3 Ideas to Get You Started as an Entrepreneur

To most people, the road walked by entrepreneurs is a long and lonely one, marked by countless perils and reasons to turn back. It doesn’t necessarily have to be like this, though. Being an entrepreneur isn’t so much about drawing a huge paycheck as it is about your mindset. Are you the type of person willing to try new things? Will you drop what doesn’t work and keep what does? If so, the following ideas will help you get started making your own money immediately.

1. Throw Networking Parties

Unemployment is still a very big deal in this country, as is underemployment, which refers to those who have jobs, but don’t make enough to pay the bills. This is a big problem that represents the opportunity to make a lot of money. Can you solve it all on your own? Perhaps not, but you can definitely help and turn a profit at the same time.

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For the price of a hotel ballroom, you could invite anyone interested in networking to show up and charge them a small fee at the door. Provide some refreshments and a few snacks and you’re well on your way to seeing an in-demand product. Then, keep throwing these parties as time goes on. Add in speakers and other activities too.

2. Research Assistant

You really don’t need any expertise to become a research assistant. Can you surf the web? Great, you can build from there. As a research assistant, you can begin offering your services on sites like Fiverr, Elance and Odesk. You can also contact blog writers (there is no shortage of them) and offer your services.

Basically, your job will be answering your customers’ questions. They may want to know where they can get some sun during the winter without spending an arm and a leg. They may need help planning a menu for a Cinco de Mayo celebration. The list goes on and on.

The best part is that once you develop some areas of “expertise,” you can begin marketing yourself and customers will come to you. Chances are that you’ll have most of the info you need on hand by then, so you’ll be getting paid for little more than an email.

3. Resell Items on Amazon

Right now, there’s a huge market for those who resell products on Amazon. Their Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) service means you can send them your products as soon as you have them. They’ll store them until someone buys them, send them off and take a fee for their part. People are literally making six-figures from this business model.

If you live in a small town, you may be especially positioned to make money from FBA. Chances are that the cost of things at your local Walgreens or CVS is such that you could add a serious markup to any item you then sell to someone in a bigger city elsewhere.

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Any of these above ideas could be the one that you start and stick with. However, even if it just gets you experiencing the life of an entrepreneur, it’s a good investment of your time and just a little bit of money.