The Entrepreneurial Highway is Launched!

OK...today is inauguration day for the Entrepreneurial Highway. My intention here is to create a one-of-a-kind blog dedicated to newbie entrepreneurs who want do make the transition from jobs (that they probably hate) to starting a small business. After getting the blog successfully launched, I'll be pairing it with a Podcast...somewhere...

Since this is as much my blogging initiation as it is the launch of the Entrepreneurial Highway, I thought I'd provide a bit of insight on where I'm going with this thing. What's the purpose, anyway? Let me start by telling you of my journey to entrepreneurship; that will be a natural segue into why I started the blog. At the same time, I am hoping you can relate to the journey as it might sound strikingly similar to yours.

Back in the day (1982 actually), I can still clearly remember my eyeballs falling out of my head as I data-entered yet another string of mindless numbers into a computer. I was 20 years old, a computer professional, and hated my obviously dead-end job. Jobs and I didn't gel; In fact, I'd either quit or been fired from every job I'd had.

On that particular day, I can remember pondering how I was ever going to survive in the world if the job thing is what it took to survive. Like so many of you reading this, I hated my job, I hated my boss controlling my life, and I hated being controlled by a time clock. Who invented the lunch half-hour anyway? Worst of all, the money was never any good! I couldn't even afford my own apartment.

At that point, I knew nothing about being an entrepreneur other than being fascinated by the late-night TV infomercials for business opportunities and real estate investing. And, boy did they resonate with me. I think I attended every 'seminar' that came to town. For those of you who remember him, I think I was the first attendee at Tom Vu's real estate program. Then, it was on to the library to pick up any and every book on small business, investing, finances, marketing they had available.

As I said, those programs really resonated with me -- those amazing testimonials -- people speaking of earning money from home, not having a boss, and not working that blasted 9-5 day after day after day schedule. In my wildest fantasies I dreamed of being able to take my time at lunch, sitting at the docks in Annapolis, Maryland where I lived at the time, drinking iced tea, and making deals. Little did I know that in one short year I'd be doing just that...a dream come true.

My escape came later that year when I began taking my computer skills out into the public as a consultant and trainer. That small, part-time venture, started evenings and weekends to simply make some extra money, ended up being my ticket to be my own boss - permanantly. It provided time freedom, exciting creative work, no boss, and income four-times what I was making in that supposedly good job I had.

I never looked back. You never will either! Why would you willingly go back into the 9-5 grind when you can have the freedom/income/creative outlet/autonomy/you name it you've wanted? If you here yourself cheering, that's the entrepreneur in you shouting by the way.

I swore back when I felt enslaved by a worse-than-death job, that if I could ever attain the kind of freedom I craved in those late night infomercials that I would teach other people how to do the same. I just KNEW there had to be other crazy people out there who wanted something better then golden handcuffs. I vowed that if I obtained my freedom that I would help other people find theirs. And, that's what I've been doing ever since.

Since my first venture, I've gone on to start several businesses - a magazine, an import-export business, a management consulting operation, a mail order/direct marketing firm, and my pet, a real estate investment practice. But, my favorite, and what has been bread and butter since 1989 has been a small business consultancy in which I train other people how to become financially free through their own businesses. Nearly 100,000 folks have taken classes or workshops I've been blessed to give.

Over the years I've developed systems (golly, I hate that word...it sounds like I should be promoting one of those late-night infomercials) to help people find legitimate business opportunities - ones in which they can start generating income nearly immediately; businesses that can be started on a shoestring and can be grown into. What I'm talking about are low-risk, high-probability ways of becoming successfully self-employed. That's my niche - to help folks tap into proven businesses, with proven ways to do them. This is the place to learn about them.

Let's face it - if you are reading this, you've probably tried a few 'opportunities' on for size. Did you make any money? Did you spend or lose a bunch of it? Did you try your best, but fail to produce any results? I can see your expressions in my mind. I know the answers too well. In fact, I just last night I heard yet another tale of a lady in Canada who hooked up with a popular outfit and spent $5,000 on their 'program' only to find they wouldn't back her the way they claimed. The really sad part was she was sitting on a pile of opportunity and didn't even know it because she was too blindly focused on their program.

So, all of this brings me to the point of my launch. This blog came into being to provide you with a way to learn about home-business and micro-entrepreneurship without having to go about it the hard way.

To get the juices flowing, I thought I'd start by pointing out some of my favorite best-of-breed business opportunities. In "The Highway" we'll be looking at such ventures as:

• Online auction selling
• Import/export business
• Mail Order/Direct Marketing
• Real Estate Investment
• Consulting
• Virtual Assisting
• Stock Trading (yes...I did say that)

That's just a sampling. I each issue of my blog I'll be introducing opportunities and providing some depth for you to understand them. At any point, if you have questions, feel free to contact me and ask questions.

Thanks for reading...have a great day...and today, start thinking like an entrepreneur.

Bill Flood