Let’s travel back a few years, 9 to be exact, and meet a couple of college buddies who were working to earn a masters degree at California State University Chico, here in northern California. Christian (Chris) Friedland and David Bocter started a small E-commerce business selling plumbing supplies, faucets to be exact. This venture met the guidelines for a class project and they both hoped it might bring in a small income to subsidize college expenses.

As a partnership, Chris brought experience from a local plumbing supplier, while Dave provided early funding. Faucetsdirect.com was born and quickly became a success; in fact today the company employs over 200 people here in Northern California under the parent company Improvementdirect.com. The operation now boasts 12 separate websites offering the latest in home improvement products.

Back then and still today; this company uses the Dropship model for product fulfillment. Improvement Direct has fostered relationships with some of the largest manufacturers and distributors of home improvement products in the Country.

Continue to the six tips for using a dropshipper

I have people ask me, usually men, how do you do it all?  How do you take care of the family, and your business, and be so management oriented?  Did you study business management in college, get an MBA?  No sir, I did not even finish high school.  I even worked at McDonalds as the French fry girl 10 years ago, now I run a multi-million dollar company.

Shhh, my Secret!  I had to work really hard, re-train myself, be willing to admit failure, be willing to change what was not working, and develop skills that I never knew I had.

It is not easy!  Let me tell you, however, once you have the skill set, anything is possible.  Here are my 5 tips and secrets that I use EVERYDAY, to do it!

1) Make sure you have a very clear to do list. I cannot function without it jotted down, even on a scrap paper.

2) Enlist people to can help you do these items, or that can do them for you.

3) Do not overload your schedule. I know that after I drop my kids at school, I have from 9 AM to 3:30 PM to get my things done. Because as you know, once the kids get home there is a host of activities going down i.e. dinner, homework, chores, and don’t forget you and daddy time! That is a whole other blog to write about. I have been successfully married for 20+ years, so I guess I can claim to be an authority on how to make it all work.

Get the next two tips

Steve

A: Recently, I was chatting with my friend Rieva Lesonsky about what a challenge it is to own and run a small business in this economy. The topic was especially salient because , as we are both small business owners as well as writers and speakers on the subject, the Great Recession is effecting us in numerous ways.

You may have heard of Rieva. She is one of the top small business experts out there, but even if you have not, you have no doubt seen her work – for many years she was the editorial director of Entrepreneur Magazine and she wrote the bestselling book Start Your Own Business. When I look at her resume – being on The Today Show, Oprah, etc. – I get jealous. These days she is the CEO of GrowBiz Media, a content and consulting company specializing in covering small businesses and entrepreneurship.

So Rieva is someone who really knows her stuff and that is why I was happy to hear that she is conducting an online chat at Bank of America’s online small business community on the subject Navigating Your Small Business Through the Great Recession. The chat will be on Friday, July 17th at 2:00 p.m. est.

Sensing an opportunity to share her insights with my readers, I asked Rieva what she is telling people these days with regard to staying afloat and even getting ahead.   (So you see, the question above . . . is mine!) She mentioned four things that she thinks can really make a difference right now:

1. Work smart: “Do not waste your time doing things you don’t have to do. Use your time wisely and concentrate your efforts on getting the biggest return on your investment of time,” Rieva counsels. “So, to the extent you can avoid it, avoid getting caught up in minutiae, especially minutiae that does nothing to help you grow your business.”
Rieva echoed the point made by Michael Gerber in his great book, The E- Myth. “Don’t spend your time working in your business,” she said, “work on your business.” As such, she thinks one of the smartest things you can do is to “use your time on things that make you money, and to the extent possible outsource or automate the other stuff.”

For example, she noted that something like doing payroll is probably not the best use of your time in times like these.

2. Remember, cash flow is king: In recessions, it becomes more and more commonplace for customers to pay later and later. “You have to try and avoid having that happen to you,” Rieva said. Yes we have to be cognizant that people are having a difficult time right now making ends meet, but it is equally important to keep “your cash flow flowing.”

