Now is the time for you to set up your own business. It really is. With the economy showing signs of slow recovery, and the job market changing beyond all recognition, now is the time to take the plunge – if you’ve always harboured the desire to work for yourself and generate your own income.

It doesn’t even need to cost you anything to get started. The rise of the internet makes this possible. In fact you can cast your net (to use a fishing analogy) and see what bites. You can even do this while working in a job if necessary. You might have an outside hobby or interest that you’re wondering if you could make any money out of.

Our top tip is create yourself a business profile on a site such as HotFrog. It is completely free and you can add searchwords and build your own business listing.  Follow the link http://www.hotfroguk.co.uk/ So if you’d like to try your hand at jam making, or buying and selling cameras or floristry or palmistry, you can do all this for free. Then of course if you start to get some responses it will tell you whether you have a viable business idea.

Never has the opportunity for starting out on your own been so good. Most markets are likely to get more buoyant so if you can build an effective small scale business model that works now, your prospects should grow over time.

Everyone has skills, things they’re good at. Now is the opportunity to tap into your entrepreneurial spirit and give it a go. Best of luck !

We should still be focused on how we can be going for growth in these challenging times – with help from these wise words.

I came across a quote from Theodore Roosevelt the other day, and while he may have said it in the last century, it still holds true today.

“In any moment of decision the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing.”

This is a salutory lesson for all of us in these challenging times. To beat the recession, we may have to radically alter our business model, and the time honoured phrase “but that’s the way, we’ve always done it” no longer holds much credibility.

Be prepared to think outside the existing model. Talk to others, get opinions, listen to advice, get networking, have a coffee with like minded people. Whatever it is, get out there and do something. As Teddy R said doing nothing is the worst option, doing something and it being the wrong thing is still preferable. It provides learning and the chance to explore other ideas.

Tap into the intellect and creativity of others, and spend at least once a week with a blank sheet of paper and pen in the quiet working on ideas. It can be motivating and may give future focus for your business.

One of the best tips I ever heard about problem solving goes as follows – it really is problem solving made easy.

Consider the main thing holding you back at the moment. It could be that your job is unfulfiling, or you need more money or you want some help and advice, or guidance on overcoming an obstacle.

The only materials you need are peace and quiet, a piece of paper and a pencil.

Then all you do is turn the problem for solving into a question. That makes it action orientated. So for instance I need £3,000 saved up for my summer holiday and it’s now February becomes “how do I save £3,000 before my summer holiday in August ?”

Then of course as soon as you start to answer the question you start to have your answers. It is a great and simple device to stimulate your brain to think. As a solo brainstorming technique it is fantastic. You’ll also find that within 10 minutes or so you’ll have 90% of the answers. So stop there – don’t force yourself to sit there for an hour – it probably won’t contribute much more anyway.

I’m sure you’ve seen many great quotes relating to self-development. I came across this one the other day from Maria Robinson (an American writer).

“Nobody can go back to start a new beginning, but anyone can start today to make a new ending.”

How true. While you can’t change what has happened to you, you can decide how you will deal with it. There are many challenges faced by many people at the moment. The future is about the decisions YOU take about YOUR future.

Associated Learning Systems has available a couple of audio CDs relating to personal goal setting and overcoming personal barriers. Follow this link if you want to find out more http://www.associatedlearningsystems.co.uk/product_list.asp?Section=SELF%20DEVELOPMENT

But take some time out over the forthcoming festive break and write yourself a list of things you’d like to do in the future. They can be things to do next month, or over the next few months and over the next year or so. Once you’ve done this – you’ve taken an important first step to achieving your goals and deciding what future you want for you. The best of luck !�

  I stood on the Embankment in London a couple of weekends ago for the best part of 3 hours watching the runners stream past. It is incredible HOW MANY people are capable of running this distance. It was 34,00 according to their official website  http://www.london-marathon.co.uk/site/?pageID=5&n=141 (92,00 applied !) Apart from the elite athletes who run all around the world, there is simply a stream of ordinary looking people doing an extraordinary thing. At the peak of the race, there are just 100s of people passing by every minute.

Then apart from the ordinary people (like us), and as if that wasn’t hard enough, there are people running along tied together, and people running with huge cumbersome costumes. And that’s without mentioning people who are disabled. I saw many people running with one leg – using a blade. I even saw one guy running who had no legs using 2 blades.

It is simply inspiring. It makes any worries or barriers we have to overcome pale into insignificance. We really can do anything if we put our mind to it. The only thing that stops each of us achieving what we want is ourselves. There are a growing number of CDs available through the Associated Learning Systems website on goal setting ; follow the link http://www.associatedlearningsystems.co.uk/product_detail.asp?ProdID=18 to hear Alastair Campbell of the Ideal Marketing Company in an inspiring interview cover how to set goals. You can also try this link to hear further information, tips and advice on setting goals from Andrew Seaward of To Market training http://www.associatedlearningsystems.co.uk/product_detail.asp?ProdID=23 

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