In no other time in history do entrepreneurs have the ability to reach so many people around the world with what is available to them.
Through social media platforms such as twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube and Google+, you can connect to thousands and thousands of people for free. Friends in turn tell their friends and the word can be spread about your business like never before.
In the old days you would spend money on advertising through direct mail, radio and newspaper advertisement to name just a few. You would just send out your message and hope that people would respond. Believe me, I know. I remember sending out 3,000 letters which cost me a fortune in printing costs plus postage. One person called me. I was shattered.
These days, it is different.
There has been a huge shift to business going online versus having a shop on the street. It is much cheaper. Why?
No big lease hanging over your head
Your costs are extremely low when all you need is a computer connection, a website, a telephone and a great attitude
Wages: outsource overseas for as little as $2 an hour.
You can automate your business once you put systems in place
Depending on your business, you can work anywhere in the world and not be a part of the rat race from 9 to 5
The world is getting more connected through computers and smart phones. The growth has been phenomenal. More and more people are buying online. You can profit from this as well.
No more local business. You can sell your product worldwide without moving an inch.
That is why now is such a great opportunity to start a small business
You can advertise with videos by using your laptop or smart phone instead of a sophisticated studio set up. In minutes your message can be spread whereas before you needed to go on TV in order to do this. What's better is that people give you permission to send them your message. People are sharing this info with their friends. You can have access to an online community.
Other ways to spread your message is via blogs, podcasts, apps, mobile phone. Your leverage is incredible. Combine this with off page marketing; you can have a serious business like no other time in history.
Don't want to leave your job? No problem. Go on your computer after work. Check your business e-mails during your lunch break. You can have the best of both worlds. You don't need to be anywhere else. As long as you can access your e-mail, you can be in business.
No customers? You can use affiliates to get your message across. They already have a list of people they have a connection with. You can promote your product through them.
You can build your own database from scratch. Offer people value and they will gladly give your permission to speak to them.
Experience? You don't need it. There are thousands of people who can help you no matter what it is. Everything you need to know is at the click of a button. The resources we have today thanks to our good friends at Google make it easy to learn anything you need to know.
Aspiring entrepreneur and marketer. Loves building start ups and small business in general. Just released a book called The Beach Bum Millionaire: How to build a Million Dollar Business The Lazy Way
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Tim Greig, Owner at Green Galah Pty Ltd
Interesting thoughts Anthony. There are many definitions of "Entrepreneur" but I tend to agree with Peter Drucker's ideal of at least encompassing innovation: doing something that no one else has done or improving on it. After all, when we think of entrepreneurs we thing of Richard Branson, Steve Jobs, Anita Roddick and later, Mark Zuckerberg, Larry Page & Sergey Brin and so on. So while it is clear that the ability to reach more people, quicker and easier I can't really agree with your un-said assertion that anyone can be an entrepreneur because now is the best time. You need a sound business idea that is not just a fuzzy copy of what everyone else is doing (think social media experts-the latest offering) and execute it with wisdom. I'm thinking quality not quantity. Outsource everything? I think many people would have a different view on that. I'm absolutely passionate about business and would, and do encourage anyone and everyone to go for it but, to use a current example the internet is buzzing about content marketing. Well hello! Great content has always beaten copy cat rubbish. In many ways, internet or not, nothing has changed.