personal development

The best thing happening to entrepreneurs is unlimited options.

Being an entrepreneur makes you break traditional boundaries and go with the best options and opportunities offered on the deal table.

In business financing, as an entrepreneur, you are often offered (and doctrinised) by the common financing options - using bank loans, borrowing from friends and family, searching for venture capital, factoring, and using credit cards.

But what if your previous bankruptcy is haunting you? What if you don’t have collaterals to take bank loan because you are in bootstrapping mode? What if you are having a mediocre credit score?

Some would suggest you to take a job and get into the workforce again. Some would suggest you to stop trying to be an entrepreneur at all. Some would even suggest you to borrow from loan shark!

If you are in such position and bothered by those suggestion, then consider other, non traditional, financing options.

Personal short term loan

You might have heard about payday loan, cash advance and other alternative route to financing. If you are considering those options, please also consider personal short term loan.

Personal short term loans, in simple, are personal loans that don’t require paperwork and long approval process, like the traditional bank loans, and do have a lower APR than payday loan, along with a convenient payment options.

Short term loans, or installment loans, allow you to pay off your loan in installment fashion until your balance is paid off. This way, your loan payment and due date is predictable.

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Small business owner always have these things in mind - how to maximise profit, minimise overhead, manage human resource, secure financing and win clients.

Money, money, money.

Many owners forget that not all small business ownership always related to money.

Being successful doesn’t always mean more money, and to success doesn’t always mean making more money. There are privileges and responsibilities of small business owner that does not even related to money.

Why bother to do things beyond money

Come on, now. You are labeled ’successful’ not because you are an ace in running your small business. Your local community offers you the privilege to make good money in it.

A proof - great business in wrong location means bankruptcy - Sadly, I learn about this first-hand. On the contrary, a mediocre business in a prime location can pump revenue into your business, enough to buy you time to oil your business and perfect your business plan to grow.

So, if you consider yourself a successful small business owner, think of ways to give back to your local community. You can do this even without spending a dime - well, a little may be, unlike philanthropy acts businesses commonly did.

Why? Because I believe there are ways in the world that can do good, with or without involving money. Money buys convenience. But giving back to your community without spending money is a challenge.

I call it guerrilla philanthropy

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This blog post is inspired by Yaro Starak’s blog post - Is Internet Marketing Just Another Fools Gold Rush?.

He mainly talks about the analogy of Internet marketing as fools gold rush - that is, the period when gold rush craze era begin. Yaro explained that during that time, the smartest of all is the business people that sell shovels, picks and other tools to search for gold. The first and early prospectors did struck gold, big time. Unfortunately, as the story of their success spread like wild fire, most new prospectors left empty handed.

The analogy explain Internet marketing - many said Internet marketing early ‘prospectors’ are the one who struck gold and being rich, while Internet marketing experts sell tools (”shovels and picks”) on how to make money online, as the craze era begin, just like the gold rush era.

Some so-called Internet marketing experts sell getting rich online tools, that actually don’t make them rich themselves! This is what Yaro called the blind leading the blind.

While Yaro agreed at some point that the reality of Internet marketing is just like the modern world pyramid scheme, he insists that the continuing growth of resources and demand will keep Internet marketing and online business a promising land. Moreover, he indicates that today is just the early days of the Internet marketing industry and online business as a whole.

But then, why only a few made it, if it is still early?

How to be the few who made it

Here is a question that you have been asking yourself during your make money online journey - “If online business is so lucrative, why only a few made it?”

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I want to learn more, every day. Continuous learning - with the cool word kaizen - is my key to stay competitive and explore new opportunities.

I learn through forums, webinars, ‘inner circle’ memberships and online degree programs.

While most places I learn in offer free access, some of them are costing you money for a reason - quality. Let’s focus on online degree.

Entrepreneurs need a college degree?

With all the responsibilities I have today - family to take care, business to manage and opportunities to rake - the only way I can obtain a degree is through online education.

Why online degree? In fact, why a degree?

To tell you the truth, I hate commuting and attending classes, and would like to learn from the comfort of my home - so an online degree is a perfect fit for my situation. An example of online university is University of Phoenix, located in nearly 200 locations US-wide.

Entrepreneurs - do you have a college degree? If not, I would like to convince you to have one. A college degree does offer you more ‘leads’ and opportunities.

A college degree is relevant in entrepreneurship?

I know what you are thinking… Why I need a degree if I can get what I have now with the way I am? What a degree can signify?

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Your health is your asset - a bit too often to hear about this, but it is true all the way.

I believe the importance of health is multiplied if you own a business, and the business is heavily dependent on you.

Unless you own a big business or an automated business running with or without you, your health is your business critical success factor.

Business owners - insure yourself

Not only your business need insurance coverage, but also you, the business owner, need one in the form of individual insurance, such as life insurance and health insurance.

Consider this - unless you live alone, your family and your nearest people depend on you. Have you ever thought what will happen if your health failed you?

Yes, they would be sad. But more important issue - who run the business if you are the one who runs it?

Surprising fact about health insurance

The importance of health insurance is well known and well proven. However, there are some surprising fact about insurance coverage.

Person under the age of 65 in US:

• Number uninsured: 43.0 million (2007)
• Percent uninsured: 16.4 (2007)

Source: cdc.gov

Health insurance in the US do not cover its population well. 16 per cent of US population is at stake of having their income ‘on halt’ due to illness.

Being healthy is part of investment plan

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I admit it - I am a game freak. I play online games, I play console games, and I play PC games.

I can play 18 hours a day non stop, and now I stop doing it because I have businesses and family to give my attention to :)

But my passion on games is never receding.

