Glenda Watson Hyatt is sometimes called the Left Thumb Blogger because she types with only her left thumb. In the inspirational video below, Ms. Hyatt shares how blogging via the WordPress platform changed her life. Simply put, blogging enables her to overcome her disability caused to cerebral palsy and to communicate with others.

Ms. Hyatt, who is a Web Accessibility Consultant, produced this video for a BlogWorld friend to use in a keynote address on how WordPress is changing peoples lives. Please note that the video voice over is synthesized. You can read more on Ms. Hyatt’s blog in her post entitled “How WordPress Has Changed My Life.”

Click here to view the embedded video.

Amazing story, isn’t it? It’s incredible what people can do when they put their mind to it and don’t give up. Wow!

Creative people amaze me.  I’m also impressed by the innovations and entrepreneurial risks taken by most small business owners.  When somebody combines creativity, innovation and entrepreneurial effort that’s a powerful formula that I find very fascinating.

One such incredibly creative example I came across this week is VanityKippah.com. This website/business was thought up and implemented by Shmuly Tennenhaus and combines politics and yarmulkes or kippahs, which are thin, slightly-rounded skullcaps traditionally work by Orthodox Jewish men. Tennenhaus, based in Seattle, created the 2008 Presidential Kippah Collection with a stylish version for supporters of each Presidential candidate. These kippahs are affectionately called The Obamica and The McCippah and sell for $15.95 with free shipping.  For those not into politics, Tennenhaus sells a neutral one known as The Hot Kippah.  VanityKippah.com reports that other trendy kippahs are forthcoming including the Bluetooth Kippah and the Ringtone Yarmulke.

This fun website store got me thinking about the power of a creative idea coupled with a little (sometimes a lot) of perserverence, work and, of course, risk. The result of such a combination is a business that you own and control. It is your creation and something that can move you and change people’s lives.

So with that in mind I wanted to encourage our readers to aim high, be creative, take risks and succeed at their dreams. If Tennenhaus can sell fashion forward kippahs with political statements then perhaps your idea can succeed as well.

As many of our regular “deal alert” readers know, I invite reader comments, questions and feedback. Sometimes readers forward me interesting and inspirational articles and stories. Today I received one that I wanted to highlight as part of my new Inspirational Series since it addressed homeschooling mothers from a unique perspective. (We have many homeschool mothers who are active readers and shoppers at Shopping-Bargains.com.)

Let me set up the quote. It comes from Daily Focus which is “a devotional for homeschoolers by homeschoolers” (it’s distributed by Alpha Omega Publications). In today’s devotional, the author writes what a job description advertisement might look like for a homeschool teacher. It’s overwhelming. Here it goes:

Now accepting applications-

Family seeking fun-loving, godly homeschool teacher. Applicant will be responsible for providing total educational development and daily personal care for children of multiple ages. Applicant will assume the following roles: cook, housemaid, nurse, taxi driver, administrative assistant, accountant, athletic coach, social director, computer technician, household and automotive repairman, gardener, course instructor in multiple subject areas and grade levels, and various other responsibilities. This is a full-time position-approximately 120 hours or more per week. Qualified candidates must be able to work well under pressure, multi-task, and prioritize work loads while maintaining a friendly, enthusiastic attitude. Quick thinking, good memory, and a varied background in extensive subject matter are a must. Promising candidates will be resourceful, adjust easily to distractions, and display creative, hard-working leadership abilities. Organizational and problem solving skills are a plus. Previous teaching experience and/or college preferred, but not required. If you’re interested in working in a fast-paced, ever-changing environment, this is the position for you! For more information on this exciting opportunity to earn fulfilling, one-of-a-kind rewards, please apply in person today.

You can read the full devotional, entitled “Wanted: Homeschool Teacher.” Pretty amazing isn’t it? It helps me have more respect for those mothers who choose this vocation.

One of our readers sent me a thought-provoking email she received from “Laine’s Letters” in answer to a question to one of her readers about “homemakers.” This reader’s question for Laine had to do with feeling that her job as a homemaker was worth “little or less” than being employed within a career. Laine’s response was to show that a homemaker contributes an enormous amount financially to the family and she assigned a dollar value to 33 categories of services and savings within her own family.