So get those past-due invoices paid. Call up the tardy customers, be kind and firm, and keep the money coming in the door.

3. Surround yourself with people who can help: “So many small business owners consider themselves the ‘lone wolf.’ While admirable in many ways, that attitude can be problematic in tough economic times like these when we can all use some help,” notes Rieva.

Her solution? “Join an online community.” There are no shortage of excellent online communities that allow small business owners to meet up, share ideas, get feedback and the like. Finding and joining an online group is a free way to brainstorm, get advice, give advice, and get valuable feedback.  Right now, it does not behoove you to be a lone wolf.

4. Save money and shop for bargains. Keeping your overhead low is always excellent business advice, but is more pertinent now than ever. Says Rieva, “And there are lots of bargains to be had: Look for and use rewards, shop for great rates, use online shopping portals. The important things is to be extra smart about where you spend your money right now.”

Sage advice my friend, sage advice indeed.

Today’s tip: The Franchise Maid Brigade is offering veterans a very unique opportunity: The chance to win their own franchise. The Maid Brigade Veteran Franchise Giveaway is a contest that will give up to 100 qualified vets their own Maid Brigade franchise.

The Giveaway is open to all United States military veterans who are no longer on active or reserve duty. The criteria for entry are:

• Provide a “Certificate of Release or Discharge of Active Duty” (Form DD 214).
• Complete the Maid Brigade Veterans Franchise Questionnaire which includes an essay: “Describe in 100 words or more: What aspects of your military leadership, training, and experience would you apply to your own Maid Brigade operation?”

Good luck!

Stu

A: No, I don’t know what it is specifically, but I can say that you are on to something generally – this year, about three million Americans will turn 60, and that will continue for the next 15 years as the Baby Boom generation starts to age and “retire.”

And because the Baby Boom generation is in fact so massive, this is, quite literally, a once in a lifetime opportunity, for several reasons:

• Like it or not, the Boomers have been at the forefront of a variety of important issues and events: Vietnam, the sexual revolution, civil rights, the self-awareness movement of the 70s and the health craze of the 80s, to name a few. These are people who will always see themselves as open-minded and young. Willing to try out new ideas, the Boomers are a creative entrepreneur’s dream.
• Even with the stock market crash, the Boomer generation is still one of the wealthiest in American history. Despite smaller portfolios, many of them will enter their retirement years with plenty of disposable income.
• The sheer number of Baby Boomers has always made them a force to reckon with, and this will remain true as they age.
• Finally, the Boomers will likely not only be the healthiest old fogies around, but due to advances in medicine and health, they will not be dying off any time soon. People 60 years old today have a life expectancy of 82, but don’t be surprised to see many live into their 100s.

While getting older certainly will have a huge psychological impact on the Boomer generation, from a small business perspective, this uncharted territory offers some incredible opportunities. Because the Baby Boomers tend to do things their own way, they are also “retiring” in an unconventional manner: Far more active, far more engaged, and far healthier than earlier generations.

And that is where the entrepreneurial opportunities will lay.

Indeed, not a few small businesses have already cropped up in an attempt to cater to the aging Boomer. These businesses are helping clients in a variety of ways: Creating active and green travel events, coaching them about new career opportunities, helping them stay healthy, and much more.

And if it is true that business success comes when you help people solve problems (and it does), it follows then that the financial and retirement issues many Boomers now face will also create ample other business opportunities. Thus, a potential booming (sorry!) industry right now is one where entrepreneurs are assisting Baby Boomers with battered portfolios rebound and/or create what have been called “encore careers.”

