How to start your micro business Today
Your micro business quick start guide to getting up and running today regardless of your other commitments.
First of all let me assure you that to start a micro business that goes on to provide part or all of your living expenses is absolutely possible.
Then let me assure you that with the 2 (yes, just two) step method I am about to reveal to you, you can start that business you’ve always wanted…Today!
You can start your quest for freedom from the 9-5 drudgery today regardless of the following:
1. you don’t have any money
2. you don’t have any spare time
3. you don’t have a fully formed idea for your business
4. you have kids to look after
5. you have depression or another form of debilitating illness
6. you have a substance addiction
7. you have massive consumer debt that is killing you slowly
8. you live in an abusive relationship
9. you don’t have a computer or you don’t think you have enough computer skills
10.you don’t have any business experience
Rather than hold you back from starting your business and in time your complete and unconditional freedom and happiness, these problems or any others you have like them are actually the strongest and most compelling factors you have for just
getting on and starting.
Here’s how it works:
Grab youself a piece of paper and a pen or use your journal if you have one
Here’s what you’re going to write in the journal or on the scrap of paper:
Today’s date and the following sentence:
My Freedom Business, ………………..(insert name of business) started today!
That’s it, finished for today…you’ve started.
This is how all businesses are built…just one small step at a time.
Its more than likely that you’ll want to write some more now, but if you don’t it’s ok.
The temptation is of course to revert to type and write down a huge bullet point list of things you’re going to do today to get things going.
By all means do that, but DON’T date these items as having to be done today, just list them as to do’s for now.
Now I said it was a two step process and the second step is to set your alarm clock for one hour earlier tomorrow morning.
One of my to do’s for today is to write a post detailing the 3 things you should do with that extra hour tomorrow morning. So I will do that and see you here tomorrow.
Photo Credit: Symic via Compfight cc
7 Responses to “How to start your micro business Today”
[…] to complete financial independence is not something most people can do in one go. Its necessary to dig a tunnel, start in a small way, make almost imperceptible changes to your life by starting something for […]
John,
Do you think that it is not so much about starting a business but starting to liberate ourselves from the pressure of illusionary obligations and ghost-chasing by any means, including ‘my freedom business’?
Thank you
Nat
Thanks Nat
That’s a good question.
First thing to say is that this post was part of a month when my theme was Enterprise, hence the focus on business.
This is in recognition that a big stumbling block for a lot of us in achieving a lifestyle we would describe as Free is of course money. You can’t eat freedom 🙂
“Time is money”; except, for most it means exchanging our finite time for money. The Capitalist system favours the minority who have assets, so that the majority have to work for the minority in order to make a wage that only sustains their status quo, and in doing so they inevitably grow the wealth of the minority (asset holders), but not their own in any real sense.
Of course it is possible to live without money, but where to start?. Monks can do it, but it means trusting in others for their food. Subsistence farmers can do it to some degree, but they inevitably exchange long, hard labour for their food and go without sometimes. And of course there is the example given by Mark Boyle in his book and site The Moneyless Manifesto. These are all noble ways in which to live, with the major pay off being freedom and life/job satisfaction.
In the developed West however, is it likely that many can make any of these work? Where does the farm and/or the roof over one’s head come from?
Incidentally, Mark Boyle makes a very clear connection between the dream that is money and the illusion of the separate self.
Realistically, for the majority of people, the only way out of this is to do something for themselves that levels the playing field somewhat and my point in January was that there has never been a better time in history to do it. For the first time it is possible to make assets out of thin air. For example, I can create an asset such as a book or website that has the potential to generate income for no financial investment. That is an asset that can be built once and sold many times. I can also do all of the promotion and marketing for that asset totally free from financial encumbrance. Of course to do that literally I would have to walk to the library to use the free computer and internet connection.
In the creative industries, whether it be music, art, writing, advertising, publishing etc, all of the tools and resources that would have filled a studio, cost many thousands of pounds and employed 10 or more people are now in the little box you’re looking at.
Back to your original question:
“Do you think that it is not so much about starting a business but starting to liberate ourselves from the pressure of illusionary obligations and ghost-chasing by any means, including ‘my freedom business’?”
