Tonight I went to a meeting of the Holistic Chamber of Commerce, Portland OR Chapter. This was my very first meeting of the Holistic Chamber, I knew nobody, but felt welcomed right away. The guest speakers were from various organizations that make it their business to help small businesses grow and thrive.
One of the speakers threw out a statistic that really surprised me. The stat was that in the United States, 80% of the economy is created by entrepreneurs/solopreneurs. 80%, wow! In Oregon and Washington, that statistic is 90%.
I am now going into year 8 of owning ComputerDiva. I started my business, on a whim, in January of 2008, when someone I barely knew asked me to fix her computer. I still had a day job, but after taking on this little job, I got the bug of running my own business. 18 months later, I took my business full time after finding myself unemployed. Whoo Hoo. The best thing that ever happened to me.
There are several keys to running a successful business. In my opinion, the only way you will succeed at running your own business, is if the business is something you have a passion for. Something that you live and breathe every day. Every single one of us has a passion for something, it is just a matter of really knowing what it is, and how you can turn it into a business.
One other key to running a successful business is to have a community, a tribe, that you belong to. Like minded individuals that are also running their own businesses, and going through the same trials and issues that you are. Build your tribe with people who share your beliefs and values. People who will have your back in times of crisis.
With 90% of the economy coming from people running their own businesses, it should not be too hard to put your tribe together. I am so fortunate to have the tribe I do, and I am looking to add to that tribe.
And finally, the last piece of advice I can give about owning your own business, is to keep you mind and spirit centered and focused on love and service to you and your client. You cannot succeed without it.
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