It would behoove you to consider other ideas, such as:

• Businesses that offer anti-aging options.
• Businesses that cater to a desire for active recreation – think former President Bush (though not a Baby Boomer) skydiving on his 80th and 85th birthdays.
• A business that helps Boomers help the world – older Baby Boomers are active givers of time and money.
• E-help: Apparently, this Internet / computer revolution thing isn’t going anywhere, and the options can get dizzying, even for us in the loop. Consider how overwhelming it must look to some seniors.

Obviously, there certainly is no shortage of possibilities here, and the point is that this confluence – a huge, healthy, open-minded, aging generation, and one that is looking to stay active — will make some forward-thinking entrepreneurs very, very happy.

So get those thinking caps on and white boards out. It is time for some brainstorming.

P.S. And by the way, yes, were t-t-talking ‘bout my generation. Yes, my generation!

Today’s tip: HP recently announced an expansion of its excellent HP Access program, in which small and medium businesses can get discounts, free software and services, training, as well discounted web design, domain hosting, credit card processing, and more. Learn more here. Steve says check it out!

Bill

A: I met Bill when I was in D.C. last week for the Small Business Administration’s Small Business Week. As I am writing this column on Memorial Day weekend, I thought it would be a good idea to answer his question here because there are a lot of vets in the same boat.

• There are 25 million veterans in the United States. 8 million are from the Vietnam era, and the vast majority of the rest are from the Gulf War to the present. More than 1 million men and women have already served in Iraq or Afghanistan.

• 22 percent (about 5 million) of those veterans are either purchasing, starting, or at looking at starting a new business.

There are many reasons why veterans make great entrepreneurs – they tend to have the leadership skills, planning ability, and stick-to-it-tiveness that go hand-in-hand with small buienss success.

In addittion, they also have the desire, and need, to be their own boss. Consider this sobering statistic: According to USA TODAY, “The 11.2% jobless rate for veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan and who are 18 and older rose 4 percentage points in the past year. That’s significantly higher than the corresponding 8.8% rate for non-veterans in the same age group.”

So, between their unique skills set and the tough economy, veteran entrepreneurship is likely to be on the rise.

Here is an example: Army Staff Sergeant Robbie Doughty was only 32 when a roadside bomb in Iraq cost him both his legs. Honorably discharged from the Army, the sergeant and his young family faced a very uncertain future as he endured months of rehabilitation, not knowing what he would or could do in his condition, or how he would care for his young family. And then he received the phone call that changed his life.

On the other end of the line was Michael Ilitch, the owner of the Little Caesars Pizza franchise (as well as the Detroit Tigers and Detroit Red Wings.) Having read about Sergeant Doughty in USA TODAY, and even though he had never met the sergeant, Ilitch simply wanted to thank Doughty for his service and give him some words of encouragement.

Yet after a while, moved by the young man, his grit, determination and story, Ilitch offered Doughty a remarkable opportunity: To open his own Little Caesars Pizza franchise in his hometown of Paducah, Kentucky. Amazed at his turn of good luck, Doughty accepted the generous offer and today is a successful entrepreneur, taxpayer, father and husband.

Unfortunately, most veteran entrepreneurs do not have a Michael Ilitch in their lives. But the good news is that there are plenty of other people and resources out there who want to help the new veteran entrepreneur. Here are some of my favorites:

The National Veteran Owned Business Association: Says NaVOBA, “NaVOBA unites current and future veteran-owned businesses by acting as the national voice for the veteran business movement. NaVOBA works to convince corporate America and the government to consider using veteran-owned businesses as preferred vendors.”

One reason I highly recommend NaVOBA is because I know these folks. I write for their magazine (Vetrepreneur) and know first-hand how committed they are to veteran small business success.

The SBA Office of Veterans Business Development: The SBA, and its website, is a great resource, as always.

The Department of Veterans Affairs: The VA also has a website full of useful resources.

You may also want to check out the National Veterans Entrepreneurship Conference held this September in San Francisco.

Today’s Tip: Before I went to D.C. I was contacted by Ford and was asked if I wanted to test-drive a new car that was “designed for small business.” More than one person I mentioned this to wanted to know just what the heck that could be. Me too! It sounded like a marketing ploy to me.