Yes, I agree, but to do that whilst working 50 hours a week, travelling to and from that job and trying to fit in all of the other commitments we have as parents, spouses, daughters, brothers etc is I would suggest, an impossible ask for most folk. The need to get money is far from illusory for most.
If we can be strong enough to ignore the mental unpleasantness and physical fatigue of all of this and somehow go within and be completely mindful whilst doing it, then maybe that can work, but it didn’t for me.
Is freedom a state of mind rather than a ghost to be chased? I think it is, but I didn’t find it easy to cultivate that state of mind when I was treading the hamster wheel of doom all week long and sitting in traffic jams. 🙂
The final issue is of course that my suggested approach is still tied up with money, but given that even the lucky ones among us get only around 80 years and that most of us have to do a bit of getting older before we even see the problem we’ve created, it seems to me that we don’t have time to invent an entirely new system, so can’t realistically hope to turn our backs on Capitalism fully.
What do you think?
Thanks for contributing.
John
Hi John,
Firstly, thank you for so many thoughts; I enjoyed reading all of them. I completely get it and agree with your point of view, of course.
I need to apologise in advance for going outside the box in the thoughts I am about to write. They may sound crazy or frustrating to you but the good news is that you can tell me if they do, the next time you see me in person 😉
Secondly, I have no idea as to why I am asking this question but this is the beauty of it! Indeed, we can’t eat freedom and the way how things work in this dimension is about doing something in order to make ends meet. I am on the same page as you when it comes to the philosophy of liberation of/from business burden. However, this is not about looking at the borders of reality from the inside, for me, it is trying to get on the outside and look at what’s within the reality. In such trying I tend to be fixated on /in the ‘pockets’ of awareness (at least I view it this way:) A good example of it is the question about the Jaffa biscuit the other day 🙂 Is it real and therefore I perceive it? Or Is it my perception that makes it real? I know that there is no answer! But, I simply enjoy the movement towards one:)
So, here is the thing. It feels right in me to think that the whole idea of liberation (from anything and everything) is all there is to be achieved in this life. And the only obstacle we have is fear to live up to this idea 🙂 Sooo, simple 🙂 You know those moments when something (a realisation?) hits you really profoundly? It doesn’t change anything at the time yet everything is changing as from that point onwards in person’s life, right? I don’t need any proof of it, nor I am looking for it, it’s just feels right and I follow it.
What is it that I follow?
The first principle I am working on and trying to be aware of is the acceptance of everything in life as it is. In such acceptance the peace can slowly creep into my life 🙂
The second thing that feels right is when acceptance is leading to confidence, have you noticed such phenomenon? The more I allow life to be expressed – the more strength I gain from being present, being a part of life. In being a part of it, I work as a part of a mechanism other than seeing myself apart from the mechanism 🙂
And finally, the awareness of being one with all gives the soothing effect of simply existing, end of story. This could be a good end but not in my story 🙂 There is something to be said about the Universe moulding /meeting one’s needs principal. “What you seek is seeking you” –Rumi. Just like all of us one way or the other found the way to the group, so is every event in life (however big or small) is there for a reason. In my view of it the reason is for the Soul’s learning. If “I” is illusionary then let’s imagine that “a Soul” is what we perceive as Awareness. If we are here for the expansion of this Awareness in us, then every second of our existence is here for one single purpose – to expand. The “I” has no means of seeing such expansion but it happens independently of it. However, it is only when you, me, others who are beginning to have some glimpses on the external (if you like) life, we become slightly more aware of the greater reality. So, my understanding of it is simple enough: if I lose fear of falling – I will be given wings. The fear is based on the perception of ‘life’ and ‘death’ but the expanding awareness tells us there are no such things, so what’s to be afraid of? The full liberation happens when the inner strength is so prominent – it gives one a full confidence in allowing the current of life to take you anywhere because it is always the right direction. This is why every religion puts so much emphasis on Faith. In the light of Faith the shadow of Fear dissolves.
Back to earthly living 🙂 I have just one goal-chasing in my heart: to liberate from any fear. What else is here to do? How does translate into daily living…? Hmm, that’s the reason why life is so exciting ! Do you find? 🙂
Thanks Nat
That is both profound and very gettable.
