or two) operation. That’s it. You need to just stop making excuses and get the ball rolling. It’s not that hard. I’m here to help you and make this process as easy as possible.

Once you get the ball rolling and build some momentum, it’s going to be impossible to stop you. You just need to stop stressing about the money because all you need is a few hours a week and about $5.95 per month (for hosting) to get started online. Do you have that?

2. Just pick a topic already.

You don’t need to reinvent the wheel, you just need to keep it spinning. Here’s a newsflash: you will NOT create the next Facebook. I’m sorry. You can easily create a steady part-time income source and even a full-time source if you stop watching lame reality shows and making excuses.

The best strategy for picking a topic that I’ve heard of is the 7 passions, 7 fears, and 7 problems model. You write down 7 things that you’re passionate about, 7 things that you’re afraid of, and 7 problems that you have. Then you narrow it down from there. With 21 ideas you’re bound to find something that you can move forward with. If not then you need to get out more.

3. Buy your domain and go live.

Everyday that you ponder about your idea is another day you’ve missed out on establishing yourself online. You need stop chasing perfection and just get started. There’s no such thing as perfect. It’s all about learning on the job.

I want you to go to Bluehost and sign up for your domain hosting RIGHT NOW. You can grab a few domain names for a few extra bucks. You can also grab hosting for $5.95/month (which comes with a free domain).

[Full disclosure: Bluehost may not be the best hosting company, but I only have experience with them and most bloggers are with them. I included an affiliate link because I support them fully. Their customer service staff has always been helpful to me.]

I do understand that starting a blog, Twitter or Facebook page won’t solve your problems if you’re completely lazy. The thing is that this little investment will force you to take your new business seriously.

You can sign up with Bluehost or check out Hostgator to get your domain & hosting.

4. Install WordPress software and download your free theme.

I’ve included some screen shots below (click on them for full image) so you know exactly what to look for. Installing WordPress and your free theme should take you exactly less than 20 minutes. WordPress is simply the software that you use to run a blog. It allows you to publish articles and control your blog without any technical expertise. Your theme is just the appearance of your blog.

Before you install WordPress or your theme.

Before you install WordPress on your new site you need to grab your new domain name and assign it. You’ll likely get the domain name during the sign up process. Once you’re all signed up you need to add your domain to your control panel for your host.

In your control panel you click on DOMAIN MANAGER. Then you just click on ADD DOMAIN. Now you can move on to the next step.

Installing WordPress for your new site.

To install WordPress on Bluehost you go to your control panel and you click on WordPress.

Then on the next page you simply click INSTALL. This will then bring you to next page. Here they will ask you what domain to put it on and if you accept the terms and conditions. You then press install. The final step will finally be to ask you for your desired username/password combo. Then you’re all set.

Now when you want to log in to write posts and go on your blog all you have to do is type in yournewblogname.com/wp-admin and put in your information.

Time to get the theme on.

Now you need to install your free theme. Your theme is the appearance of your blog. The good news is that you do not need any graphics skills at all to get a theme up.

Here’s the process for getting your theme on your new site.

1. Find a theme you like.
2. Download the zip file.
3. Go to your control panel- click on FILE MANAGER- then click WP-CONTENT- then click on THEMES- UPLOAD.
4. Once the theme is uploaded you need to extract it. All you need to do is click beside it and then click EXTRACT.
5. Now you need to activate the theme. You do this by logging on to your WordPress through yourblogname.com/wp-admin. Under the “APPEARANCE” tab you click on “THEMES.” You find your theme and PRESS ACTIVATE. Now you have a site setup with a theme ready to go.

I recommend the Arras theme for beginners. You can also pick one of the million free themes on WordPress. There’s literally a theme for every kind of genre and specific taste. Once you get a little more into it and people are actually reading your site (real people, not your parents) you can upgrade to Thesis, hire a designer, and do all of that fancy stuff.

5. Create a few basic pages and posts.

You need to create a few basic pages and posts before you can attempt to bring anyone over to your blog.

What are a few important pages that you need to setup?