Boy was I wrong. The folks at Ford showed me a great, sharp looking car that many small business people would be wise to check out – the new Ford Transit Connect. It is a small cargo-type car/van perfect for the small business that hauls stuff or makes deliveries: An antique dealer or a bakery for instance.

This car was indeed designed with a small business in mind:

• It’s small enough to get great mileage, but the inside cargo area is incredibly roomy and well designed.
• Unlike a traditional van or minivan, the Transit Connect’s cargo area offers various customizable options, depending on the business. The one I drove was specifically outfitted for a florist with small racks, bins for flowers, etc.
• The car can seat, two, four, or five passengers, has sliding doors on both sides, and two rear doors that open fully.
• The radio area is a wireless screen with full Windows capability. The wireless keyboard turns it into a moving office.

Did someone say American car companies were in trouble? They won’t be with great cars like this.

Bowlds, once territorial manager at Eaton Corp., could not ignore the economic disparities – how blacks only retail 3 percent of their gross net income, while owning less than 4 percent of U.S. small businesses. Then, after ten years of research and coaching others, he decided to create a solution.

“I felt that responsibility for changing the economic status. It’s not going to come from anyone else, because no one else has an invested interest,” he said.

Bowlds realized that through the Internet, the ambitious could pool together their own resources for entrepreneurship, then a profit. He then remembered this basic principle: “The best place to start is within your own community.”

The end result of his brainstorming is African American Connection, an online marketplace that Bowlds hopes will inspire as well as facilitate financial independence.

“When it comes to meeting their financial needs and aspirations, they think of it in context of getting a job, getting a sports contract, or getting a deal with the government – something outside of our own communal wealth,” he said.

That he strives to change, as the Web site hosts two marketplaces. One provides general merchandise through major retailers like Wal-Mart and Macy’s, and the other sources products offered through African American Connection merchants.

Entrepreneurs who register may also utilize a personal shopping cart, payment processing center, and a biweekly webinar, in addition to partnerships with four major wholesale sources – in sum, “a mechanism that would create more retail merchants.”

“We fashion ourselves like a real mall,” Bowlds said. “It is really a system where we can all work together to pull our aggregate resources to one center.”

For more information, call 1-888-ACC-8842 or visit African American Connection.

Q: Steve – I would like to get away with my family this summer, but I just don’t see how I can do it. I own a one-man business and when I don’t work, I don’t get paid. What can I do if I can’t afford to get away?

Tony

A: Amigo, I hate to sound like a cliché, but you can’t afford not to get away.

If you are like most of us, you went into business for yourself because

• You wanted more freedom, or
• You wanted a better boss or work situation, or
• You wanted more creativity at work, or
• All of the above

I once worked for a law firm that, I thought originally, was quite generous with their time-off policy: Three paid weeks a year. Woo-hoo! But it was only after I started that I “got” the fine print. I was allowed the time off, sure, but only if I still billed my requisite 90 hours for the time I was gone. I got three weeks of, but only if I worked an extra three weeks later in the year.

Man, I hated that job.

So, if you are the boss now, be a good one. Give yourself a break. Even better, give yourself a long break. You deserve it. And you are not alone, according a recent American Express Open survey, almost 2/3 of all small business owners are going to take a week off this summer.

Here’s how the solopreneur can do it too:

Plan ahead: This can mean many things:

• Saving up enough money so you can get away without it being stressful
• Telling clients and customers that you will be gone
• Making a list of essential things that you normally do that must be done while you are gone, and then

Hiring a temp or virtual assistant: If in fact you cannot get away without closing the office or shop, then consider hiring part-time help, a temp, or a virtual assistant who can man the essential functions while you are gone.

