Are You One Of Us?
Out of more than 28 million small businesses in the United States, 23 million are “non-employers” according to the U.S. Small Business Administration.That means no one has a job there except the owners. My hunch is that most have chosen not to hire employees for a simple reason – they don’t want to!
It’s amazing that there are 23 million independent folks – most of them just like you and I – that have started their successful small one-person (or couple) business, doing what they want to, not what the boss tells them to do. And because you’re reading this, I’m guessing you feel that way too.
One of the best ways to become a “solopreneur” is to start a service business. Why? With a service business, you can earn a good to great income without giving up your freedom. For most service businesses, startup costs are low because you don’t need a store or a fancy office, inventory or expensive equipment.
Many of the most profitable service businesses don’t require a college degree or expensive training to start. A home watch business is a good example, as you can learn as you go. All you need is good old-fashioned common sense and a willingness to learn as you go.
I’ve started several service businesses in my life – most on a shoestring budget – and learned that honesty and a willingness to go the extra mile to give customers what they want can help a business grow like a weed. Just listen to your customers and you’ll do well.
One of the reasons I wrote this guidebook is so you and others could enjoy the freedom, both personal and financial, that owning your own business can bring. In that same spirit, a percentage of the profits from sales of this book are donated to Kiva (www.kiva.org), an international organization that helps people around the world (mostly in third world countries where $5 a day is considered a good income) start their own small business. I like to think of them as my “extended family” and am happy when I hear of their successes, just as a letter or email from a reader who used the lessons in one of my guidebooks to start their own profitable small service business is great news. Thank you for your continued support … Craig Wallin
