Beat Age Discrimination

Just recently I found a good website for the 50+ crowd called Eons. Basically, it’s a Facebook type site, where you sign-up and fill out a profile, maybe upload a picture of yourself, and make new friends by joining “groups”. In my opinion, the “groups” feature is the best thing about it as it’s where you meet people who have the same interest as you.

So after I joined I went about joining all the groups that had anything to do with online business. Within each group there is a place to post messages and members of the group can reply, which is great since it allows interaction, discussion, and debate. In one of the groups, the newest and most responded to messages was titled “Age Discrimination” and since it was the most recent, I started reading.

Oh my, was I taken aback. There was response after response with each person talking about how they had been discriminated against. I was aghast, if not stupefied, I actually had no idea that age discrimination was reality. I’ve heard the words, I understand why and how it can happen, I even know quite a few people who are horrified with the fact that they could be let go from their jobs because it would be so hard to find another job, but honestly, I’ve never seen it happen. The company I work for has recently hired quite a few people over 50 and upwards of 60 years old. I can’t imagine a company would actually pass on the opportunity to have people in their workforce who are so experienced. But then again, maybe I’m lucky to be working where I work.

Since reading those messages on Eons I’ve had some time to think and I’m quite sure age discrimination exists. However, you really can’t be sure. You have to consider that maybe those who cry age discrimination are truly not the best candidates for the job. Maybe their skills aren’t up to date for the job they’re applying for or maybe it shows that their ambition is languishing, you never know. If the applicant is now claiming age discrimination, maybe that person is prone to “playing the victim” and the interviewer picks up on that. After all, for every person that’s hired there are many job applicants and not only do the older ones get denied the position, right?

All I know is if you own your own business, you will never have to worry about age discrimination. There was one positive post on that message thread and it was by a person who does freelance writing. All her sales and correspondence occurs on the internet where people can’t see how she looks. In her experience, age has never been an issue, it never even comes up in discussions. So what does that tell you? Maybe, just maybe, as we age, owning an internet business is a good choice? And maybe, just maybe, we should start upgrading our computer and internet skills so we can start an internet business? What do you think? Could I be on to something?

If my grandfather who was taking computer classes in his EIGHTIES can do it, so can you. You can utilize the years while you’re still in the workforce to learn the skills you need and to start your business. Work that needs to be done to maintain a website can usually be done from your home computer in the evenings and weekends while you maintain your day job. If you still have time in the workforce, you could conceivably build a nice business that would provide you a nice income by your planned retirement date. Actually, building a profitable business on the internet in your spare time is not only possible but a very reasonable goal.

Internet marketing is a skill once learned can be used to promote and sell anything on the internet. What are your interests? What do you like to spend time doing? What are you good at? On the internet, you can find a niche for almost anything of interest. I’ve even heard talk of a website that sells tumbleweeds, and it’s VERY profitable. Can you believe that? You are blessed to be born in a time where doing business can be done from anywhere in the world with anyone in the world. Take a look at your blessings and don’t let them go to waste. If building a business on the internet is one of your goals, it’s one less “discrimination” you will have to deal with.

One of my favorite authors is Dan Miller. He has written a most wonderful book called “No More Mondays” that discusses work options for fulfilling your dreams. He also has a great newsletter, blog, and podcast at his website www.48days.com. Check it out for motivation about getting started on fulfilling your dream of working doing what you love.

Cheers!

Reba

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Gary Vaynerchuk - who is this guy?

Gary Vanderchuk. Who? I didn’t know until today, but I really like this guy. What do you think?

Watch his YouTube Video in the right-hand column, sorry, he uses some colorful language. Please don’t be offended by any of his references, he’s trying to get a point across. Then come back, read on and LEAVE ME A COMMENT ~ I want COMMENTS, you guys are TOO QUIET.

Go on, watch it. It’s only 15 minutes.

Gary took his parent’s small wine shop in New Jersey from $4 million a year to over $45 million in 5 years but got bored. So he decided to go in a different direction on the internet. He was featured on Nightline where they mentioned that sales are $60 million and a huge percentage is purchased over the internet.

It took Gary a while to get to where he is now and the aspect of the internet that got him there was social networking and he’s letting people know about it. By making the rounds on radio, tv, expositions, seminars, and anywhere else people will let him talk, he’s getting the message out about using social networking to build your business. And he’s getting the word out about his wine website while he’s at it.

