Posted on theinfopreneur on January 10, 2010

A guest post from Cheryl from ShackledMuse. A fantastic writer with a totally unique style. I first came across Cheryl when she left a comment on this site, since then I see her everywhere, a great person with a fantastic passion for life, Cheryl over to you;

I was the girl who went to school with a small cooler bag full of chocolate hearts and various other delectable shapes wrapped in shiny foil. 50c per heart. A buck for the bigger pieces. Over the weekends you’d find me at fleamarkets, setting up a stall and rearranging all my hand crafted goodies.

I made beaded jewelry, braided friendship bangles, hair accessories and sold it to the cheerleader squad and fashionistas in high school. Entrepreneur Days (usually held the last day of school) I made small fortune selling candles I made the previous night. Okay not really a small fortune, but I was 14 at that time, and I had to work for my pocket money, so any “easy cash” was a small fortune to me.  I designed my first business card when I was 15…

I’m not sure I knew what an entrepreneur was when I was ten, but I knew that starting little businesses and trying to sell greeting cards or newspapers door-to-door or just vending machine kind of thing is.. there’s just something very intriguing to me about that. – Steven Case

During the years I’ve managed to devour a great deal of information about being an entrepreneur and managing a small business. Sadly, somewhere between writing my last school exams and getting a secular job, I forgot most of that and lost track of my dream; being my own boss.

Being stuck in a dead end job, with a boss who hates me, I started to do my research again. It was during all this researching about starting your own business that I discovered its actually very similar to managing a blog site. Who says bloggers aren’t entrepreneurs? I’ll hunt you down. Be afraid…

There are 4 golden rules about being an entrepreneur:
  1. Plan well
  2. Do what you love
  3. Work hard
  4. Market yourself creatively

Now lets apply that to setting up and managing a blog site, shall we?

Plan Well
  • Business (or blog) plan:

Before you go about setting up your business, you need a business plan. Same with your blog. Pen and paper rocks. It gives you more time to think it through while you write. One idea leads to another and voila, you’ve taken the first step. Once your ideas are set out on paper, its easier talking to others about your site/business venture.

  • Read a lot:

Someone who wants to be an entrepreneur should read everything they about it. Same applies to blogging. Starting and growing a blog, how to’s, tutorials, forums. With some creative googling, you’ll have a vast store of knowledge right at your finger tips. Make use of all those resources available to you. (that doesn’t mean you should go buy every Ebook thats out there.) Read blogs, use the tools and plug ins and make them work for you.

When you’re done reading about all that, go read it again. Then read some more. But… Remember to apply all that wonder knowledge. Faith without works are dead.

Do What You Love

Passion. That is what its all about. Without passion you might as well log off now, and forget about being a successful blogger. An entrepreneur will do something he’s passionate about. A blogger will write about something he’s passionate about.

  • Work harder than everybody else

Train yourself to be self disciplined and motivated. Get up earlier or go to bed a bit later (yup, its 12am now, I’m still up) Put in those extra hours.

  1. Decide that you‘re going to maintain a successful blog
  2. Research how to maintain a successful blog
  3. Then, do absolutely everything it takes to achieve and maintain your successful blog.
  • Prioritize

Cut down on all those activities that rob you of your time. Watching TV, for example. Note that I said activities that’s wasting your time. By no means am I applying that you should put your blog ahead of important matters, such as your spouse or children.

Market Yourself Creatively

Package and promote what you do in unique and creative ways. Find ways to separate yourself from the competition.

  • Attitude

This all comes down to having the right attitude. A Can-Do Attitude. “Say yes even when you’re thinking no or maybe. You’ll also need perseverance, beyond belief…

Go for the home run. Even though we’ve discussed the important role planning plays, its imperative to realize that you have to start. Not eventually. Not next week. Start NOW. Don’t wait.

Having a dream but no vision is like like owning a Ferrari but never driving it.

  • Be your own brand

Self promotion and marketing is the key. Think of all the “big names” in the blogosphere. I don’t even have to mention any names. You might follow their blogs religiously. Or, you might totally disagree with anything they say. But you do know who they are.

Realize that YOU are the trademark.

“There is only one way to make a great deal of money; and that is in a business of your own.” – J. Paul Getty, Former oil tycoon and once the richest man in America

So what does everyone think?