Learn more to help you earn more. Homestudy & self-study can improve your earning potential.
Learning Equals Earning! By A R Carroll

I am sure almost everyone reading this article has heard the common phrase "Knowledge is Power". What I have seen and experienced all of my life is the "Applied Knowledge is Power"! I truly believe EVERY human being has something positive to offer society. Whether that equates to you working for a huge corporation, starting/running/succeeding in your own business, doing volunteer work, training and teaching the next generation, pursuing singing/acting, or even seeking political office, it's up to you! If you pursue your dreams earnestly/confidently/honestly/diligently your dreams will become a reality!

Remember APPLIED knowledge Equals Power! You have to APPLY what you LEARN to be able to EARN what you DESERVE!

Formal Education can help you earn a living but SELF-EDUCATION can help you earn a FORTUNE!

Here is one problem or stumbling block that many people encounter when seeking fame, fortune or even when their desires are as meager as procuring their first part-time job. I call it the "employment catch-22", most jobs require experience but how can someone get experience if no one gives you a chance! How do I get that "first break", that "first chance" to show "them" what I am made of? How many times have you come across classified want ads in the newspaper that say: "Experienced Welder Needed, 5 yrs experience or more", "Experience Drive Needed 3 yrs experience or more", Experienced Salesperson Needed 7 yrs experience or more"! How is a guy/gal supposed to get a break in this world? You make you own "breaks" that's how! You get the experience, the knowledge, the know-how needed and then go after that job, career or business idea with a vengeance! Become an apprentice or intern temporarily if that'll get your foot in the door!

Today more than ever companies are seeking qualified, experienced, dedicated workers. The key to getting hired and not fired is to BECOME NEEDED by your employer or customers and more VALUABLE to them! This will be a benefit to you even if you do experience an un-expected "separation" (layoff) from your present employer. The knowledge you seek & acquire will also help catapult you into success if you decide to venture into a business of your own.

Here are some easy, inexpensive and practical ways to learn more and this earn more. The Mail Order industry and the Internet have made it very simple to learn everything from Computer Programming to Home Inspecting to Real Estate Appraising. Home-study Courses are a valuable way to learn new skills and trades. Many large corporations will even reimburse the tuition costs to their employees! College courses, certificate and degree programs are available via distant learning over the Internet from accredited schools nationwide. Local high schools and colleges offer night-school courses in Accounting, Real Estate Representative Training, Computer Training, Script Writing, Speaking/Speech Training, etc. You can either learn a new skill or brush up on an old one. There are also government-sponsored organizations such as SCORE and others that offer free and nearly free business training. Your local library has tens of thousands of books, tapes, videos, CD-ROMS, etc. that can help you learn new marketable skills from something as simple as learning a foreign language to learning the ins and outs of starting and operating your own business. Many larger public libraries have very extensive business sections loaded with business books, accounting books, marketing books, advertising books, trade books, trade magazines, etc. You be able to find hundreds of new contacts for products, services, and business professionals. You can even start an import/export business utilizing some of the foreign yellow page phone books that most libraries stock. You will also find an abundance of magazines, local, regional, national and even international newspapers to use for research purposes, advertising purposes, job placement and job recruitment services. Your local Library's "Reference Section" & "Business Section" is a one-stop source for FREE valuable information any new or established business owner needs.

I have listed some actual examples of entrepreneurs that have become successful in their own home-based Businesses:

Case 1: I met a young man that was a straight-A student, Dean's List 4 years in a row at a prestigious college, graduated with honors and a Computer-Science Degree. He landed a programming job at a major telecommunications firm making $45K. The story doesn't end there though! He HATED computer Programming, he HATED working 9-5, he felt like a trapped rat in a cage. So he QUIT after working there less than a year! Everyone in his family and many of his friends thought he was CRAZY! But was he? No he wasn't! He would have been crazy if he kept working at a job he hated! He was SMART! He didn't let the golden handcuffs of that corporation stunt his financial and spiritual growth! He realized that the corporate rat race was not for him. He decided to learn Real Estate Appraising. He found that it was very simple, almost too simple when compared to computer programming and data base analysis. He started earning $700/wk or more within a few months after a brief training and paid apprentice period. Within 2 years he was earning over $60,000 per year, working from his 2-bedroom apartment. He has his work faxed to him daily by two large appraisal firms, he works from home, at his own leisure and earns over $125/hr.

He plans to hire and train several other appraisers to work under him and then he'll be earning $50 - $100/yr or so on all of the work that THEY do! Now that is what I call "automatic pilot". Similar success can be achieved by becoming a Certified Home Inspector (they earn $100 - $150/hr or more as well).

Case 2; I also knew a stay-at-home-mom that makes a nice living making small hand-crocheted doilies, miniature bedspreads, curtains, etc. for the DollHouse & Miniatures' trade. She has several doll house stores and miniature's stores for which she does wholesale work, and she has a website where she sells at retail to the general public. She also displays and sells at trade-shows, doll & miniature shows, etc.

Case 3: I know a retired gentleman that makes $30 - $40/hr in his spare-time working in his own home-based automotive detailing business. He hand-washes and then hand-waxes or machine-waxes (the customer can choose either service) cars, vans, fleet-vehicles etc. His business mainly grew due to word-of-mouth advertising, but he does supplement that by occasionally utilizing a local direct-mail advertising campaign. Satisfied customers seem to be referring more & more friends and relatives to his establishment, and he also does a great deal of work for local new & used car dealers. He never dreamed that he could earn more waxing cars then he could at his previous full-time job.

Case 4: I have come in contact with many flea-market, feast & festival food vendors that are earning $50,000 plus yearly selling everything from Funnel Cakes (fried dough), to barbecue chicken-on-a-stick, pork-on-a-stick, etc.! Some vendors even travel the country and can earn in excess of $100K yearly! Now that's a lot of dough for just selling dough!

Case 5: A young man quits his job at a Fortune 500 Company after 12 years to start his own carpet-cleaning business. I knew of a man that did just this. He purchased a small portable dry-foam carpet & upholstery-cleaning machine and went into business for himself. When he told his manager that he was resigning his manager's mouth nearly hit the floor. The manager replied "no one quits a company like ours"! The young man said, "well I just did"! He was making more in 2 or 3 days a week part-time cleaning carpets for some of the nation's largest hotel chains that he just had to quit his job. Within a few years he had hired several helpers and had more work than he knew what to do with! Last time I talked to him, he told me it was the best thing he did in his life. He said it was nice to be able to start and grow his home-based business for a year or so before he quit his full-time job.

Case 6: A home-based businesswoman performed typesetting for various local publishers and freelance typing jobs for local doctors, lawyers and other business professionals. Early on she was earning $20/hr or more. No bad for a stay-at-home-mom of two. Within several years she decided to expand and offer other products and services to her clients, such as letterheads, business cards, etc. Before long she had her husband secure a small storefront and purchase a high-speed copier, a small offset press, automatic folder, and some other office equipment with some of the money she had earned and saved from her typesetting business. Now she heads a good-sized print shop with a 1/2 dozen workers.

Here are just six success stories out of the hundreds that I have encountered in my life as a home-based business owner. You can really succeed if you do something you ENJOY and surround yourself with people that enjoy doing it as well.

About the Author

A. R. Carroll, Writer/Successful Business Owner Please visit his Websites: www.NationalBookSales.com and www.ZeoliteDepot.com