One of the principals Gary advocates is “good ole’ fashion hard work” to get you to where you want to be. I think the reason I like him is because he’s so down to earth. Personally I’m not anything like him, I would almost be intimidated to be in a room with him even though I’m doing exactly what he’s talking about on that video. I’m working HARD. I go to my day job everyday, 8 to 5 (or 5:30 or 6:00), then I come home and work on this website. I work on this website on Saturday and this post as my proof, I work on this website on Sunday. I know, like Gary, that’s what it will take to make it successful.

And I’m here to say to you ~ you CAN make your dream of running your own business come true as well.  You just need to have Patience and Passion (Gary’s words not mine). And I want to add Persistence and I want to call it the Triple P’s. Yep, that’s what you need to make it work. Just do something you’re passionate about and be patient and persistent in learning the skills you need to make it work and then patient and persistent in building the business. BUT, not too patient, you need to then get on with it. Put in the hours. Push yourself to your limits. In time, you’ll get there.

One other thing I want to say here since my audience is Baby Boomers, never, never, never, get in the mindset that your time has past or you’re too old. That’s bull hockey. Using the internet to make your dreams come true is within everyone’s reach if you have the Triple P’s, PATIENCE, PASSION, and PERSISTENCE.

Gary’s websites:

http://www.garyvaynerchuk.com and http://www.winelibrary.tv

Thanks Gary for telling us straight!

Ciao!

Reba

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Why You Need A Business Plan

Have you considered writing a business plan for your new internet business? Many owners skip this vital step when setting up their small start-up companies. And why do you think a smart, energetic, excited and knowledgeable entrepreneur would skip this step? Precisely the reason they’re starting their business in the first place, because they’re excited and energetic and want to get things started. Writing a business plan slows down the process of getting started as it involves a lot of hard work, research, and introspective reasoning.

One of the most important things you will ever do for your business is to write a business plan. Those who take the time, do the research, and commit a plan to paper are 80% more likely to succeed with their venture. And that’s exactly the reason you need to take the time to write one. Doing the work to create a business plan will challenge any preconceived assumptions you may have and raise questions that will require you to find answers. The exercise of committing your plan to paper will highlight the strengths and weakness of your business idea and prove to you whether or not your plan is viable.

During the process of creating your business plan you will anticipate problems that may cause roadblocks for you in the future. You will learn to do research to collect information so you can make more informed decisions regarding your business. And after doing the legwork necessary to write a business plan, you will have an organized document to help you approach issues as they arise.

Since a business plan defines key areas of your business, it will become your “roadmap,” so to speak, to lead your business to a place in the future. Without this “roadmap”, it’s hard to know where you’re going and how you’re going to get there. It will also serve in the months and years to come as a measurement tool to tell you how well you’re doing against your original objectives.

In your business plan, you will articulate in narrative form the following key strategies:

• Executive Summary – a compelling overview of the entire plan
• Company Profile – what the business does and how it will make money
• Business History – only necessary if expanding an existing business
• Marketing Plan – how you will market your products including market trends, target market, competitive analysis, and distributions strategy
• Operational Strategy – how you plan to make your product including information about inventory, processes, risk management, facility, equipment
• Management Team – key personnel and their background
• Financial Plan – start-up costs, income statement (projected revenue, cost of goods sold and expenses for the first year of business), cash flow analysis, breakeven analysis, balance sheet (assets, liabilities, and equity), explanation for the use of funds, and expected outcome
• Conclusions/Actions – what are the actions needed to fulfill your plan

As you can see, there is a lot of information that needs to be analyzed and a lot of research will need to be done before you can even sit down to write your plan. If you’re feeling a little lost about where to start, don’t panic. Don’t expect to be able to just whip this out in one afternoon, and don’t skip the hard questions for if you ask and answer them now, before you commit your investment money to your new venture, you will be way ahead of your competitors.

I found two excellent resources to help you organize your business plan and all the information that needs to be considered. They are both free, the first is a business plan workbook that leads you through the exercises and asks the questions you need to answer. The second is a software program that takes you step by step in writing your plan. Using these two resources in conjunction with each other gives you everything you need to know about how a business plan is presented and what information needs to be included. All downloads offered at www.download.com have been tested and are certified virus and spyware free, so be sure to take the time to download these excellent resources and get started today writing the “roadmap” to your next new venture.

http://www.download.com/The-Business-Plan-Workbook/3000-2066_4-10073482.html?tag=mncol&cdlPid=8742938

http://www.download.com/Ultimate-Business-Plan-Starter/3000-2066_4-10380256.html?tag=mncol&cdlPid=10599927

Reba

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