1.You’re not boss material. If you work for yourself, you’re your own boss. Many people don’t have the discipline to follow through on their daily responsibilities if they don’t have a boss hanging threats over their head. Without the threat of losing our jobs many of us resort to lazy, unproductive behavior. If there is any possibility that this is in your nature, you should be thankful for the job you have instead of going around thinking “I hate my job“. It’s easy to hate something that you’re using as an excuse for your own laziness.

2.You don’t know how to manage stress properly. Many of us have never been in a stressful enough position to fully understand how bad stress can get. Our stress management skills are measured by the amount of stress we’ve had to endure in our lives and some of us have no clue what real stress is. If it’s in your personality to let “the little things” stress you out you may not be a good candidate for managing your own business. Be grateful for the job you have and take it a little more seriously.

3.Your work ethic isn’t as good as you think it is. It is amazing how many people think that they work hard at their current jobs and really they don’t. You know these types of people, maybe you’re one of them, they spend all day trying to get away with the least amount of work as possible. Maybe you’ll argue that you would work harder for yourself. Think about that; really, you either have a work ethic or you don’t.

As harsh as the above statements may be, think carefully about them and take note of which ones sound familiar to you. If you are not cut out to run your own your business you would be well-served to find that out before you quit your day job. If you’re still on the fence about your capabilities, check into some details of how to earn money from home in your spare time and you’ll get a good dose of how well you might succeed on your own.…

Researching this topic is actually quite fun. You can learn a lot about our culture’s history as you explore the collectibles category. If you are a history buff, it can be quite fascinating. I constantly find new and interesting collectibles that I never imagined people would pay money to own. All you have to do the get this information is sign up for eBay and then start performing some searches on completed listings. Just to be clear, completed listings are listings that have finished already. You will find that some items sell very well, while others do not ever seem to draw any interest. Obviously, what you are looking for is items that people like to bid on. If you can find merchandise that multiple people were willing to place bids for, you have yourself a winner.

The best categories to start searching are Antiques and Collectibles. Both of these will contain several items that will surprise you with their popularity. It seems that there are collectors in some very small niches who are quite willing to pay a fair amount to get their hands on items they are having a difficult time finding on their own. Military collectibles is a good example of this. Although it is quite common to collect military items, if you drill down a bit farther, you can find collectors who focus in on very specific items. One of the interesting little niches I found was German helmets. These sell very well on eBay, and the demand seems to be tremendous as collectors work to outbid each other.

Not all of the popular items are old however. Sometimes things are just hard to find. The Starbucks 20 oz. Venti Tumbler is only offered on a limited basis. These are very popular among coffee drinkers. I was surprised to see them actually getting several bids each.

If you spend some time doing research and then are willing to go out to estate sales, yard sales, and flea markets searching for the popular items, you may be surprised at how easy eBay selling can actually be. It is just a matter of finding what people want and then offering it to them. How much easier can it get?

Editor’s note: Remember that as soon as you go out sourcing new products with the intention of selling them for profit on eBay, you are, under most tax rules, operating a business. This means you will need to keep records and ensure you declare your profits to your national tax agency (eg IRS, HMRC, etc) and pay any due taxes. For advice on tax matters, speak to an accountant or tax advisor.…

In day-to-day activities, it’s always recommended to carry a business card. This may come in handy during scheduled business meetings and ad hoc ones. You never know who you’re going to meet on any given day. Having said that, you always have to be prepared because you may bump into a prospective client at any time. You may see an old friend or business partner who introduces you to another person, or you may simply be lucky to meet someone who could be your next big client. The point here is that you don’t want to miss these opportunities, so be sure to have your business card with you at all times.

Marketing events usually require flyers and brochures. This is ideal if you lease a booth for a one-week product display event or marketing convention. Your flyer should contain very good information about your business, be it the features of the products that you sell or your complete catalog. You may also provide details of the services that you offer and any benefits that a prospect may receive. Flyers should be eye-catching to lure people into reading through it. For example in your flyer, you may highlight a limited hair-style service together with an attached beauty business card. You can also use terms such as ‘free’ and ‘discount’ to entice them. Of course, your offers should be valid.

Whatever method you choose, make sure that you match it with the event or situation. Always come in prepared with your tools. Whether you own embossed business cards or a colored flyer, you need to ensure that these tools are noticeable and their contents are complete and accurate.…