In fact, playing games keeps me sharp and creative.

How games help entrepreneurs to be more creative and productive

Games can help entrepreneurs to be more creative and a better decision maker.

I particularly enjoy strategy and sport games. Both games categories help me think strategically and tactically.

You see, as researchers concluded - interactivity is key to better learning. This is not only particularly true for children development, but also true for entrepreneurs.

Employee training in some big companies uses multimedia training with high interactivity - even with game-like environment, to help employees gain more and better understanding on the subject they were trained for.

Even in some companies, there are game rooms to be enjoyed by the employees - the purpose is to achieve better socialisation and communication, better creativity and lesser stress level. All benefits both the company and the employees.

In my opinion, mini games with simple concepts can help you a bit differently - it is easy to understand but challenging to play. Moreover, being simple, the games are actually help entrepreneurs to take a break from their hectic schedule and stress, while ‘train’ their creativity.

TD Games or Tower Defense games - a genre of strategy games, for example - help me to think tactically as well as quick decision making. I guess Malcolm Gladwell, the Blink! bestseller book author, play TD Games a lot… :D

If you are not keen on playing computer or console games, I think you should try to play a game or two right now, given the benefits of them.

Treat them like the seminars you are invited to come but you feel lazy to attend - they are actually useful, whether you interested on the subject or not :)

Ivan Widjaya
Gamer-entrepreneur

It is darn hard to create money out of blogs - that includes this blog :P

Bloggers are well known for free content providers. Bloggers are also known as being generous when it comes to providing valuable information. However, bloggers are not known for money makers.

Only a few of us that can make real money out of their blogs - Yaro Starak, John Chow, and Darren Rowse to name a few that earn the title of probloggers - that is, those that have authoritative voices in blogging world.

Bloggers - Hidden Champions?

I’ve visited blogs with excellent content, but not monetised well. But I’ve also noticed that more and more of them are trying to monetize their blogs, with a small success.

Here’s how I observe them - I observe what a blog can do financially by visiting Sitepoint Marketplace often.

There, you will find websites, which some of them are blogs, listed for sale. Some of them are mediocre, but some of them are exceptional.

The good ones I’ve seen has made anywhere from $50 to $1000 per month.

Not particularly a bad earning for a blog, but given the potentials that blogs have, I firmly believe that blogs can do more financially following the right path to go.

A million dollar blogger - good possibilities to be one?

I’ve recently stumbled upon Yaro Starak’s interview with one of the problogger in Australia’s automotive blogs, Alborz Fallah. His automotive blog is among the leading blogs in Australia, and has been valued by certified auditors for 5 million dollars. He raked in $30,000 a month about one year ago - so, go figure it yourself how much he makes nowadays :)

Just make sure you read his post and listen to the interview podcast, then you will see a simple, yet powerful, perspective of blog monetization.

Saying this, I am a total noob in blogging - I’m still at beginner’s stage of blogging. I swallow all information on make money online.

I do business online, as a noob, this past 5 months, and I learn a great deal.

One lesson that keep me faving on online businesses is that you have to take action out of what you learn. Those bloggers giving you tips for free are no rubbish! They know what they are talking about.

Perhaps not like what you are thinking of online business, make money online is actually not that complicated.

What will probably fail me and you, is our determination to stick to what we have been doing. 95% people trying to make money online fail because they stop digging right before they strike gold.

So, in conclusion, yes - being a million dollar blogger is possible, if you do the right things, keep doing them, and on the right time, at the right place. Then striking gold is suddenly not that hard anymore - if you succeed, people will go to you offering something that will only make you even more successful. This is also Alborz Fallah’s case.

The question is, do you think that being a million dollar blogger a realistic thing to achieve?

Ivan Widjaya
Aiming to be a million dollar blogger.

Love thy enemies.

That’s darn hard to do! :D

But, if you want to ace the competition in today’s business world, you have to be able to ‘play the game’ well.

One of the tipping point of your business reputation is how you handle criticism from your competitors and even sabotage from your enemies.

You have two choices to respond: Being defensive and attack your enemies; or, respond will cool-headed manner and exceptional professionalism.

Attacking your enemies can satisfy your need to be competitive, but can be damaging for your reputation. You and I know - reputation in business world is paramount.

Why don’t you use your enemies to boost your reputation? Respond with the right word and act with the right attitude, will, eventually corner your enemies and increase your reputation.

You can also face criticism and the other negatives with pride - as long as you get them, you are actually on the right track.

Consider this - If you were not a formidable opponent to your competitors, why were they bothered to attack you?

Love thy enemies - they are helpful in boosting your reputation!

Ivan Widjaya
Enemies? What enemies?

Fellow entrepreneurs - do you really know what you want in your life?

Spending extra long-hours continuously to perfect your formula for successful business, as well as countless sleepless nights to worry about your business ventures.

You are not doing that for fun, don’t you? Well a few maybe, but not many do so.

You could say that you want to be financially free, give better education for the children, become a reputed public figure, travel around the world, etc.

Most would to that for several reasons that focused on one vision - a better standard of living.

But then, is that really what you want?

Being an entrepreneur myself, I personally want to be financially free, so that I don’t have to worry about money. But beyond that, I would like to take a small, anonymous, part of donating resources for the good causes.

THAT’s what I want being an entrepreneur.

Being a successful entrepreneur surely opens many doors - But, do you really want to achieve a better standard of living?

Is that it? Then, your motive is not enough in driving you becoming a successful entrepreneur. You have to aim not only for the sky, but also for the stars.

Consider this: Always wants more to achieve more for the sake of the life itself.

Ivan Widjaya
Want more to achieve more