Thursday, October 12, 2006

Three Reasons Why Business Ownership is on the Rise

Here's an excerpt of an excellent article entitled "Unlocking Your Entrepreneurial Spirit" featured in "Success from Home" magazine written by Todd Eliason and Martha Belden:

You see them everyday on your way to your 8-to-5 job. People involved in activities they only have time for after work or on the weekends; a lady walking her dog; a couple out for a light jog; a family hitching up a boat to theri SUV for a day on the lake. Bubconsciously you ask yourself, "What do these people do for a living? It's Tuesday morning for crying out loud! Shouldn't they be on their way to work like me?" More and more people are finally realizing there is a better way to make a living - by starting their own home-based business. These individuals are breaking the rules that corporate America has set for decades: get up, go to work from 8 to 5, come home; go to bed; then repeat this process every weekday.

These "rules" have been ingrained into our culture for decades and they are major roadblocks that discourage people from going out on their own. In Robert Kiyosaki's book Rich Dad, Poor Dad he states the primary reason why many people seek job security is because they are taught to seek it, at home and at school. "Our educational system focuses on preparing today's youth to get good jobs by developing skills. Schools focus on teaching people to work for money, not how to harness money's power."

And it's not just the schools that have preached this doctrine. A majority of people have grown up with the mentality that you go to school, get a secure job and work your way up the corporate ladder. This is the way it worked for a majority of families in America. Any divergence to this plan was met with severe opposition and disappointment from parents, grandparents, siblings and peers. However, more and more people are debunking this long-held tradition by becoming successful on their own. Yes, the times "they are changin'."

What is causing this monumental cultural shift to working for oneself? How has this entrepreneurial surge become so prevalent? There are three factors that are changing the landscape of how people make a living in the 21st century.

1. No Job Is Secure

The days of staying with one company for your entire career (like your father did) are over. In these days of frequent layoffs and downsizing, even state and government jobs no longer enjoy this "secure" status. Budget constraints due to a lack of consistent tax revenue coming in (the money that goes to pay for these jobs) have forced many of these people to consider other job opportunities.

2. Technology

The computer and the advent of the Internet has allowed small business owners to expand their reach for customers from a local business, limited to a certain geographic area, to a global enterprise almost overnight. The way we communicate today has little to do with where your office is located - millions start their own businesses right out of their homes. Even employers are seeing the benefits of having employees work out of their homes.

3. A desire to Take Control of One's Future

For Most middle-income Americans, living paycheck-to-paycheck has simply become a way of life. In Rich Dad, Poor Dad, Robert Kiyosaki talks about the long-term effects of this kind of lifestyle. "Financial struggle is often directly the result of people working all of their life for someone else. Many people will have nothing at the end of their working days." A new generation of entrepreneurial-minded people is reversing this once inevitable subsistence by starting their own businesses. They are creating a better life for themselves and their families by taking control of their income.

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