I Am The Boss Now...And YOU Can Be TOO!

To receive our special report on running your own business, subscribe to our Newsletter

Entrepreneur's Journal

Month 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6

Welcome to I Am The Boss Now.biz! Hi, I'm Robin, and a few months back, I lost a job that I loved and was good at. After the initial shock work off, though, I decided that I would rather be self-employed than unemployed, and in only 90 days, I got a website up and running and bought my first real estate investment property. It's been easy, and it's been fun, and the fact that you're here tells me that you'd like to know how you can do it too. In this space, I'll share with you the bottom line as I get started, and the stories of other employees-turned-entrepreneurs and how they did it: First, here's my story:

NOVEMBER 2003

For the past few years, I had been thinking about, even learning a little about, various ways to make some money outside of my day job, but never really got around to doing anything about it. Then one day, in the middle of a great week following a great business trip, I was told that my services were no longer required by the company where I had worked for many years. The timing was great -- I had just returned from an incredible 3-day wealth-building seminar (more about that in a few minutes). Maybe this was just the push I needed.

So I declared myself president and CEO of Me, Inc.!

I sat down at my computer in search of the secrets to getting rich from the comfort of my own home. And I was OVERWHELMED with a profusion of information and opportunities -- it almost made me want to update my resume and just look for another job! (Almost, but not quite -- getting up late and starting work at noon was just TOO MUCH FUN.)

So I set to work, wading through all the webpages and special reports to figure out what was the right path for me to take.

Now what? I was never a person who got real satisfaction from work, and had no great dreams of running my own company -- I never wanted to work that hard. But the thought of looking for another job and starting all over, dealing with bossy bosses and difficult co-workers...nope, there had to be a better way. I had been studying Robert Allen's Multiple Streams of Income strategy, and decided that playing with the computer was fun, I'd start with a web business. My internet teachers said "pick a topic you're interested in". I thought, "Starting my own business." And I AM THE BOSS NOW was born. It seemed so simple -- and it was! I would create a place where people in the midst of new entrepreneurial chaos could come and find eduction, inspiration, empowerment and clarity as they start a new phase of their business lives.

Please allow me to digress a minute here and tell you about Harv Eker and his Peak Potentials training. One of the world's leading gurus on wealth building, and one of the best, most energetic motivational speakers I've ever seen, Harv , through his company Peak Potentials, leads a four-day seminar called "the Millionaire Mindset", which I attended through my association with the Enlightened Millionaire Institute. This four-day program totally transformed my relationship with money, more than ANY other work I had done -- and I've done a lot! Once again, I absolutely recommend looking into Peak Potentials Training for anyone who wants to bring more prosperity and abundance into their lives. Live seminars are available in selected cities and by teleconference for those who can't get to the sites. Click here for more information on the tele-seminars and to learn how to get TWO FREE TICKETS to the live training from Peak Potentials. Peak Potentials training.

Okay, back to reality.

Just a few weeks have gone by since I lost my job, but already, I have a plan. I've cleaned up my apartment, created a work space for myself, and now I'm off to Florida to visit my family for an extended Thanksgiving vacation.

back to top

DECEMBER 2003

Greetings from sunny Florida. I take my cell phone and my business book (The Girls Guide to Starting Your Own Business by Caitlin Friedman and Kimberly Yorio) out onto the beach. Great book, clear, concise, easy to read and full of valuable information.

Hmmm, so this is what working for myself will be like! I love my new lifestyle already. The ocean in front of me, open sky above -- on a Tuesday! I savor the sights, the sounds, the scent. This is a memory I want to have to refer back to when things start to get tough, as I imagine they will sometime. I visualize myself in the not to distant future in a similar place, working from a beautiful, comfortable place while the money rolls in. This is my dream job.

Flash forward two weeks. It's the middle of the holiday season, I am back in cold and snowy New York, I have the flu, and I've completely lost my motivation for this business thing. I send out an email to all my friends and associates for support, and decide to hire a coach. I give myself a break for a few days, and then, because I have a very tough boss, it's back to the website.

back to top

January 2004

Happy New Year! Back to work! I can't believe it's been 6 weeks already. While I have already accomplished so much, there's still so much to do! But, order is starting finally to emerge from the chaos. I am taking several classes per week in internet marketing through the Enlightened Millionaire Institute. I found EMI through an incredible book I read, the One Minute Millionaire. This book definitely showed me the possibility of wealth and abundance in my life.

The One Minute Millionaire, and the Enlightened Millionaire Institute, are the result of a partnership between Robert Allen, one of the world's leading authorities on real estate investing and author of the best selling book ever on buying property with no money down, and Mark Victor Hansen, co-author of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series. These gentlemen have brought together in a clear and coherent manner the two sides of wealth-building -- the practical and the spiritual -- and have made it their lives' mission to share their knowledge. Through them, I've been educated, motivated and given the tools and the contacts to succeed in building my own personal empire. To me, they are the best of the best, and I highly encourage anyone even thinking about starting a home-based business to visit their website and take advantage of their amazing getting started package.

