LDSPMA

Empowering Latter-day Saints to spread light and truth by connecting them at the intersection of faith, creativity, and professional skill

Business

A Quick Primer on Starting Your Own Home-Based Business

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By Amy Collett

Entrepreneurship is a lofty goal, but one many aspiring business owners can easily reach by starting small with the home-based business. By getting your venture established in this manner, you can maximize flexibility and minimize overhead. But how do you get started? Is it really possible to market yourself and make money? Answers are found below.

In the Beginning

One of your first steps before applying for your business license or putting up a website is to determine what you want to do and what type of business structure you’ll have. Most home-based businesses are run as sole proprietorships. However, if you need to protect your personal assets, you may want to establish yourself as an LLC.

Next, take a look at your funds. When you do not want to dip into your savings, you have plenty of options from the Small Business Administration Bridge Loan program to raising funds via friends and family. Financing your business venture can give you working capital to buy inventory or equipment. Further, by not dipping into your personal nest egg, you won’t be quite as stressed out about money, and you’ll have cash in hand to reach your professional goals. There are non-governmental funding sources available as well, and Zen Business notes that many larger companies have even taken it upon themselves to provide grants for SMBs.

Getting Started

Now that you are ready to go and have the funding to do so, you may want to look into hiring a helping hand as you establish yourself as a leader in your industry. The type of assistance you need will depend on what you do. If you are a book writer, for example, you’ll want to find an experienced editor, and the Latter-day Saint Publishing and Media Association notes that you can start by looking for recommendations from other writers.

You might also need help with administrative, technical, or other tasks outside of the scope of your expertise. In this case, hiring a freelancer may be a smart choice. First, an independent contractor will cost you less overall, even if you have to pay slightly higher hourly rates. But more importantly, you will have access to a global platform of people with the types of experience you need. There are downsides, however, and it makes sense to review the pros and cons of hiring freelance help before you recruit.

Customers Are Key

One of the most intimidating aspects of running your own business is putting yourself out there and finding customers. It requires a high level of confidence, and you have to be ready for rejection. Start by developing a plan, which might include scouting for potential clients on social media or sponsoring local events to draw attention to your business. Make sure to price your products or services competitively, taking into account everything from your local economy to the value that you bring. You do not necessarily have to be the least expensive option but the one that provides the very best for the money.

Once you begin bringing in customers, remember the importance of customer service. No matter what you do, there will always be competition, and if they are perceived as more customer-centric, you can bet that is where consumers will go. Focus on quality, and remember that getting things right the first time is the best way to make a good impression. This, in turn, will convince your customers to tell their friends and family about you, which equates to more revenue.

The above tips can help you get started. Ultimately, however, the success or demise of your business is something only you can determine. It might be a daunting endeavor, but entrepreneurship is one that comes with many benefits—ones that you have to experience for yourself to appreciate.

Mentoring Is a Relationship

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By Barry Rellaford

Reflect on a time in your life when someone believed in you, saw something important that you didn’t see in yourself, or gave you an opportunity to learn and contribute. Who comes to mind?

Perhaps it was a teacher. A family member. Someone you worked with. A Church leader or adviser. A sports coach, music teacher, or theater director. Maybe it was a leader of a writing workshop. Perhaps it was someone you interacted with for only a moment.

I’ve asked people around the world to engage in this simple reflection, and I’m constantly inspired and humbled by their answers.

The person you’ve thought of likely served as a mentor for you—someone who helped you develop your potential, especially professionally.

Mentoring is more than an activity; it’s a relationship. While the focus is on the performer’s development, mentoring brings benefits to the mentor as well. The dividends of mentoring relationships are much the same as in other high-trust relationships: increased confidence, improved results, greater positive energy, and true joy.

One of the greatest mentors in my professional life was Chriss Mecham, my supervisor in my first corporate job. She took a risk to hire me (I didn’t have the two years of corporate management development experience CompuServe was looking for) and rapidly gave me opportunities to understand and work toward achieving my potential.

But Chriss could be tough.

At one point, I was being a maverick, drawing attention and credit to myself. In a very direct and caring way, she helped me see that the work I was doing depended on an entire team. And instead of reining me in, she opened the gates, continued to extend trust, and gave me more opportunities to grow. I love and appreciate her for the investment she made in me, and we’re still close friends 30+ years later.

Belonging to a professional organization like LDSPMA provides many opportunities to mentor and be mentored. “Let’s take a look at some of the ways to find or be a mentor.”

How Do I Find a Mentor?

To find a mentor, start by thinking of people in your field whom you admire. Seek them out in person, online, or by phone. See if they would be willing to occasionally meet or otherwise talk with you to help you progress in your career.

Another way to find a mentor is to come to LDSPMA’s annual conference. It’s an unparalleled opportunity to interact with industry luminaries in an intimate setting. Meet speakers and panelists before and after their sessions. Connect with them online and through what they’ve published.