No, they cannot do everything you do, but you just might be surprised how much they can do. The key is proper training, and good communication. Consider having a pow-wow every few days over the phone. In the meantime,

Turn the Blackberry off : It’s a blasphemous thought, I know. But the point of getting away is to get away. Constantly checking emails and making calls not only defeats the purpose, it ticks off people who you are supposed to be relaxing with.

Call and check in a bit, sure, but there is no need to do it constantly. That same AmEx survey found that 81% of small business owners intend to check in with their business either by phone or email while on vacation. (Note:19% will not check in at all!)

Get more done early : Get extra work done before you go. By getting ahead, you make getting away much more doable.

Schedule extra time when you get back: Don’t tell everyone you will be back in the office Tuesday, tell them Thursday. Then, when you get back in Tuesday you can have a few days of uninterrupted time to catch up.

Combine business and pleasure: If getting away from it all still seems too difficult, consider making a business trip a family trip. It will save you money, allow you to still work a bit, but also have some needed R&R.

Have more 3 days weekends: Finally, if a week away is not your thing, for whatever reason, then this is the time of year to have more long weekends. You will rejuvenate your batteries, yet still get work done.

Today’s Tip : If business with your traditional customers is slowing down, then guess what? It may be time to investigate areas and customers that can be more productive and profitable, and begin to target those.

Make an “after hours” schedule – Getting serious about your new business means making certain time commitments in order to get it off the ground. Whether it’s getting up a couple hours early or working late in the evenings or working ten hours on weekends, put a regular work schedule down on paper and stick to it. Motivation tends to wane when other engagements take precedence over what should be considered “work time”. So, stay focused and treat your after hours schedule as you would a second job.

Create a business plan – One of the most important things you can do for yourself and your new business is to create a business plan. This will force you to get realistic about the funds needed as well as the monthly expenses and the weekly hours needed in order to get your business running. You might find that you don’t need as much start-cash as you originally thought or that you’ll need to keep your full-time job for at least another year in order to build up some investment money.

Consider enlisting help – You may find that bringing on a partner will help to get your business off the ground (and you out of the rat race) even faster. Of course, entering into a partnership isn’t for everyone, and the idea shouldn’t be taken lightly. However, bringing on a partner with the same goals and who brings complimentary skills to the business could be one of the best decisions you ever made.

Think about when you could leave your job – Give yourself a motivating goal to reach. What will it take in order for you to work for yourself full time? Fifty orders a month? Three hundred website visitors a day? $5,000 in sales per week? Giving yourself this concrete goal will help to boost your motivation and hopefully get you to that point even faster. Be sure to take into consideration things like cost of health and dental insurance – as well as anything else that your full-time company is currently taking care of.

While the thought of quitting your job to work for yourself may sound both exciting and terrifying, preparing a plan can help make the transition easier. With a carefully thought out work plan and clear goals, all the guessing is gone and you’ll have real figures to base your decisions on. For most people, starting a business in their spare time makes the most sense and takes some of the financial risk and worry out of the equation. There are plenty of business owners who still clock in at a regular job in order to keep their benefits, regular salary and to share in the comradery of the workplace. Once your business is off the ground and showing signs of success, you’ll have the option of choosing to keep your full-time job or to devote all your working hours to your new business.

Dave

A: I agree that owning a business is not for everyone. Here is my handy dandy quick quiz that will help anyone decide whether or not they are an entrepreneur:

Does the thought of leaving your current job make you more scared or excited?

If the idea of leaving your nice corporate gig, with its attendant benefits and perks, not to mention that nice, regular paycheck, makes you more nervous than excited, then starting a small business is probably not for you.

However, if giving up all of that makes you happy because that means that you will finally be going off on your own, then you sir (or ma’am!) are probably an entrepreneur.

Of course the idea of starting your own business and being your own boss sounds great in theory. Who wouldn’t want to chuck the rat race and start over again doing something they love? Yes indeedy, starting your own business is part of the American Dream; there is undoubtedly a certain romantic notion to the whole thing.

