generationbreakthrough.com

Many of us are on board with grasping our entrepreneurial spirit, and would love to take a new path and a risk. However, now the problem becomes being able to ‘go for it’ without going broke.  You want to figure out how to make enough money to survive while you’re working on your master plan.There are not any fool-proof, or simple solutions. However, this is because there is a different solution for every person. So there is bound to be something that works for you.

Here are some ideas to help you start brainstorming:

The Part-Time Job:

There isn't some rule that states your new start-up idea, business, or invention must take up 100% of your time. They don’t even need to take up 40 hours a week, especially while you're just testing the waters. While we do recommend focusing your energy on your idea in order to really make it work, most of us would only become obsessive if we focused all of our energy on one thing. Remember Generation Breakthrough is characterized by mutli-tasking. Nay-sayers may call this being easily distracted. So allow yourself to spend a decent portion of your time every week on something else… like a part-time job, for example, whether it’s in your industry or not! If you can’t make enough money working part time in your industry, then suck it up and go outside of your industry. Be a temp, or a server, or find event jobs on Craigslist.com! Don’t let yourself feel like this job will be taking a step backwards. It’s actually a step toward freedom, and accomplishing your dreams. Don’t let your ego get in your way!

The Full-Time Job:

Many people can still work full-time, and spend their personal time building their idea until it’s at a point where they feel comfortable quitting their job, and focusing their efforts. We strongly believe in what we call the 'envelope principle' (which is a variation of Pareto's Principle) that states: no matter how big the envelope (the amount of time you spend) you will end up getting the same amount of work done. To really get a grasp of this concept, read The 4 Hour Work Week, by Timothy Ferriss. 

Remember that a full-time job is only 'full-time', 40 hours a week. Unless you're getting paid mightily for overtime, get outta there! You have to clock-in for pursuing your dream. 

However, in the event your full-time job does temporarily require a little more of your focus, that's okay... as long as it's temporary. Don't get too caught up in the stresses and never-ending demands of your full-time job. You still need to commit your most valuable time and energy to your #1 priority - your passion. 

Freelance:

If you work in an industry with enough freelance work, then peddle your wares!  My husband, for example, is a freelance motion graphics designer. He was confident enough in GenerationBreakthrough.com to quit his job before we even began working on the website. Partially this is because he knew from past experience that he could make plenty of money freelancing. The work load is extremely inconsistent, but as a freelancer you will have plenty of unplanned free time that you can use to work on your dream. Many of us assume we cannot freelance based on our industry. However, more of us can freelance than one might initially think…

I’m in the theatre industry, so I freelance by teaching and directing, instead of committing my time and energy to a theatre administration job. This type of freelancing at my age and level of experience might not make me as much money as my husband can make in motion graphics, but I can make enough for the time being. REMEMBER, this strategy to make money during the beginning phases of your master plan is only temporary. The goal is much bigger, and more profitable.

Temping:

Earlier I mentioned temping. This is yet another idea that to many people has kind of a bad rap. However, these days there are more specific, industry based temping agencies that act more like an agent than an employer. In fact, an agent is exactly what they are (at least the good ones). Actually, my husband met a great deal of his freelancing clients through the temp agency he signed up with when we first moved to DC.

Here is are some online resources for finding the right temp agencies:

Temp Job Search 

American Staffing Association

Rate A Temp 

The Web:

Additionally, if you can begin your idea or business in any way by creating a website, then grab the opportunity to do so. Indisputably, websites can have the cheapest start-up costs of any businesses. And blogs can be a good source of extra income through advertising (when viewers click on ads) and direct sponsorships (when an advertiser pays you just to place the ad on your site). As long as you keep your development costs down, you may recoop any investments after just a few months. It may only be supplemental income, but because they take up so little of your time, you're free to keep your day job, until they make more substantial amounts of money. However, if you spend enough time researching how to make money online, you can expedite the process.  Start with these sources on blogging, and making money online:

ProBlogger on Money 

ProBlogger on Web Traffic 

ProBlogger on Marketing 

Blog Mastermind  (It seems like a strange scheme to get your email address, but it's not, and includes great information)

Retire at 21 

If you can figure out a rational way to start or test your business or idea online, then do it. It’s the best type of business for a young person, because it takes almost no start up money; just hard work, motivation, research (particularly in marketing), and creativity. Just take it one step at a time, and don’t let yourself get overwhelmed with all the blogoshpere terminology and strategies.  You’ll catch up.

Venture Capital:

Venture Capital is probably the most sought after way to make an income while you're developing your big idea (if your idea or business lends well to it), because it involves investors actually paying you a salary to work on your business. They also give you the guidance, and the help you need to follow through. The biggest positive of going the venture capital route is that the firm funds your project. However, the downside is that they become partial owners, expecting a large long-term return on their investment, and therefore take a powerful role in the decision making process. But their business guidance can actually serve you well depending upon the industry and your experience. Here are some helpful sites and blogs related to venture capital and investors:

http://www.gobignetwork.com/

http://www.entrepreneur.com/vc100

http://money.howstuffworks.com/question398.htm

http://www.ventureblogs.com/

http://ventureblog.com/articles/2008/01/pitching_a_vc_the_basics_revisited.php

Our biggest gripe with many motivational gurus, is that many preach that if you believe in your dream, to prove your commitment, you have to give up all other sources of income until your big idea tips, and that can mean several years! They say, "just have faith." We say: keep that faith, but you gotta pay the bills. As you can see there are many ways to keep some (or all) of the income you're used to, while still spending enough time turning your dream into a reality.

So now you know that you have plenty of options, how are you going to grasp your entrepreneurial spirit?!

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Temping Sounds like a Good Idea
written by amy Alonso, August 20, 2008

I never considered temping, but I bet my business degree would get me in the door at many places. And then I could see how each company works, learning from their successes and mistakes and when I start my own business, I can apply that broad range of observances.

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written by stella, August 21, 2008

I like ebay! I found a hot item at Wal-Mart that was hard to find in other areas and then sold it for more. I capitalized on the holiday season.

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written by SRF, August 21, 2008

Some of the best business ideas have one thing in common: they solve some problem. Temping and other "on the job" experiences gives you the opportunity to identify problems. And, if you're smart enough to figure out a solution, then you can start your own successful business.

Donny Deutsch had this guest on his TV show once that worked at Microsoft or some other big tech firm. Her job was to find "temps" for various projects. It was a real "problem" finding good temps. So, she decided to create her own "Temp" agency.

I'm sure it was not quite as simple as I made it sound, but you get the idea.

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