Earning

Are Entrepreneurs Made or Born?

My daughter started making jewelry for family members as a hobby this summer.  Before I knew it, she had opened an Etsy store and started tracking her expenses and revenue on a spreadsheet.  She made some changes to her store and tracked the resulting increase in views.  She has been researching what makes for a successful store and getting ideas off the internet.  She has been involved in social networking and posting pictures on Instagram for her over 3000 followers.

She has done this all on her own and really seems to be doing relatively well without input from anyone.  She made 2 sales in November and already has 2 in December with a goal for making another four.  She has been on college break for the past week and has been adding to her inventory for sale.  And despite the fact that her expenses for supplies have exceeded her revenue, she is optimistic that she will make a profit since she has enough stock to make a lot more jewelry.

Which all begs the question — Are Entrepreneurs Made or Born?

Honestly, I don’t really have the answer.  I am sure that there are many entrepreneurs that come by their skills naturally while others have been able to learn and refine their skills through intentional development and education.

I do know that she has watched me purchase rental houses throughout the years, and I have explained a lot about economics, building businesses, expenses, revenues, profits and losses on long drives in the car.  I have also explained the concept of inflation, supply, and demand.  So do these discussions have a role or is the fact that I am interested in these topics mean that there is some genetic component.  I really don’t know.  I suspect there might be a little contribution from both.

What I do know is that all the mental gymnastics and planning don’t mean a thing until you actually get out and do something.  I also know that virtually every successful entrepreneur has multiple failures and struggles in the early years that we seem to forget when looking at their successes.

Needless to say, I am really proud of her getting out their and doing and learning on the go rather than sitting back and just thinking about doing it.

So if you want to check out Kayla’s Etsy store, you can do so.  Plus, if you order something type in GRAND as a coupon code when checking out and you can get free shipping.

What are your thoughts about entrepreneurship?  Do you think it runs in families?  Is there more of a genetic component or environmental influence at work?  Do you know of any good studies?

Why Am I Not Rich? — A Study in Contrasts

I am sitting in a public cafeteria catching up on some email and other stuff after getting back from Honduras and couldn’t help over hearing a young lady that was sitting 2 tables away.  I wasn’t listening on purpose, but there was almost no one else in the room, and she talked really loud!  Then a couple ladies sat at the table next to me (again one was loud) so I could hear her comments as well.  It was interesting to hear the contrasting comments.

Lady Number One

The first lady was complaining about life and bemoaning her financial situation.  At one point, she stated to the individual on the other end of the phone, “Why Am I not rich?”  Well, since I got several details about your life during my 90 minutes working on my blog, I might be able to offer a few hints.

1. You are a single mom.  She stated that it was hard to support herself as a single mom to the guy on the other end of the line.  I know it was a guy since she thanked him for his child support.  There is no doubt that single moms have it incredibly tough especially with so many deadbeat fathers out there.  At least she has the luxury of a decent relationship with the father of her child such that she can communicate on the phone.  And it sounds like he is paying his support.
2. You don’t have an education.  I know this because she stated that she had decided to go finally go for her GED.  I would guess her to be in her mid-20′s so I would suspect that she isn’t making much more than minimum wage if she is going for her GED and complaining about how tough it is to pay rent.  No doubt that education has some correlation with income.
3. You have maintained a quasi-victim mentality.  I say this because she joked on the same call that she was “holding out to marry rich” (like I said, she must have a good relationship with the father of her child).  And maybe it is not a victim mentality per se, but you can’t wait for someone to save you.  And maybe she is waking up to that fact since she is going to be working on her GED and who knows after that.  Kudos on that front!

The Second Lady

Contrast that to the second lady who offered this sound financial advice.  She was telling a co-worker that:

1. She was paying an extra $120 per month toward her mortgage to pay it off in half the time.  Obviously, she is somebody who doesn’t like debt and must not have higher interest rate debt that she should be paying off first.
2. She has 10% of her paycheck put away for retirement.  She knows the importance of paying oneself first and preparing for the future.

She also looked to be about the same age.

I found it an interesting contrast good for a blog post.  I also wonder if lady #1 heard what I heard and if she did, what she thought of it. So if there is a lesson to be learned, speak quietly in public places.  You never know if a blogger is sitting at the next table or two.

Got Lucky with Some Passive Income

I wrote a little blurb about passive income over at Penny Thots explaining how it really isn’t all that passive initially as building a business or creating something does take a lot of work before the income becomes passive.  That is what happened for me online.  July has been a busy month with a week of vacation, catching up from vacation, and playing softball two nights per week.

As you may have noticed, I haven’t done squat this month on this blog and have struggled to keep up with the others (although I haven’t been doing all that well).  That’s OK, since I do feel that everyone needs a little break now and then.  Besides, I figure most people will be paying attention to the Olympics over the next several days anyway so I can gradually work my way back into the content creation mode.

Nevertheless, despite my lack of accomplishments (I last published here on July 2nd and mid-May on HubPages), I still managed to earn some money with the blogs and HubPages.  So by definition, I am considering the income passive and am thankful for what I was able to earn this month.  It is certainly not enough to quit my day job and become financially independent, but it is better than a stick in the eye.

Carnivals

Since I have been such a slug, I have failed to keep up with my carnival inclusions so I will be making up for that now.  I have four weeks’ worth of links so bear with me.  I also have over 800 articles in my reader and will skim titles quickly for the best ones.  When the weather gets cold, I won’t be wanting to get out for softball or golf so my online activities will increase again.

Anyway, here are the carnival links: