A Lifetime of microBusiness

what is a microBusiness?

Click here for a rather thorough definition of microBusiness.

Do you own a very small business? Would you like to start one? You've probably come across the term microBusiness, but perhaps don't understand exactly what it is. You can look far and wide for a definition, but you won't find much of a consensus.

That's why I wrote my own definition; and who better to do so? After all, I've been a microBusiness owner forEVER! I owned an mBiz before it was cool. I owned an mBiz when you tried to hide the fact that you were working from the basement--or (horrors!) the kitchen table. I ran a microBusiness when the neighbors called it, "your little moonlighting thing". Today, microBusinesses are huge! But they're still little. Now people work from poolside, their cars, the coffeeshop, the airport, hotel rooms, or in the woods along US 90, halfway across the Florida panhandle while on a 200-mile bicycle trip.

Please, read my definition of microBusiness; if you see yourself in there somewhere, then let me help you develop an mBiz of your very own!

passion: the microBusiness motivator

Remember the last time your boss made you feel small, you swore that you were going to quit and start your own business. You’ve dreamt of starting your own business for years. You’ve secretly mentioned it to those closest to you. Maybe now is the time.

Okay, what business will you start?

Not a day goes by when I don’t witness at least a dozen ads—from TV, popups, on the radio—screaming that I can become fabulously wealthy by starting this business or that. Get-rich-quick schemes abound. Magazines and newspapers are full of work-at-home opportunities. Franchisors all have the “best business plan ever”. You can buy all kinds of books containing ideas for business start-ups, and many provide instructions to get you rolling. Sounds good (although I must admit, I certainly haven’t read many of them), but reading a shopping list of ideas strikes me as an unusual way to make the big decision of what business to start.

There are thousands of ideas floating around, so what business will you choose to start? How many will you research before you take the leap? How will you know if you’ve made the best choice? And the big question, at least for me…

How does anyone get excited about someone else’s microBusiness idea?

When I’m out talking with mBiz dreamers, I will sometimes hear a statement that goes like this: “I would love to start my own business, but I don’t know what business to start.” Most often, this is not a good sign. In my experience, if you’re going to be successful you need to be passionate about your start-up idea. You need to have envisioned yourself operating your business. You should have built a knowledge base around your business concept.

I think the most successful microBusinesses are an integration of living and working. They’re organic. They’re symbiotic. Some of the most important reasons people want to start an mBiz is that they are hungry for authenticity, values, dignity, and a measure of freedom.

The most successful mBiz owners are those who love what they’re doing. They’re passionate about their idea. They enjoy getting up each morning and going to work, even if it's at the kitchen table. Can you really be that enthusiastic if you’re borrowing someone else’s business idea? Perhaps, but I believe you’ll have a great business, a more enjoyable business, a more sustainable business if your idea starts within you. I believe that a microBusiness is a personal thing; and passion for what you’re doing is the best business motivator.