When you decide that you would like to go into business for yourself,
the first step is deciding on a type of business that fits your idea
of "comfortable" and "fun". After all, the whole reason you want to go
into business for yourself is the fact that what you are doing right
now is "uncomfortable", and "not fun".

So, the first thing you should do is make a personal assessment of who
you are. For instance, what do you like? What are your favorite
hobbies? Do you like working with or around people? Or, are you a
homebody? Do you have any skills that could help you (such as typing,
office skills, organizational skills, etc.)? What do you dislike?

Yes, what you dislike is as important as what you like. Without
knowing what your dislikes are, you are liable to turn your projects
into something that you don't want to do, but end up stuck with.
Figuring out what you dislike before-hand will enable you to plan
accordingly, and make sure that what you dislike does not interfere
with what you are trying to build. Dislikes help you decide policies
and procedures that you normally would not think of when writing out
your business plan.

For instance: Do you like or dislike knocking on stranger's doors? Are
you comfortable or uncomfortable talking to strangers face to face?
How do you feel about telephones? Do you feel differently about emails
or letter writing through postal mail?

If you are comfortable talking to people face to face, then you should
start out with products that you believe in, and go for the direct
selling technique. However, if you are more comfortable with writing,
you may want to consider a mail order type business, or an internet
business.

Whatever type of business you choose, it will be up to you to decide
the best marketing strategies to fit your needs. You will be making
list after list of what works, what doesn't work, and why you feel it
failed, and how you think you could have improved the methods. After
all, whatever business you decide to get yourself into will be up to
you to promote. If it fails, it will be because either the market
wasn't there, or the promotion wasn't there. Both reasons will be your
own responsibility to account for.

While deciding what is "comfortable" and "fun" will help alleviate the
worry and dread of working at what you enjoy, we must remember that
running your own business is work -- and sometimes it requires
breaking a sweat in order to make a profit. So, once you have decided
what is "comfortable" and "fun", you will need to decide what skills
you are best at that will help you manage and promote your business.

Test your targeted market by using several methods, at first, to
promote your business. Find the one that works best for you, and then
be consistent. When you are doing something you enjoy doing, doing it
every day doesn't seem so hard.

About the Author
Shonda Ponder is the owner and editor of Texas Express News. She is
also an Independent Sales Representative for several direct sales
companies, and can be reached by writing to
ponderaa1@directvinternet.com.