Last week I talked about entrepreneurs who subconsciously fear success and constantly prevent themselves from achieving it.

Well this week I’m going to address one more success killer that plagues so many aspiring entrepreneurs. This success killer is what I call “So many opportunities, so little time” syndrome.

As an entrepreneur you always have your eyes open for a good opportunity. It’s in your blood. You can’t pass up a good opportunity that could be the next big thing, right?

Now at first glance, this may seem like a good problem to have. Well it is, but it does present a significant problem and the problem is simply this:

If you constantly chase after EVERY opportunity that comes your way, you will spread yourself too thin and you will never fully see any of the opportunities through to completion and success!

Does this sound familiar?

How many websites have you partly completed before you moved on to the next potential opportunity? How many products have you started to sell before you were attracted to another? How many business opportunities have you bought into but never seen through to completion?

It’s a curse that plagues many of us… but fortunately it is easily controlled, as long as you are conscious of it.

The fact is, my most successful students have picked an idea and stuck it through. They did their homework to make sure they had a viable business idea and then they focused… and focused… and focused… and they did not stop until they found success.

Now there is a point where an idea just does not make sense to pursue any longer, and unfortunately there’s no magic formula to dictate when to move to the next opportunity. I know people who have hit bankruptcy, not given up, and still brought their idea to fruition and made a fortune. When to abandon an idea is really up to you.

On the other hand, you don’t want to miss a great opportunity that could be bigger than what you have, and you need to always “consider” every option.

But at the end of the day my advice is this: Pick your business and stick it out. Successful businesses do not happen overnight. The grass will look greener with the next opportunity on more than one occasion, but looks are not everything.

Focus, perseverance, and patience are key. Apply them generously to an opportunity you’re pursuing and success will come.

In my continuing quest for a home-based business, I chanced upon Ameriplan, a dental and medical discount company. I tried them for a couple of months but eventually had to quit. It’s not because they are not legit. The company is legit and they do have people who have succeeded and are currently earning a decent income…

read more

1) One is a blog by Suzzette (http://freeadwahm.blogspot.com) who I met over at Social Spark (more about this site later).

Anyways, Suzzette’s blog is chokeful of very informative marketing ideas and resources for – you guessed it right – WAHMS. And the best part? They’re free! So head over to her site and pick up some ideas.

2) Sparkplugging is a great website for work at home parents – from starting a home business to home office productivity, to Work Life Balance and even resources for working parents.

By the way, both Suzzette and the editor of Sparkplugging.com are also work at home moms (yey!). There’s really a hoard of us out there – we can harness this ‘energy’ for our collective good (but that’s for another post).

Talk to you soon!

————–  Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821) ——————

I’m back at this again. Working away during my off days. Through persistence and perseverance, it will come….

I still believe that it’s possible for a parent to stay at home (and have time for the kids). I just haven’t found it yet….

If anyone’s wondering what happened to my Ameriplan venture, I quit that: I was paying $50 a month even while I was just starting and earning nothing. I’m sure that it works and had worked for some ……

In the meantime, I am in an 8-hour job waiting for a big break and an “aha” moment……

Do not squander time, for that is the stuff life is made of –Benjamin Franklin

The greatest discovery of my generation is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitudes of mind – William James.

++++++++

Here’s a link to an article on resources that can potentially help aspiring and existing entrepreneurs or business startups:

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/officelive/FX102282341033.aspx?xid=91E91FEF-8B08-4E85-B52E-CC69930C64F2

         “If you think your teacher is tough, wait until you get a boss. He doesn’t have tenure.”

                                                                 BILL GATES

+++++++++++++++++++

Also, I wanted to mention here one lady by the name of Mollie, whose email I received a couple of days ago. Like the rest of us, she is also looking for ways to ‘better her life.’

She is making use of her talents by being a gospel singer and pianist. She needs votes to win a Gospel talent contest at  www.libertyassociates.net. When you get to the home page-read the part that says Vote now and click the link. Go to the senior section, scroll and you will see her name-Mollie Jackson.  Click on it and it should load the video (although the video is short , you can hear her nice voice).

So go ahead and vote for her. Let’s support her, woman-to-woman!

As soon as the Labor Day weekend and the ‘Ber months roll in, it is time to think about those holiday gifts for Thanksgiving and whatever holiday you celebrate in December. I for one am already making my list- from my kids’ pre-school teachers to my family-in-law. I love giving gifts to people. I would like to give a gift – even a small token – to all the people who I’ve met over the course of the year.

Aside from keeping the spirit of gift-giving alive, it also bolsters my social and business networking. And I prefer to make my purchases now than rush later because now I have the time to scour the internet and the local stores for deals/discounts.

For instance, I love sites like Couponchief.com where you can find coupons for bigname brands like Bestbuy.com, Blue Nile, Target, Zappos.com, Gap.com, & Staples. And for the business-minded work-at-home mom (what a mouthful!), they also have coupons for credit card/banking services and office supply.

I also like the fact that you can search for coupons by category or by store and even customize your experience with MyChief where you can sign up for E-mail alerts and the newsletter.

So off I go coupon a-hunting!