The “one with all” part is echoed by Mark Boyle who I mentioned last time in his Moneyless Manifesto as follows:
“My point is that the boundaries of our sense of self seem to be fuzzy and ill-defined. We might think of ourselves as a discrete ‘object’, bounded by our skin (what Alan Watts describes as “the skin-encapsulated ego”),(7)but it’s hard to justify that when even skin itself is constantly exchanging atoms and energy with the wider environment. No person is an island, we are instead part of a flow of energy, food, water, minerals, radiation and so on, constantly passing in, out and through us, much of which has no respect for the boundary of the skin at all. We are no more a bounded ‘object’ than a wave on the ocean is. Like a wave, we are a form through which many objects (in that case, water molecules) are passing. To identify one’s self with the molecules that are within your skin right now is no more appropriate than to identify an ocean with the molecules that are within its form at a given moment.”
It shines a light on the terms Self Improvement (goal chasing?) and Selfishness, which are, I suppose, tightly bound to the subject of the original post here. Maybe self improvement (improving the self instead of accepting its illusory nature) is the ultimate selfish act and the best we can hope for is an environment where we have space to see the self for what it is and achieve a level of detachment from it?
This might explain why those we often think of as enlightened e.g. Matthieu Ricard, or Tich Nhat Hahn and all of the Monastic orders I can think of, feel the need to withdraw from everyday human existence to achieve the peace they seek. Just thinking about that helps me to understand my own post above. I don’t think they could achieve what they have done whilst working in an abattoir or office against their better judgement all day 🙂
Are we just shackled souls who have been given this identity (a self?) by the State (via our similarly shackled parents) at birth and tagged so we can be monitored and taxed through life? Do I fool myself if I believe I am free within that system, however liberal the Nation I live in is? Do I fool myself if I think the compulsory education is for my own good?
I think so and if that’s the case then the freedom we seek must be for something other than my self and that other must surely need a suitable Niche (in the ecological sense) in which to prosper. And that Niche must surely be something different from the environment my self inhabits. Creating, or perhaps finding a niche that suits my other (a work in progress as ever) has radically changed my way of thinking about life and my ability to bring my attention to it.
I don’t think I can just accept things as they are until they are more nourishing to me i.e. until I find or create a better ecological Niche to exist within. Much of what is for the average citizen is a State sponsored human creation. Your Name, Birth Certificate, National Insurance Number, Money, Education, Gainful Employment, organised religion; all geared towards 99% of the humans on the planet acting as automatons for the remaining 1% who hold the control. That control is exerted on the State (all states) sponsored “self” is it not? The ridiculous part is that the magic elixir that keeps it working is a foundation-less illusion called money. If that fails to keep us in line, then there is always violence and the State has also authorised itself to apply that legally! All of this emphasises and promotes the idea of self for a very good reason. It is the self that is controlled by this. It is the self that can’t stand the thought of driving a 4 year old BMW when next door have a new one 🙂
Of course the alternative might be anarchy and we would all need to be on our toes then to stay alive and it might well be worse.
My suggestion is that we can just accept the world the way it is, but decline to play along quite so readily when there are so many others willing to do so. By this I mean playing the money game, because it is a game, on our own terms. Stealing a leaf from the 1%’s book and creating assets that help us to be liberated from the money in exchange for time continuum and escape the hamster wheel (of doom) 🙂
I love your definition of Faith, that makes a lot more sense to me than the blind faith in Icons, which of course has been an implement of control for millennia too.
Jaffa Cakes are real 🙂
John, have a look at this video in response to your thoughts of
“This might explain why those we often think of as enlightened e.g. Matthieu Ricard, or Tich Nhat Hahn and all of the Monastic orders I can think of, feel the need to withdraw from everyday human existence to achieve the peace they seek. ”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmq4xb0_cbU&list=WL&index=12
The power of those thoughts is incredible in me, makes me feel so strong! 🙂
Will digest your deep thinking and reply when I have consumed all the atoms in it 😉
Straight to the point in very few words, excellent…that explains a lot for me and gives me much encouragement, thanks Nat.