Tuesday, October 03, 2006

7 Figures/7 Yrs: Chicken Entrepreneurship 101

"Chicken Entrepreneurship 101: A few simple ways to start a side business."

Is it possible to find a quick track for retirement savings? That's the premise behind Seven Years to Seven Figures: The Fast-Track Plan to Becoming a Millionaire by Michael Masterson.

All this week, I will feature one of the 7 strategies from the book. Here are his tips on building a side biz:

"Masterson suggests that you start small and build gradually to limit your risk. There are all sorts of ways to supplement your income:

· You can increase your income by selling your services to the business you work for—going freelance.

· You can sell your services to other firms while you're still working for your current employer. If this is the way you choose to go, be sure the firm is a non-competitive firm. You don't want to get yourself fired.

· You can try out a different financially valued skill. Consider becoming a salesman, advertising copywriter, graphic designer, or any of dozens of other freelance professions that cater to the direct-marketing industry.

· You can start a part-time local service business. If you don't have the time to do the actual work yourself (as a handyman, housecleaner, landscaper, etc.), hire a friend or relative.

"If you have a financially valued skill, you can expect to earn between $100 and $500 an hour," says Masterson. "At $100 an hour, you would have to work 250 hours—an extra five hours a week—to make $25,000. At $500 an hour, it would take you only about an hour a week to reach that goal."

Earlier today: I featured How to Get Rich while Punching the Time Clock

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