• A contact page. Keep it simple. You can download a contact page plugin or you can just list your email.
• “About me” section. Tell everyone who the hell you are and how you can help THEM.

You can eventually worry about the privacy policy and a resources page. For now you just need those two pages. You want people to be able to contact you and you them to know what you’re all about.

What are few posts that you should get going?

• A pillar piece. This post that you’re reading is a pillar piece. This is a huge article that others want to link to and people want to spread the word about.
• Basic intro posts. It’s important that you introduce the basics and get into the habit of posting updates.

Once you have these pages and posts setup you can then start to promote your blog by commenting on other sites, offering to guest post, or whatever advertising strategy you plan on using.

Now you can chill out for a bit.

6. Test your business ideas out to see if you have a chance.

After a few weeks or so you’ll likely be in the habit of posting regularly and interacting in your field. You now have the tools, hosting, and information to start a new online business in a matter of minutes. Now you need to apply this strategy:

If you’re going to fail, you better fail fast.

Test out your idea, see if it has any chance of making you money, see if anybody cares about the topic, and determine realistically if you have a chance of making anything happen. If you realize that your first idea sucks, move on to the next one. It’s just that easy.

My three most helpful posts for testing your business ideas are:

How can your small biz be a guaranteed home run?
How you can start making money right now.
How-to test your new idea to see if it can make any money.

Bonus: My offer to you.

If you absolutely don’t feel like going through this process at all, then you can send me an email to md @ studenomics.com and I can do this whole process for you for a small fee. The point is that there’s no more excuses allowed. You’re going to start a business right now. I’ll do this for free for the first 5 people that email me.

What are you going to do?

I gave you the only 6 steps that you need for starting a business right now. You can feel motivated for five minutes and do nothing. On the other hand, you can follow the tips in here to actually get started with your new online business with practically no money involved.

Studenomics is about taking action. If you’re not willing to take action, then please consider finding another blog to read. If you’re serious about starting a business to see if you have what it takes you need to sign up for your domain and get the ball rolling. You can watch The Simpsons while you do this.

Total money involved: about $5.95/month.

Total time invested: few hours to think of a topic and 30 minutes to get everything setup.

You can either sign up with Bluehost right now or check out the competitor:

For most students, school is back in session, and the grind to make money is back. Many jobs on campus are already filled up, and there may be only a few positions left, which are probably the jobs no one wanted in the first place. You can still make money without an on campus job by starting your own business. Starting a business on a college campus can be very lucrative, as your target market is surrounding you on a daily basis. You have places to market, a central location for your customers/clients, and even people who could help you out. So what are some good businesses to start in college?

• Tutoring: Every school term, there’s going to be a class or two that some students just don’t get, no matter how much studying they do and how many lecture hours they rack up. If you just so happen to be gifted in this subject, tutoring will be a great business for you to start. You can set your own hours and your own rate, and if it’s a subject you love, you will enjoy your job even more.
• Fitness Coach: The freshman fifteen is real! Many students gain weight once they get to college because their lifestyle changes. They aren’t as active and they definitely don’t eat as healthy. If you’re in great shape, you can offer to be a fitness coach or trainer to your fellow peers. The resources are on campus, which can include a gym or just an open campus. You can set up schedules, nutrition plans, and just do some one on one consulting.
• Chef: A lot of students who are away for college will definitely miss their mom’s home cooking. You can get sick and tired of dining hall food, and you will quickly exhaust your fast food resources. Although you may not have a full kitchen, if you’re allowed a hot plate, a crockpot, and a rice cooker, you can make amazing meals and sell them to your peers. This will definitely be a great and lucrative business for aspiring caterers.
• Give a ride: There’s plenty of students on campus who like to go home regularly, and that requires getting to the airport. If they don’t have a car, how are they going to get there? Offer a ride! Your most busiest seasons will be during Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Spring Breaks, as well as on 3 day weekends. If you live in town, this can be a great business.
• Resume writing: Let’s face it: the career center can only teach us so much about a resume. Some people just don’t get it. Your classmates will be willing to pay for a stellar resume that can land them a job. How awesome will that feel that your job is to help other students get jobs?
• Listing for apartments, internships and events: A lot of students are looking for information about available apartments, internships or even events to attend. If you’re the know-it-all on campus, and know about all the happenings, you should consider either setting up a website or a publication that lists apartments, internships and events for a small fee.

