The Buddy System Many business people have started businesses based on their personal knowledge and experience, for example in business tutoring, teaching personal finance, or teaching accounting. You may feel you have a passion for a particular subject, and that's why you think a business in that area will be successful. I have experience in the area of public speaking. I used to do keynotes for many large organizations and many smaller associations and community organizations. It was not uncommon for people in the audience to come up and ask for my business card and say, "Hey, you should come to my organization and give a speech!" I used to try to tell them that this was not a business I was in, so I didn't really have business cards. They would reply, "Well you should get some cards made up for your business," so I would end up getting in the business of manufacturing cards that stated, "Public Speaking." When I realized what had happened I started to focus on my true passion: public speaking. I still make a little money giving presentations and speeches and now I make it for an audience that I really believe will value my advice and the information I can offer. The key is to be able to build your knowledge and reputation before you decide to make a business out of it. That's the beauty of the buddy system: get your buddy into business with you, and then you'll both be better able to take advantage of the knowledge, skills, and expertise you have on the job. You're not too young to start the journey of developing the knowledge and experience you need to make money in business, but you don't need to start early. As I talk with people about the book, they often tell me stories of men in their twenties or thirties who were very successful in building a business in a certain industry. They got their business off the ground through hard work, but later on when they were getting older, their success in the industry got them the attention of people in the industry who would ask them to take on other work, typically because they saw them as being successful and well connected. The people in this industry were not thinking about the skill set they were developing, which was hard work and not necessarily the business skills, but rather they were aware of the experience and reputations of the men in the business and they had worked with them previously. You are also probably not too old to take advantage of the things you have been doing in business on the side or as a hobby. You can use your current career to build a business. For instance, you've decided to move to another city and do something else on the side that doesn't require you to change what you are currently doing. If you have your eye on making money online as a result of reading this book and getting more information about how to make a profit, there are many ways to combine that desire with an existing career and make money with your additional time. Take advantage of your existing knowledge, the people in your company who help you and advise you, and the connections you have now. Now that you are doing something more on the side, you will have a great advantage because you already know a lot of people in business and you'll be able to approach them for more information and advice that can help your business grow. Build Your Own Team A great place to start is with your current job. If you are successful in your job and in helping the company you work for do what it's doing, why shouldn't you find ways to make money from it? This could mean finding ways to make the company better, in terms of product or services it offers, through sales or marketing, or by adding to the value of your efforts by being a part of a team that does even more than what the company does. You can find an opportunity to use your contacts to build a team of two to five people that helps the company with its sales. This could mean finding a partner in one of your functions (sales or marketing, for example) and building a partnership so that you'll be working together. Or you might find a way to get your people to work together in a different group at your company to do things that make your company's operation even more efficient. You might want to look at your company as an entrepreneur. You can look at your business as a way to help the company make a profit or to help grow the business, and then you can make money by doing what you're doing. That's one approach, and many successful entrepreneurs take that approach. For example, I know many top executives at major financial firms who got their starts in business by looking at a bank they were already in as an investment opportunity. They developed ideas for products and services that they could offer that would increase the value of their offering, and they set up partnerships with colleagues within the firm to sell those products and services. They started from within the organization. They saw it as a way to work in their chosen industry while they were already employed at the company. You might also be interested in helping other people make money. To this end, you could develop and manage a group of people who are not your employees, who are not working for your organization and who are not under the rules and regulations that govern your company. This is the type of thing that many people refer to as a "consulting firm," or "management consulting," or "strategic planning," or "branding," or "marketing," or a "training department." What you are doing is consulting on a freelance basis. For example, I work with a lot of lawyers who are running their own law firms and think about how they can make money for their clients with more than just legal services. They are looking at their own business to see what else they can bring to the table that might help their clients. These are the lawyers who often give training in addition to their legal services. They can bring an entire set of specialties that can help clients solve problems that their own people don't know how to solve. Or maybe they help the clients with certain legal issues that they cannot get around without adding to their costs and taking away from their margins. The lawyers understand their clients' business better than the clients do, so they look at their clients' work as an opportunity. You can do the same thing. Let's say you are a dentist who specializes in treating periodontal (gum) disease. Instead of only treating your patients, you might consider offering something else to your patients: a training program that shows them how to perform oral hygiene at home, an article that educates people about this disease and its risk factors, a newsletter, a video on YouTube that explains how to do oral hygiene for people who don't want to go to the dentist, or a way to sell a product that helps people maintain a beautiful smile, for example, whitening toothpaste that makes the teeth look more white. The dentist or oral health care provider does not have to leave his or her own company, go into business for himself, or even leave his or her job, because in many cases, it is already a part of what the dentist does. The dentist is already offering oral hygiene to his patients; it's just a matter of being creative with what the dentist is already doing. Some people have a natural ability to present information and are good at presenting ideas. They might consider becoming sales consultants, either for one company or multiple companies. If you are really good at helping people find good places to buy products and services, or help them decide on a way to solve a particular problem, you might consider what your true skills and talents are. You might have ideas for services or products that will solve the problems of your clients or customers that they don't even know they have. You could consult with your clients to figure out what the best solutions to their problems are. What you do for a living is your expertise. Your clients or customers don't know what you know, so when you offer your expertise, you can charge a lot more than what you cost to do the job. As I said earlier, if you are good at something you can charge a lot of money for it. Many people do not know how to find a consulting job. In the age of the Internet, it has become a lot easier than it used to be, but it is not just a question of connecting to the Internet. You have to make an effort to stay informed about your industry and the kind of information you can bring to the table and the types of clients you can attract. You have to be motivated enough to ask around and take on tasks that aren't your own. These are not things people do unless they are passionate about what they do. They are not something that you can call on to do and then not do or do only when you feel like it. So keep your eye out for work. Stay on the lookout for people who might want your help. If you're still not sure how to find a job or a client, look around at different people in your industry and your organization who you can help. If you're still looking for that client or job, look around the work that you are doing. Look at the work that you do, not just at what your job title is, but at the work that you do. If you want to help your employer grow, ask yourself, "What do I do here? What skills do I have that are transferable and useful in other places? How can I utilize my skills to make my company more efficient or profitable? What more can I contribute to the company?" Maybe you can't find a job as an administrative assistant right now, but you may be able to find something else, so go to your