Speaking of books...Several months ago, before this whole business thing was even a glimmer of thought, a friend recommended a book that had had a profound effect on her relationship with money. The book is called Absolutely Effortless Prosperity by a self-made millionaire and motivational speaker named Bijan, and since I respected the friend who made the recommendation, I ordered it.

Absolutely Effortless Prosperity is a series of short readings, five-minutes-a-day at most, and I began incorporating the practice of a brief reading every morning into my schedule. And somehow, amazingly, money started to flow to me! I canÕt explain how it works, but it does. I continue and expand my reading on creating wealth and abundance. I read Don't Worry, Make Money by Richard Carlson author of Don't Sweat the Small Stuff. Dr. Carlson is another incredible motivator and completely down to earth, and the 100 lessons in this book last three months of mornings.

I decide to hire a business coach to get me through this rough patch. I have used coaches before (please check out my excellent former coach, Bob Mundy, dispensing advice and wisdom on our Coach's Corner page) and they have really helped me accomplish things that seemed beyond my reach. My business coach, John, provides three very valuable things: 1) He is teaching me to think like, act like and BE a CEO rather than an employee, 2) He points out blind spots that may be stopping me (you know, the things you don't know that you don't know), and 3) He holds me accountable for doing what I say I am going to do. Having a coach has been so so helpful in keeping me on track. As motivated and positive thinking as I am, I sometimes get stopped. John has also encouraged me to acknowledge myself for what I have accomplished. In your own business, you have to do everything by and for yourself, and honestly, no one can operate completely on their own. I make the decision to build my team, comprised of people who can do what I can't or don't want to. John is number one.

Next, I hire Alan Bennett, who puts this website together for me. Again, I can learn how to do it, but my time and money is better spent giving the work to someone who already knows how, and enjoys doing it. It helps support other small business owners, who will become my new support network, and it frees me up to do what I do best.

Now that my time is a little more organized, I head off to Orlando for an "Enlightened Wealth Retreat" sponsored by EMI. It's three days of information and motivation, it's included in my tuition, I bring a friend, and we get very excited about adding real estate investing to our businesses. Together, we follow up the seminar by spending a week in Fort Lauderdale, looking at Florida real estate. We spend several long days seeing apartments and learning the market; so far, nothing feels right. But we have signed up for a follow-up trip to a three day real estate investing class, and we're on our way. I practice saying, when people ask me what I do, "I am a real estate investor and I own a small internet business". I cannot do it with a straight face. :)

back to top

February 2004

I'm so excited about going back to Florida and studying and buying real estate that I'm not working as much as I should be on my website (but thanks to my commitment and to my coach, I remain in action, and it continues to take shape). It seems my days are filled up with looking for a lawyer, looking for an accountant, and trying to come to an agreement about the proper business structure for my new business. Sole Proprietor? S-Corp.? C-Corp? LLC? Everyone has a different philosophy. This may be one thing I need to figure out for myself. Ex-Boyfriend to the Rescue -- he lends me a book by Robert Kiyosaki's financial planner, Loopholes of the Rich, part of the Rich Dad, Poor Dad series. It gives me a wealth of information on the topic. Mid-month, it's back to Orlando for more real estate investing training. But first, 2 quick days in Fort Lauderdale, where a broker friend takes me to see a some pre-construction homes just two miles from the beach. Looks like they will be beautiful, the price is right -- there's a discount built in -- and I buy one! By the time we get to Orlando, I can proudly say "I am a real estate investor" and be telling the truth!

I have bought my first investment property. Very little money down. Profit potential -- great. Career potential -- priceless!

back to top

MARCH 2004

Hi, I'm a real estate investor and I own an internet business. Really. I begin to identify myself with those words, and people respond. They're interested, and I'm knowledgeable. My website is almost ready. I'm driving around my state, talking to government officials about providing housing for the elderly and homeless, talking to contractors and bankers and brokers. I spend my days on the phones with lawyers and accountants, finalizing my financial plans. I spend two afternoons every week coaching inner-city 4th and 5th grade kids on how to get everything they want out of life, and it plants a seed for a future business -- financial education for kids and teens. I'm thinking like a CEO! Next, I'm off to Las Vegas, the #1 market in the country right now for real estate, to try to get in on the gold rush. I'm heading into the home stretch.

back to top

APRIL 2004

We're off. As I push the button to make my website live, and I prepare to fax an offer on a home to my Las Vegas broker, it suddenly occurs to me. I did it. I am self-employed. And hopefully I've helped you realize that you can be too. If I can do it, anyone can do it. And I have done it.

If you're ready to get started, please click here to visit my Best Businesses page. I've gathered connections to some of the BEST programs and the BEST teachers to send you on your way. Pick a topic and get started.

You can do it.

back to top

Come back soon and read other inspiring stories of successful entrepreneurs. Or better yet -- become one! Just promise you'll share your story here.

Here's to Being the Boss!

back to top