Gear up, get ready, do whatever it is you are going to do. If you plan on starting an internet business, home based business or expand your internet presence for your current business, now is the time to take action.

As the holidays come to an end, reality starts to set in for those who had the last week or two off. They start to think of having to go back to work on Monday, and for most people, that’s not what they want to be doing. So what do they do? They start looking for something else that will create a change in lifestyle. Something that will create a little more freedom with their schedule. And you know, most people know there are opportunities in existence that would allow them to work less and make more, yet, they have no idea where to find them or lack the courage to get started. For some, it’s like trying to find a grain of sand in a box of Malt-O-Meal or Cream of Wheat. But even though they have no idea what they are looking for, they will be looking.

Seriously, if you think about it, what time of year do people receive the most desire to change? It’s the beginning of the New Year, and if you’re anything like me, I start to reflect a bit on the past year. In doing so, I find stuff I don’t really like about it, so I set goals to change it. One of the most sought after changes is MONEY CHANGES. People want to make more money, ALWAYS. Money means comfort, lifestyle, family time, freedom, stuff, toys and so on.

I can tell you, being a home business entrepreneur has some amazing perks at the beginning of the year. The other day I had a conversation with someone I know who works for GoDaddy. They mentioned that GoDaddy hasn’t experienced a dip in business AT ALL. They are flourishing! Why?

It because people are looking for other ways to generate extra income, internet based. There is a rush coming. I can promise you that. Find yourself an opportunity that suits you and take advantage of those who will be searching you out. Now is the time to take advantage of the New Years internet business boom. Don’t wait. Get started!

Are you truly fit for Entrepreneurship? I stumbled across an article while surfing through Entrepreneur.com, so they deserve the credit for these questions. The title of the post was “How to Start a Retail Business.” Ask yourself in an honest assessment if you are truly fit for Entrepreneurship. These questions are related to starting a retail business, but the same still applies.

1. Are you good at multitasking? In your own business, you have to be willing and able to do everything yourself. When you work for someone else, you are usually responsible for just one thing and have limited control. You are supported by others with expertise or experience in different roles and functions. In retail, every day can be a stretch, as you encounter customers, employees, vendors and landlords. You can’t say, “That’s not my job.” It’s all yours.
2. What is your risk tolerance? In a startup retail business, you worry about being in the right place at the right time with the right goods and services for the right people at the right price. Do you adjust quickly to unplanned events or prefer more predictable, organized projects? Do you see risk as a threat or an opportunity?
3. Do you count on a paycheck? New business owners can rarely count on a regular paycheck. Startups frequently require more capital than planned. Something’s bound to go wrong or change even though everything is penciled out in your plan. If you break out in a cold sweat if you aren’t paid on the same day every month, you may want to rethink going out on your own. Most of the money you make will go right back into inventory and other costs of doing business.
4. Are you a self-starter and comfortable being alone? Or do you draw your energy from being around others and count on colleagues for support and advice? In your own business, you must lead, knowing what to do and when to do it, and be fully accountable for everything that happens. The buck stops with you. Sometimes that’s a lonely place.
5. Do you value predictability or prize diversity? Not only are there laws against discrimination in hiring and business practices, but America is a multicultural society. When you open your store or service company, you will be interacting with a wide spectrum of customers, vendors, advisors and employees. Retailers need to be people-oriented, flexible and good-natured. Can you manage conflict, see things from others’ point of view, and cater to their taste, not yours?

I can tell you, as an entrepreneur myself, these are right on the money. So if you are someone who is thinking about starting a business, whether a home based business or brick and mortar, make a very honest assessment of yourself and your abilities. Desire can only take you so far before you actually have to start thinking and acting like an an entrepreneur.

As many of you know I am a home based business entrepreneur and have been working from home for the last 5 years. Every once in a while I have people who want to know why I chose to get involved in a home business instead of doing some kind of brick and mortar business. The answer is simple, it’s all about lifestyle for me. I wanted so much more than just the bi-weekly pay check with two weeks of paid vacation. That’s a life of misery. I wanted financial freedom and the time freedom to enjoy it. I wanted to be at home, to be my own boss and set my own schedule. That’s why I choose to stay right where I am. It’s lucrative, it has given me lifestyle and I am my own boss. What more could you ask for?