Also join LinkedIn, and follow thought leaders. Comment on their blog posts and social media pages. If you’re interested in having someone you admire serve as your mentor, then ask. It’s that simple. Meeting the potential mentor in person and establishing a meaningful relationship will facilitate this possibility.

For example, Richard Leider is one of the luminaries in the field of purposeful work and living and is the author of several bestselling books, including The Power of Purpose. I traveled to the San Francisco Bay area to attend a workshop he was leading, and I took the initiative to help him set up for the day and to visit with him one-on-one. That initial meeting grew into the opportunity to spend three weeks together in Tanzania and to lead workshops together. Most successful people are generous in paying forward the investment their mentors made in them.

With so many new publishing modalities, you may find that your mentor is younger than you—and more experienced! Don’t be embarrassed to learn from them, and see how you can help them in return.

What If I Want to Mentor?

Reflect on the person who extended trust to you, and do the same as they did—for the same reasons. Care about people. Care about your profession. Invest your energy and time in helping others by providing mentoring.

In a professional association, like LDSPMA, one of the greatest benefits of membership is mentoring relationships. If you’re an experienced editor, publisher, writer, filmmaker, composer, podcaster, or other publishing/media professional, look for opportunities to share career and life lessons and help shorten the learning curve of a rookie in the field.

Take on leadership roles in professional circles. Share lessons learned in talks, articles, LinkedIn posts, and other online avenues.

Conclusion

“I am a part of all that I have met,” wrote Tennyson in Ulysses. I seek to be the best part of all whom I’ve met. I look forward to meeting you at an LDSPMA event or online. Please let me know how I can help you in your journey of sharing light!

How I Got into a Publishing Career

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By Eric Smith

My path took a big twist before I got into a publishing career. I want to share some details of my journey, in hopes this might help someone who is also considering a publishing career.

I loved the English language as a child and teenager—reading, writing, and even editing. I don’t think I really knew the word editing, but I had an innate love of correcting writing, including the ward newsletter when it came around.

In college I pursued English literature because of my love of reading and writing. At some point I also became aware that editing was a career path. I took a usage course and an editing course. I also tutored writing and got a job as a freelance editor for a scholarly publisher. At this point I knew I loved editing and would be happy in an editing career, but I also had always planned on graduate school.

For a variety of reasons I went to law school and then began a career as a corporate attorney at a large firm. Much of what I learned in the law was later very useful when I became an editor—managing multiple projects, handling stress, working with clients, analyzing arguments, communicating promptly and professionally. I did a lot of reading, writing, and research as a law student and attorney, and that too was all quite relevant to editorial work.

Though various aspects of legal work appealed to me, I was not deeply passionate about my job. Maybe I would have lasted a long time as an attorney except that I had previously had the experience of really loving editing work as an undergraduate. Editing had felt like something I was almost born to do, like a calling, whereas being an attorney felt like more of a grind.

I began to consider different careers in the law other than working for a large firm. After a few months, I came across a posting for a full-time editing job. Almost on a lark I applied for the job. As I moved through the interview process I became more and more interested in the job. As I looked back at my life to that point, I could see that the dots of preparation could be lined up as a path leading to an editing career. My passions were in that area; my undergraduate schooling and prior work experience were right on point; my experiences in the legal world were also relevant.

When I was offered the full-time editing job, I made the leap. A few attorney friends thought it was a bit crazy to leave the practice of law and the more lucrative pay that came with it. Many others were supportive and said they wished they had the opportunity to try something different. Ultimately, I knew I was following my heart and that it was better to make such a big change early in my career.

Upon beginning the editing position, I was immediately comfortable that I had made a good move. There was an inherent satisfaction in working on improving other people’s writing, and I felt a strong collegiality with the other editors I worked with. I have never regretted the decision to change careers. I have never looked back.

My primarily initial assignment as an editor was to support another editor with a large print project. I also got some assignments to edit web content, which gave me experience with HTML. I edited public affairs materials for a number of years and also learned a lot about permissions for illustrations. I learned to work directly with graphic designers on layout. I helped prepare indexes and created custom style guides for clients. It seems like all that experience has been directly helpful as my career has wound on and my assignments have become more complex.

Later, I got management opportunities. I enjoy these because I love trying to be helpful to people I supervise, and I love thinking about workflow and process and resources—how to get the work done in the most efficient way in a way that is hopefully deeply satisfying to the people doing the work. Looking back, I can hardly believe how lucky I was to get that first full-time editing job—how lucky I have been to have had a 15-year career (so far) in publishing.

If anyone reading this is considering a career in publishing (or a career change to get into publishing), I encourage you to follow your heart. Be realistic too. If you think a publishing career is your calling in life and can provide you the income you need, go for it.