One thing that Laine suggested was for homemakers to write down everything they as a homemaker save per month by being a homemaker. Multiply that figure by 12 and that’s a homemaker’s “yearly savings salary.” Laine had the goal of trying to double her husband’s annual salary by her savings as a homemaker. In her example, she did more than that. (In her case, they worked very hard to become debt free and she homeschools the children. Her figures come from what friends and family members are paying each month for similar items in southern California where she and her family reside.)

I wanted to share a portion of this letter since many of our readers and shoppers are homemakers and I thought it might be an encouraging exercise for each homemaker to find her “yearly savings salary.” I’m sure many women feel unappreciated and undervalued and I hope this information will fuel thoughts that reverse such attitudes. (Please note that all categories will not apply to everyone and some will not work for certain families at all but you might get some good ideas.)

1) No mortgage (paid off), no car payments, no credit card or any other debt payments in interest charges: $400 mo. savings

2) No higher tax bracket because I do not work outside the home: $150 mo. savings

3) Food, Household, & Pet because I have time to shop carefully, use coupons, and homecook: $600 mo. savings

4) Clothing – lots of hand-me-downs, no need to buy quality suit clothes for work anymore: $50 mo. savings

5) Private Schooling -I provide this at home for my two students: $1100 mo. savings

6) Gas – I only go out once a weekday with the car, no drives to work and back, and I live 40 min round trip from town: $400 mo. savings

7) DMV & Car insurance – I drive a ’92 Honda, older car purposely for bigger savings: $50 mo. savings

8 ) Internet – none, so we use the library if we need it: $10 mo. savings

9) Books – rarely buy them, rather use interlibrary loan system for free: $20 mo. savings

10) Gifts – I have time to shop wisely and put gifts away when I see a good deal: $40 mo. savings

11) Healthcare – I am consistently learning about herbs and nutrition to keep my family healthy so the doc visits are rare for them: $50 mo. savings

12) Cleaning and decorating my home- done privately by me- including carpet cleaning: $90 mo. savings

13) Landscape Maintenance – privately done by my husband and I, and the kids, above-ground pool maintenance too: $75 mo. savings

14) Haircuts -done by me: $25 mo.

15) Car maintenance – done by my husband, but kept at a lower minimum since I purposely use the car once a weekday: $50 mo. savings

16) Car wash – done privately by us: $20 mo. savings

17) Staying in our older home purposely with contentment for the past 21 years, no upgrades, so less yearly taxes: $250 mo. savings

18) Childcare – done by me (savings once we get our baby, and years ago when my children were young): $600 mo. savings per child

19) Drycleaning – none- done by me: $25 mo. savings

20) No exercise membership fees – exercise at home for free: $40 mo. savings

21) No shopping channels or cable for t.v.: $60 mo. savings

22) Starbucks run – none- make ours at home and take it with us: $20 mo. savings

23) Renters – rent out part of our house – I am here all the time to manage our home: $290 mo. savings

24) Skincare – I use natural and some homemade products which saves a lot: $20 mo.

25) Frugal Vacation planning – time to do it and research for overall savings: $75 mo. savings

26) Laundry – no dryer, hang out clothes outside and use 1/2 the amt of detergent each load: $30 mo. savings

27) Heating – I am home to man the fireplace and the kerosene stove, so we save a lot: $30 mo. savings

28) Cooling – I am home to keep the house cool with fans and window treatments, minimum air: $20 mo. savings

29) Lunches out – kids eat at home, and more time to prepare lunches if we need them out: $40 mo. savings

30) Newspaper & magazines – free at the library: $25 mo. savings

31) Dining out – not frequently – rather time to cook at home: $50 mo. savings

32) Rent old movies or buy music – rather rent from the library for free: $20 mo. savings

33) Family Portraits and School/Senior Pics – done privately by me as I learned in college: $10 mo. savings

My total savings a year: $56,820

When looked at this way it’s amazing the financial contributions that a homemaker adds to her family — and I know that a homemaker’s contributions are much more than financial alone. I was stunned by the bottom line in Laine’s example and I could think of other areas that were not included in her case that would be for many other families (including taxi services, tutoring, medical care and teaching non-academic subjects like manners, cleanliness, morals, ethics, etc.). Wow, way to go, Homemakers!

This is my second post in my series on “Tips for Starting an Internet Business.” In my Introduction, I listed vision as the first of four essential elements needed for starting an Internet business.