So as you all know, a business requires marketing. I do several things for my marketing but my major source of lead generation is through my self-hosted Wordpress blog. I share tips on mindset, personal development and business opportunity and by doing so, people naturally become interested in what I do. For me, it generates some of the highest quality leads one can get. If they like my content, chances are, they will enjoy my business as well. The perfect lead! Qualified with a common interest.

With my Wordpress blog, I have certain plugins I use to promote my content and extend its capabilities. If you have any good ideas for new plugins, I’d sure like to try them out. They are as follow:

• Platinum SEO Pack – Prepares your blog for Search Engine Optimization
• All in one Adsense – Enables the all popular ad serving network of Google to place relevant ads on your site. I also use it to place a contact form directly following each of my blog posts.
• Twitter Tools – Connects your blog with your Twitter account and updates your Twitter account every time you publish a post.
• WPing.fm – This plugin makes ‘Twitter Tools’ and ‘Wordbook’ nearly worthless. It uses a service called Ping.fm to automatically send a status update every time a blog post is published with a link back to your post.
• Wordpress Automatic Upgrade – This doesn’t necessarily assist in extending my blog but is a very convenient plugin. The name should be pretty self explanatory.
• Vipers Video Quicktags – This makes posting videos to your blog posts easy!
• Google XML Sitemaps – This will aid you in a few things. It helps you track the health of your blog by seeing how Google, Bing and Yahoo search bots view your site. It also gets your site indexed with the major search engines quickly.
• Add to Any -This is a social bookmarking plugin that allows your readers to quickly share your content on various social sites around the web.
• Stray Random Quotes – I love quotes and love to share them. This is a plugin that will easily allow you to add quotes to your blog in various locations. Have the quotes rotate, stay the same or change with each visit.
• Wordbook – Updates your facebook account with every published, edited or revised post and/or page.
• Yet Another Related Post Plugin – Enables your readers to get deeper into your archived posts. It shows posts with similar tags and topics below the post they are currently reading.

Feel free to look them up in the “plugins” section of your Wordpress back office to see what they do. Each of them play a significant role in my marketing campaign.

I’ve compiled a few pictures here for a real quick survey. Look at the pictures below and tell me which view you would prefer while working.

Workspace #1

Workspace View #2 - Supervisor of Workspace #1

Workspace View #3

Workspace #4 - Getting Better!

Workspace #5 - Very Nice!

Workspace #6 - Priceless! Working from Home!

So which of these work spaces looks the most appealing to you and which of these spaces are you somewhat currently in? Man, if everyone could just get this one concept: You have just as much of a choice to not work where you want as you do in working exactly where you want! So I chose work spaces #5 and #6 nearly 5 years ago. I used to work in something similar to work space #3. I think I definitely upgraded!

So you might ask the question: Is a home based business all it’s chalked up to be? The answer for me: YES! The answer for you: (Fill in the blank)!

So here we are, living the lifestyle of a home based business Entrepreneur. Well, I shouldn’t generalize like that. I am living the life of someone who is part of MY home based business. We are here on the Big Island of Hawaii. We arrived at the Kona airport yesterday the 16th of July, had a driver pick us up (very helpful when you bring your entire family) and are staying until the 27th of July. Nearly two weeks of paradise.

Ok, so you think the Big Island of Hawaii is the cool thing right? Well, you’re right. It is pretty cool. Most people will never be able to do this. I am so blessed. The other cool thing is the fact that I am here with thousands of other like-minded, home business entrepreneurs. Many of them are self-made millionaires. I am surrounded with people like me. These are people that have goals, take action and live a life that less than 3% of people will ever live. That is who I choose to be.

Tomorrow we are planning a trip around the north end of the Island for some site seeing. We’ll hit a few waterfalls and have some awesome photos to show you.

Today I was able to teach my 7 year old daughter how to snorkel. She had a blast and is a complete natural at it. It’s one thing being able to do these things yourself. It’s a completely different thing being able to show your kids how to do it while they are young. I am able, through my business, to give them opportunities that I never had! Awesome.

Aloha!