There’s so many things you can do as a side hustle or a main hustle while you’re at college. Think about what resources you have available, what your peers need/want, and see if you’re able and willing to provide for them.

Carnival Inclusions:

• Totally Money Blog Carnival #34

When you’re starting your own business, it can be pretty tough if you’re doing it by yourself. A lot of startup businesses say that having a partner has made things a lot easier for them. With a partner, you have someone to help you, someone to rely on, someone to delegate to, and ultimately someone who can make decisions with you (or for you in some situations). Finding a partner can be difficult though. It has to be someone you trust, someone you have chemistry with, someone who understands you, and someone who is as passionate about the business as you are. Who’s a better partner than your significant other or your spouse? Couples can make great dual entrepreneurs. Here are some great small businesses for couples:

• Childcare: Childcare can be a fulfilling and lucrative business for a couple. You can have your own kids or enjoy helping other parents with their kids. Many daycare services are set up in the owner’s home, so if you have extra space for the children, this can be a nice place to set up shop. Couples can split up the duties for childcare. One person can focus on the teaching, and the other can focus on cooking and transportation. The partnership in this type of business can be very rewarding.
• Restaurant: People can tell when food is made from love, and that’s the best kind of food. A husband/wife owned restaurant can definitely be a great business. If one person is good at cooking and the other person has a business mindset, you can have a successful restaurant. Decide on a menu, look for a location, and start recruiting a staff if need be. In these days, you don’t even need a restaurant in one location. Food trucks could be a great opportunity for you and your lover to live out your foodie dreams!
• Retail: The retail industry is broad and can include just about anything you can sell. It can be clothes, appliances, technology, furniture, anything! Find out what you and your spouse both enjoy, decide whether you would like to create your own brand or sell other trusted products as an affiliate or vendor, and set up shop. The great thing is you can set up a store online, and maintain your business from the comfort of your home.
• Blogging: One of my favorite blogs is ran by a husband and wife team. I love that I can get the perspective of both the man and the woman. If there’s something you and your significant other both enjoy, start a blog about it! You can split up the amount of editorial work, work on the business aspect like advertising, and have double the promotion power.
• Bed and Breakfast: Another home based business, a bed and breakfast can be a nice venture for you and your spouse. You can either set up your primary home for the location, or find another home for the lodging. Decorate it nicely, choose some good meal options for your guests, and just be all around courteous. A lot of guests enjoy when a couple runs a bed and breakfast, as it can set a peaceful and romantic mood for their stay.

If you’re interested in starting your own business, talk to your other half about it and see if they would be interested in going into business as your partner. It could make your relationship that much stronger. You can also be surprised by what networking can do for you. Network and discover other opportunities like Tom Mower and his marketing successes.

Are you waiting for that great idea to start a business with? Are you looking for the next breakout idea? Do you think that the only thing holding you back is a great idea? I’m here to tell you that ideas are worthless and taking action is priceless.

What’s the simple solution for finding the perfect idea? The simple answer is to start taking action. Waiting for that right idea will only delay action and hold us back. Searching for a new idea is often just an excuse to not do anything without feeling guilty about it. When you start taking action you start to move into new directions that will surprise you.

Generating ideas is the smart way to do things. It makes sense to explore your options and to know what ideas are out there. Brainstorming and keeping notes is very effective. However, brainstorming is completely different from waiting for a perfect idea that will never come to fruition.

Waiting for the perfect idea is a waste of time. It really is because that “perfect idea” will never come. I’ve been guilty of this way too many times. Just a few hours ago I caught myself searching for workout routines online. The problem is that I already have a great workout plan. That’s not my problem. My issues is my eating habits and eating out too often. Instead of worrying about finding the next great training plan, I need to tackle the real issue here.

