Now I know you have heard work at home stories before, but here’s a good one. Andrew Gideon, founder of an online fashion accessories business was still working at his corporate job when he and his wife launched their business website. The personal freedom of being one’s own boss was very attractive but felt impossible.
Because the net is an “always open” store, they didn’t have business hours per se, and quickly came to enjoy the fact that they were making money whether they were sitting at their computer, or not.
One of Andrew’s funniest memories is rushing home each night to see how the site had performed during the day. The excitement of an expanding business took hold of them both, and as their business grew so did their personal freedom.
They have now grown their business to a full online store with a plethora of colourful cravats, links, ties, and all sorts of accessories. Today, Tiesncuffs.com.au is Gideon’s full-time passion and a burgeoning business with $700,000 in annual revenue. The personal freedom they so long dreamed of is finally here as they are now entrepreneurs with cash in their pockets and time to pursue new opportunities. And Andrew is probably wearing a really cool tie, too.
More than half of all U.S. businesses are based at home. While often dismissed as quaint hobbyist ventures, an estimated 6.6 million home-based enterprises provide at least half of their owners’ household income generating a personal freedom hitherto unimagined. Together these “homepreneurs” employ one in 10 private-sector workers, and by many measures they’re just as competitive as their counterparts in commercial spaces.
Every person has their own brand of talent. You’re great at something; you just may not have found it yet. To attain personal freedom you have to have the courage to dare to achieve your dreams. Most of us put our own obstacles in the way, either consciously or subconsciously. We say to ourselves “it can’t be” or “I could never do that” or even “if I try that, I will fail”.
