On Aridni, we encourage our readers to work for themselves since this is generally the best means of aquiring independent wealth; however, we also need to remain cognizant of the trials and challenges that face the self employed in our society including the burdens of paying one’s own health insurance and life insurance premiums, having no guaranteed source of retirement, and coping with the unpredictablility of each month’s income. Among the most fortunate entreprenerurs, these costs are not an issue, but for those of us who are just starting our own businesses or are experiencing a drop in revenue as a result of the economy, the above can mean the difference between being able to pay your bills or going into debt. That’s why saving and managing our resources is so important.

Take my dad for example. He has been an alternative health practitioner for 30+ years and is widely regarded as #1 in his field internationally. He used to earn over $200,000 a year, but after my mother died three years ago his business slowly started to dwindle and now is falling apart. As of last week, he had depleted the mere $30,000 in his savings account and now keeps saying that he doesn’t know how he will get through the month. Yes, he still earns over $100,000 a year, but after he has paid the mortgage, $500/month for each of three individual health insurance plans, car insurance for two vehicles, life insurance, disability insurance, homeowner’s insurance, $15,000/year for the rent of his office space, etc. there isn’t much left over to save or spend. How can people like my father avoid disaster? If you are an established business owner, I suggest that you make a list of all the costs you have each month and try to put aside enough funds to last you for a year. Do not dip into these savings unless you absolutely have to. You simply never know what may come down the road later on so it’s best to save while it’s easy to do so. In the event that you are just starting out, try to save enough for at least three month’s rent. This may mean not buying that Starbucks coffee you are craving or waiting a little while before taking a trip you planned, but trust me you will be glad you did.

Another thing to keep in mind if you are self employed is the amount of time you need to dedicate to maintaining your business (i.e. recruiting clients) and how much time you must devote to your current tasks at hand. This is where networking becomes cruical. One of my dad’s problems was that once he became “successful” he simply assumed he would always have the same level of clientel and did not devote enough energy to obtaining new patients. So when people stopped being able to see him due to their own financial woes, he did not have people to replace them. Now, he is starting to seriously network again for the first time since he started his business.

While the self employed don’t have to worry about “losing their jobs,” in many ways they have less financial security and less cash flow than those of us who hold conventional jobs. Although they don’t have to pay for the overhead of a personal business, they have more monthly costs to contend with and in today’s world it is becoming increasingly important for these individuals to save not only for their own retirement, but for unpredicted expenses. The CEO of a trade association who earns $200,000 a year has significantly greater cash flow than someone like my dad who has to spend at least half of is income on overhead.

So if you are considering starting your own business, by all means go for it, but don’t forget to take into consideration the obstacles you will inevitably encounter as you start out.

Today on Aridni we are going to introduce you to one of the key members of Aridni. We’ll be focusing on Todd.

Todd is currently attending the University of Montana in Missoula working towards a double major to receive degrees in Business Marketing and Business Management. Along the way Todd is also working towards a minor in Media Arts.

Todd has always had an entrepreneurial mind and business sense almost came second nature to him. Perhaps it is because as a child, he took on more ventures than most people even consider in their lives. Some were more successful, while others failed completely. Even though he is young, getting involved and passionate as a child continued as he aged and he now easily can adapt to changes in atmospheres and markets.

This article is hard to write about myself in the third person, so with that I’ll completely switch perspective if you don’t mind and talk about myself in the first person.

I have been focusing my attention on projects and businesses quite a bit. The best way to retain knowledge is to actually use it and then teach it. You can read a thousand articles about investing, but does that make you a better investor?

In theory yes, but it’s too bad that we live in a reality where this is not always the case. Yes, you want to know everything you can, especially when it comes to your fiscal matters. But there is a point where you have to say, “Okay, I have read through these articles, or books, or whatever, and now it is time to put that information to use.”

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Once you discover that “you are the one to run the show“, now it’s time to get things rolling and start your business. However, you may be reluctant and unsure of this whole owning your own business idea. To help you with the transition of working for someone and then becoming your own boss, here are some words of inspiration- the good things about owning a business.

Boredom is nonexistent– No longer can you stare at the computer, you will work with motivation.

Constant challenge– Because your days are never completely the same, you always have some sort of a challenge awaiting you. This could be anything and everything from being interview for the local newspaper, developing the business plan, or creating a new window display.

Time is your own– The longer and harder you work, the more you reap the benefits, not someone else. If you have an appointment or are running late, the boss (you) won’t care.

Create an ideal work environment– The environment of your business is what you make it to be. If you want candles in the bathroom, by all means, have candles in the bathroom.

Never again will you have to beg for a promotion or raise– Need more money? With hard work and careful planning, you can make it happen.

Work fits your life– Now is your chance to develop a career that fits into your life, not the your life fits into. You probably won’t be working less, but you’ll be working when you want to. This means that you will be able to attend that niece’s birthday party or the children’s plan.

No boss– You are the boss and it’s great! You make the agenda, create a schedule, hire and fire, and reap the benefits. Now nothing is better than this.

What was the last good idea that you followed from the drawing board to actualization? Now what was the last good idea that you let slip by? How many ideas go through our minds that we simply don’t have the time and resources to bring to life?

Hopefully there is a high frequency when it comes to good ideas that were planned out and put to the test. However in the real world that isn’t quite possible. Unless of course you only come up with one good idea every couple of months, but we both know you can do better than that if you wanted!

So what should you do with all of your aging light bulbs? You can either act on them or forget about them.

If you want to act on them but don’t have the time, what are you doing now that isn’t necessary or could be postponed? What is required for you to raise the capital to fund this new project? Is it a matter of not eating out a couple times or as large of a decision as getting a second mortgage on the house? Perhaps you have to go talk to your friends and family about investing in you.

Whatever it takes to make your dream a reality, for the purpose of this article we’ll say you can’t or are unable to make the leap in a project you believe in. Now what? Do you let the idea sort of fade out of existence until the opportunity is gone, only to have it return as a regret?

Keep track of your ideas, make a folder for them. Allow them to evolve if they need to. But most importantly ACT. Act on some of your ideas. It’s much better to produce a decent project today than to search endlessly for the perfect idea.