But, like anyone who has been married a long time knows, that first blush of passionate romance fades and transforms, if you are fortunate, into something deeper and more meaningful; it’s a different type of love.

And so it is with your business. If you start your own gig, you will be married to it. And, just like with any marriage, some are great and last a long time because they are a good fit. Others flameout rather quickly, either because they were not a good fit or that initial infatuation was just that and nothing more.

So you have to be careful when you fall in love with the idea of becoming your own boss because that initial blast of love is more puppy than pure. It is when you don’t get that paycheck after the first two weeks, or four weeks, or ever, that the cold, hard reality begins to creep in.

"Is this really for me?" Asking that after you start is the wrong time. Not a few new small business owners end up with buyer’s remorse and, like Fagin in the play Oliver!, say "I think I better think it out again, hey!"

So before you ever get to that spot and marry a business that you don’t really love, consider these steps first:

1. Try it out part-time: I have a pal who loves the idea of going into business for himself but would have to give up a very lucrative career to do so. And with a family to support, he does not have the luxury of making a mistake. So what did he do?

He bought into a business as an investor. Though he is not responsible for the day to day operation of the place, he still gets to scratch his entrepreneurial itch.

2. Freelance: If yours is a profession in which you could sell your services part-time when you are not at work, try it. See what sort of market there is for what you offer and whether you like doing it on your own. You could always ramp it up more later.

3. Consider a franchise: Obviously a more expensive option, buying a franchise is a way to get into business and still have support. A great franchise system will teach you well, keep teaching you, and offer plenty of other support. But, before buying any franchise, check with current franchisees to see what the system really is like and that you really will be supported.

Bottom line: Don’t be fooled by the initial intense feelings that dreaming about being an entrepreneur might evoke. They are not real. It’s infatuation. Before marring a business, make sure you really are compatible and will love each other for a long time.

Today’s tip: At my site, MrAllBiz.com, we ran a poll asking people whether they thought entrepreneurs were born or made. The vast majority said they thought entrepreneurs were made and not born.

Entrepreneur’s rut is what happens when you have been running your business and become a part of the engine instead of the spark that is running it. You are in a routine. You are accustomed to the daily grind and just float along, keeping things at the status quo.

While this approach may keep things chugging along for some time, eventually you will want to make your business better. So how are you going to do this?

The same routine day in and day out is not the only thing that leads to being in a rut. It can also be spurred on by family obligations, stress, and even old-fashioned procrastination, where you put something off so long that you can’t figure out how to do it when you decide it’s finally time to act.

Getting out of the "Entrepreneur’s Rut"

First, figure out what is causing it. Whether it is stress from the rest of the world or just being stuck in a predictable routine, you need to know the cause before you can fix it.

Next, you need to change your routine. Without making significant changes, you will just trap yourself in the same conditions that are causing your rut. A great way to do this is to take a little bit better care of yourself. For stress, yoga, exercise, a massage and even remembering to take your vitamins can make a difference in how you feel.

While exercise may not be your first choice of a way to get out of a rut, you may be surprised at the surge of energy you’ll get from exercise. Additionally, focusing on exercise is a way to clear your mind and open it to new thoughts and plans.

Rut-Busting

If part of your problem is stress from feeling overwhelmed by things to do, you should try to make your tasks more manageable. One of the best ways to do this is to create a task list.

You may not initially want to see everything you need to accomplish in writing, but it will be worth it. After you have made the list, prioritize it. Then you will be able to start checking things off as you get them done and feel a sense of accomplishment.

If you are in a job that requires creativity and you are having a block, take yourself on a date. Go out and do something fun, interesting, and just for you. This will get your creative juices going again and have your brain popping with new ideas.

No matter how exciting and intriguing your job may seem when you first start your own business, over time it can become just like anything else – the "same old thing". Sometimes it’s necessary to step away, sort it out and switch up your schedule to get over the hump.