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Benefits of Being Your Own Boss

Hearing complaints of having to be someone else’s servant or helping someone else become richer are just some of the common laments of Singaporean employees.

Many have aspired to transition from an employee to an employer. In a 2016 report, 3 in 4 Singaporean millennials wanted to become their own boss. Becoming your own boss comes with risks and hard work, but the potential for rewards is huge.

Running your own business offers many benefits such as these:

#1: YOU GAIN ABILITY TO FOLLOW YOUR PASSIONS

Following their passions acts as a catalyst for many budding entrepreneurs. For example, my friend left his advertising job to pursue his love for serving gourmet burgers.

Reaching for your dreams may fulfil you in a manner that working for someone else may not. As an entrepreneur, you oversee creating the business from scratch. Furthermore, this business can be passed down to your children.

#2: YOU CONTROL YOUR OWN SCHEDULE

Across the globe, employees have spent the last few years in isolation. Employees and employers observed the advantages and disadvantages of working from home. It is an eye-opening experience to feel how flexible working from home can be.

As an entrepreneur, you schedule your own hours. Your schedule is not dictated by your supervisor or other people. You still must get work done, but nobody is looking over your shoulder to ensure that you complete the daily tasks.

#3: YOU GET FREEDOM TO START FROM SCRATCH

This is your own business, and you make the rules. Use your creative juices to set the standards and procedures for your organization. Perhaps, you want to offer a product or a service that fits your vision.

Whether you want to leverage modern technology or provide your employees with wellness breaks, you have the freedom to decide.

#4: YOU WILL BECOME AN EXPERT IN DIFFERENT THINGS

Entrepreneurs often wear different hats. At first, you will need to pick up a lot of new skills such as human resource management and social media marketing. Soon, you will become an expert in your own field.

Image Credits: pixabay.com

As your business grows, you will continue to learn new knowledge and skills. Who knows? You may even start another business!

Sources: 1 & 2

How And Why You Should Start An Online Business Now

Have you been wanting to start your own business but your intended capital would not suffice? Or maybe the thought of leaving your children at home prevents you? Well, that shipped has sailed when people from the Silicon Valley introduced the “Online Business”. Online business (OB) allow you to sell your product or service at the convenience of your own home and your own time.

Here are the other reasons why you should open your own OB now:

1. SPEND LOW COSTS ON THE START-UP

Once you settled the costs of the products or services that you are planning to sell, you can start opening an OB for S$15.48 or free! The S$15.48 only applies if you want your own website domain name. For example instead of having “myshopname.blogspot.com” you can have “myshopname.com” to appear more professional. Go Daddy sells the website’s domain name at S$15.48 for the first year.

2. WORK ON THE PROJECTS YOU LOVE

Not only do you get to explore your interests and hobbies when thinking of a business idea, you also get to work on something you are really passionate about. This will motivate you to improve your business even more.

3. GET BROADER NETWORK OF POTENTIAL CLIENTS

Since you are setting up a business in the Internet where anyone from anywhere can have an access, you gain a wider scope of clients. This will allow you to transact and ship worldwide.

Sold by the idea of an OB? Here is how you can start yours:

1. DO RESEARCH

Know what is available on the market today. See something that interests you? Incorporate that and add something unique. This will be your niche. Also, research on marketing ideas and budget plans by asking your family, colleagues, friends, or even Google.

2. DEVISE YOUR BUSINESS TYPE AND GOALS

Choose the business you would like to start by tapping into your interests, time availability, and accessible funds. Set goals not just for the business but also for your budget plans.

3. FINALIZE YOUR PRODUCTS OR SERVICES

There are a few products that you can sell at a low cost such as essence oils, Ebooks, and stationary. Given that you have sufficient knowledge of Web Designing, you can sell your services online and charge per project.

4. START OPENING YOUR STORE

If you want to set up an online store without spending a dollar, try selling your products and services on either tictail.com or carousell.com. Tictail.com, established in 2012, allows its users to run a nice online store in minutes. Carousell.com, on the otehr hand, allows its users to sell through its mobile App. Both are definitely free and easy to use! Say you are in need of new materials, you may save money by buying bargain items at these websites too.

5. PROMOTE YOUR BUSINESS

To promote your business, you will need to have visibility in various social media websites such as Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. The good news is that it is totally free to open your accounts in these websites. Also, you can set up a newsletter or a mailing list so people can receive regular updates when promotions or new items are coming up.

Image Credits: springwools via Flickr

As you can see, it is surprisingly cheap to set up your own online business! But, keeping it may take hard work. So, it is important to find a business that follows what your heart desires. 🙂

How A Couple Paid S$36K Worth of Debt In Just 6 Months

A couple from America has consciously decided to look into their expenses and pay off their US$27, 000 (S$36, 474) worth of debt in just 6 months.

Jackie or better known in social media as The Paleo Mama and her husband sat down to discuss their finances since they were supposed to buy a house. If they are going to pursue in buying the house, they will get themselves wrapped up even more in debt.

They found out that they had US$50, 000 (S$67, 546) worth of debt due to accumulated education/student loan and the worth of their new car. They did not realize that they were supposed to pay student loan quickly as its interest and value pile up in time. So, they were determined to turn things around.

Here are the 6 things they did to cut down their expenses and earn more income:

1. MONEY MANAGEMENT

First, it is important to track where your money is going through the last month’s bank statements and receipts. The couple noticed that they are spending too much on groceries and eating out.

Image Credits: Jason Rogers via Flickr

With these things in mind, they devised a plan to categorize each expense and allocate specific amount of money on to it.

2. CUT DOWN MOBILE PHONE PLANS

They switched to prepaid phones and got rid of their iPhones. This brought them from US$160 cost of mobile phone plan to US$60 cost of prepaid phone per month.

3. CUT DOWN THE CABLE TV AND ELECTRICITY

They started using Netfilx and Hulu to stream shows (the first month is Free) rather than subscribing to cable TV. Also, they managed their electricity by turning off the lights and controlling the temperature of the air conditioner.

4. SELLING AND USING ESSENTIAL OILS

In order to earn more money on the side, Jackie learned how to make essential oils and sell them online. They also stopped buying over-the-counter medication and cleaning products and started using essential oils instead.

5. SELL THEIR STUFF

They sold their old car (now they have one family car), furniture, clothes, toys, and so on. Furthermore, they only buy used clothes on Goodwill or the local thrift stores. This helped them earn a lot of money.

6. BE HONEST ABOUT THE SITUATION

They called various companies to tell them that they can’t afford the various plans anymore. The customer services helped them to reduce the payments by more than 75%.

As you can see, Jackie and her husband were able to pay off over half of their debt by budgeting wisely and selling their stuff. Fortunately, you can also use these strategies yourself!

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