Starting Your Own Business

by Crystal Paine

I am so impressed with your website and business. I found you through Rhea's site and just went to her conference in Phoenix . So far, I have had so much information, and yet to start anything! How did you learn to do what you are doing? I need help from the very start - especially the website! Do you have a mentor or are you working alongside anyone else? - Stacy

I get emails like the above quite regularly. There are a host of people who want to start their own business, but they don't know where to start. Though I don't consider myself to be in any shape or form an expert, and have much left to learn, I am always happy to share what I have learned.

1) Seek the Lord and your authority. Not everyone is called to have their own business and not every woman needs to have her own business. It is imperative that you have the Lord's direction and your authority's blessing before you set out. If you are wanting to do something to earn an income from home, I especially encourage you to consider starting a small family business. Get the whole family involved. Don't just let it be mom's thing or dad's thing! Involve your children. They will learn invaluable skills from the experience, even if it flops on it's face!

2) Do Something. If you have the direction of the Lord and the blessing of your authority, step out in faith and do something. Businesses don't just happen, I can guarantee you of that. They take a lot of time, a lot of work, a lot of prayer, a lot of effort. Many people want to do something and they will talk your ear off about all their brilliant ideas. If one never does anything with their ideas you will never have a successful business. Don't just talk about it, start something! And then don't just start something, finish it! If you want to write a book or an ebook (see this article for more help on writing ebooks), don't start ten and then never finish any of them. It is easy to start a project, finishing it can be a much different thing. Even if you do something and it isn't very successful, you will learn a lot which will help you do it even better, the next time around.

3) Surround Yourself With Wise People. People often ask me how I do what I do or how I know what I know. Very simple: I learned early in life to surround myself with those who are much smarter and wiser than me. Seek out people who know more than you and sit at their feet and soak up what they have to share. Ask questions and listen to their answers. Ask advice. Ask for input. Bounce your ideas of them.

4) Never Stop Learning. Even if you have a successful business, never, ever think you know everything. Always be seeking to do things better and more efficiently. Read every book you can get your hands on about your subject. Read articles. Listen to tapes. Attend online teleconferences. Go to conferences. Bottom line: Always be seeking out opportunities to learn and grow.

5) Don't Be Afraid of Failure. My motto : Better to try and fail, than to not try at all. Better to aim high and miss than to not aim at all. I've tried a lot of times, I've tried a lot of things. I've also failed a lot of times. But, I've sought to learn from those failures. Don't be discouraged by failure. Face it head on and seek to learn all you can from it. Not every business venture will be successful, but every business venture can be a learning experience. Even if you don't make a cent off of something and end up losing money (Been there, done that.), squeeze every possible thing you can learn from the experience out of it and it will be worth the time and money you invested in it.

Crystal Paine is a 24-year-old homeschool graduate from Topeka, Kansas. She is the blessed wife of Jesse and joyful mother of Kathrynne. Visit her site, Biblical Womanhood, for books, articles, encouragement, and inspiration!

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