Taking action simply trumps everything. When you don’t take any action, you won’t see any results. Everything is just hypothetical.

Now you might be thinking, what was the point of this article? I want you guys to get into the habit of taking action instead of waiting. When it doubt always take the next small step. This will take you much further than just complaining or not doing anything productive.

Briana is a 20 year old newlywed who became an Internet entrepreneur after facing a layoff. She’s now working on my financial independence one step at a time, and documents her progress on 20 and Engaged.

A business luncheon here, a meetup happy hour there. Networking events are more than free food. They can be a lot of fun and a great opportunity to meet new people. Many people find contacts that will further boost their business, or partners who can offer the best products and services around. Although they can be intimidating, you should always be on your toes at networking events. Here are 5 tips for entrepreneurs to keep in mind when they’re out networking:

1. Always have plenty of business cards: Showing up to a networking event without business cards is the equivalent of saying “I’m not serious about my business, and you shouldn’t take me seriously either.” Business cards can often end conversations on a good note. It also gives people your contact information if they have something in mind for you. Be sure to include the important information such as what you do, a number they can reach you, and an e-mail address you check often. There’s nothing worse than trying to get in touch with someone who doesn’t answer their phone and doesn’t check their messages. Don’t be that guy or girl.
2. Keep a digital portfolio handy: Even if you just started your business, in order to be seen as a professional, many people are going to want to see some of your past work. Depending on the type of work you do, you may or may not be able to bring a physical portfolio with you to an event. A great way to keep people engaged is to include a link to a digital portfolio. You can set up a webpage specifically for your past experience, and include this link on your business card. You can get a little more interactive and include the link as a QR code, where the person can see your work right there by scanning the code with their cell phone. Make it easy for them.
3. Polish your elevator pitch: When people are asking you what you do or what your business is about, you don’t want to fill your pitch with filler words like “um”, “well”, “sort of”, “like”, etc. Make sure your elevator pitch is polished. You should be able to briefly explain your business in 30 seconds or less and get right to the point. If they want to know more about it, you should also have the expanded version memorized as well. Someone who fumbles through their pitch can be seen as inexperienced. A good pitch answers the important questions: what’s your product/service, who does it service, why is it sustainable/successful, and how does it work.
4. Follow up with people you connect with: So you got a handful of business cards and you’re sitting by your phone or e-mail address waiting for them to contact you. Why don’t you contact them?  People everywhere are busy doing what they need to do for their business, but you’ll be appreciated for following up with them. A phone call or e-mail would be appropriate, simply saying it was great to meet them at the networking event, and that you hope to be able to connect with them again in the future.
5. Promote them like you want them to promote you: Networking can’t be a one sided deal where you’re just looking for exposure for your brand. When you meet people, they’re there for the exact same reason. Keep them in mind as you’re further networking with others. If someone is looking for a person who is in a certain field, and you happened to have met that person at a previous event, offer to connect the two. They’ll both appreciate your effort, and you’ll be remembered for similar situations. Entrepreneurs experience similar difficulties, and try to stick together and help each other as much as possible.

Whether you’re amongst your peers or outnumbered by more experienced and higher ranking people in your field, the crowd is all the same and the tips remain relevant despite the crowd. Stay confident, and don’t make it all about you.

Have you been thinking about starting your own business for the longest time? Are you holding back for some reason? Do you know what’s holding you back? I think I have a clue.

What’s holding back most young and aspiring entrepreneurs?

Deciding on one specific business idea to get started with.

I really think that information overload is a productivity killer. Before I started Studenomics I would research random BS on the internet for hours. One blog would lead to another and 3 hours would pass by without me doing anything productive. I would convince myself that I was working on coming up with a great business idea. I was just wasting time and not really getting much accomplished.

I could also go on with this post for a few more paragraphs. I won’t. You’ll end up in the same boat I was in mid-2008.

All I want you aspiring entrepreneurs to do is to try is to think of one specific business idea that interests you. You need to narrow it down to one key business idea. You also need to stick with this option. Chasing 10 different ideas will just lead to you taking longer to get actually started. Please share your idea with us here.