How to Be Your Own Boss and Make More Money

This is a guest post by Marshall Davis. You can also write a guest post about entrepreneurship.

While we concentrate on finding ways to save a buck there is another side to the coin. You can also find ways to increase your income. It is wise to be mindful of where you spend what you make, but if your income increased, wouldn't it make the whole budgeting process a wee bit easier?

The Land of Opportunity

Those that live in America live in the land of opportunity. This country was built on the ingenuity of the little guy who worked tirelessly to build a company that not only contributes to society as a whole, but more importantly, contributes to their personal bottom line. There is no reason why you can't be this little guy, making a go at your slice of the American dream.

Sure, it is a lot easier to be an employee, working for someone else. But is that really the way to true financial freedom? While there may be opportunities to make a killing working as an employee, the majority of the workforce is putting in their 40 hours a week and just making enough to get by. Why settle for the norm when there is a big, wide world of entrepreneurialism out there waiting to be exploited?

Me, An Entrepreneur?

Today, it is easier than ever to be an entrepreneur. No one says that you have to be the next Henry Ford and build up a great manufacturing empire. Sure, if that strikes your fancy, go for it! However, for the rest of us, there are many smaller, yet lucrative, opportunities out there. All thanks to the Internet.

Just a few short years ago, my wife and I were exposed to one of the many opportunities that the Internet offers. I was on my third career, yet I was just in my thirties. Needless to say, I was struggling to find out what I wanted to do when I grew up when we saw a news piece about people selling on eBay. Before we knew it, we had quit our comfortable corporate jobs, and we were suddenly entrepreneurs with our very own eBay storefront!

The Internet affords anyone who possesses a bit of entrepreneurial spirit the opportunity to become self employed, for very little startup cost. Most of us have computers. Most of us have some free time (yes, that means watching less TV and actually do something useful with your nights and weekends). What might be missing is the idea, the spark, to set the process in motion. Trust me, if you get to the point in your life where you can't stomach going into work, the spark is easier to find than you might think.

You don't have to dive headfirst into the deep end right away. You can start out slowly, dipping your toes into the water while you keep your day job. You can start selling things on eBay. Or, if you are the creative type, you can make stuff to sell on Etsy. These are just two online venues that offer anyone the ability to make a few extra bucks on the side, without going too far out on a limb.

Entrepreneurialism Isn't All Roses

This sounds too good to be true, so there must be a catch, right? Yes, of course there is! Considering around half of all small businesses don't survive to see their fifth birthday, there is no guarantee that things are going to work out. As a matter of fact, they might not, and you may end up reinventing yourself time and time again. Or, you might find that you make a better employee than an entrepreneur, but at least you tried!

The smart advice says that you need to work on your small business while you are still employed full time at your day job. This means that you could, and should, be spending all of your free time working on your side gig. Nights, weekends, holidays, vacation time - all your free minutes will be spent building your business. If you have a family, or it is just yourself you are supporting, it will most likely be a tough road. As the saying goes, "Nothing ventured, nothing gained."

Which sounds more appealing - spending the rest of your working years collecting a paycheck and trying to figure out how to make ends meet, or taking a chance to explore the opportunities available to you as an entrepreneur, where the sky is the limit?

Building a Startup Worth a Try

The beauty of working for yourself is, if you do it right, there is no limit to your earning potential. Contrast this to working as an employee with the chance of getting a raise next year, if you are deemed worthy. I would prefer to have my financial future in my own hands, and not be at the whim of some middle manager who may or may not like me.

Find a niche that you enjoy, one that you can excel at, one that you are passionate about, and see if you can make a business out of it. The worst thing that can happen is that you will fail and you have to keep your day job a bit longer. The best thing that can happen is you succeed beyond your wildest dreams and discover something that is more than just a J-O-B and find a loyal community behind you.

Have you heard of any good small businesses that friends or family started while they were still working their corporate job?

Marshall Davis runs Business Service Reviews, a website that reviews products and services small business owners can use to have a more successful enterprise. His new Talking Small Biz interview series will be highlighting successful entrepreneurs.

If you'd also like to contribute, you can write a guest post.