A successful Internet business, like any business, starts with a healthy dose of vision. Vision is a vivid mental image of something that may come to be. It includes intelligent foresight and clear anticipation. Vision originates in the imagination and over time is converted into thoughts and desires and eventually plans and goals.

Imagination can be fanciful and unbelievable. It can assume away reality and overlook pitfalls. Vision, on the other hand, if it will produce a good roadmap, must be realistic and anticipate problems. It should formulate the best way to navigate the pathway to success.

One’s vision should define success. What is my definition of success in business? How will I measure it? Once success is clearly defined, we can focus on how to get from vision to success. (I feel that one’s vision should also include an exit strategy that covers what to do after success has been achieved or what to do if success remains elusive.)

In essence, vision includes the concept, goals, and strategy that will ultimately govern our day-to-day focus. In essence, it is the foundation for the business plan from which investment and other resources can be added.

Now for some suggestions for creating a practical vision that could give birth to a successful business. Here’s a few tips based on my experience.

• Find something you are passionate about
• Think of ways you can start small and grow
• Scratch an itch being overlooked (or scratch it better)
• Be realistic (SWOT – strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats)
• Expect to struggle

Find Something You Are Passionate About

If you care deeply about something then you will do what it takes to learn about it. You will spend time and effort with that thing. Eventually you will become an expert on the subject. Soon others will associate you with it and you will be recognized as an authority in this area. That recognition and trust makes an incredible asset for a business.

Think of Ways You Can Start Small and Grow

I’m a “pay as you grow” kind of guy. I don’t like debt. Period. If you can come up your own investment up front that gives you more control and less expenses in the long run. Interest and debt service area a huge drain and produce lots of worry. In down times they can kill your business.

So especially for Internet businesses, I advocate starting with what you have and know. You are already an expert on your passion so look for ways to monetize that asset. Maybe you could do consulting work. Maybe freelance for others. Perhaps address small jobs or projects overlooked by the “big guys.” And in all this, plan to under-sell and over-deliver; i.e., give more than you promised. Word of mouth is an incredible driver of future sales.

For an Internet business, maybe you could keep you “day job” for a little longer and build up your reputation (get your name out) first by blogging and giving free expert advice on forums, message boards, in other people’s blog comments, and via social networking websites. Be sure to point your “byline” to your blog or website but don’t be sales-like in doing this. Good word gets around and you will be rewarded over time.

Scratch an Itch Being Overlooked (or Scratch It Better)

Look for a niche you can fill better than anyone else. Remember you will have to compete so think about this up front. If you are already an expert then that’s a huge advantage and you can go with that a long way in building your Internet business.

I advocate serving a niche area at first so you can start small (without debt) and grow into larger things. A small niche area might be something that you can serve yourself until your revenue grows to the point of hiring others. It’s also an area that you can compete well within as an expert.

One thing to remember: Some people might have to be told they have an itch that your product or service can scratch. You’ll have to demonstrate why your product or service meets a need so be prepared to give lots of information.

Be Realistic

I like to think of SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) in this area. All of these aspects should be honestly evaluated. It’s wise to have a trusted friend or partner help in this and listen to them. They may point out “blindspots” and pitfalls that you were not aware of. They may also have great ideas or tell you about another “itch” that needs scratching.

Expect to Struggle

Owning a business is hard work. It means long hours, problems, lots of bills, slow sales periods, and even worry. It also can produce the opposite.

I know of no business owner who hasn’t had to struggle at times. This is especially true for startups. Over 90% of new businesses fail. That means those surviving in business do so through hard work matched with good ideas and dedication.

This inevitable struggle is another reason why I suggest that the ideas behind and purpose of the business be clearly defined up front. It’s easier to remain committed in a struggle when the tactics, direction, and focus are firmly established. If there are partners, all should be committed to the same vision and working toward the same goals at all times. That doesn’t mean everyone has to agree but all disagreements should be thoroughly hashed out and a workable solution wholeheartedly endorsed by all.

A Few Other Tips

I suggest that you be conservative and realistic in your planning. Remember that with an Internet businesses your competition is global and people have very limited attention spans. It takes time to be found and to convert browsers into buyers.

An important aspect of vision is the name of the business. For Internet businesses, it is important to choose a name that functions well online as a domain name. Besides the obvious that the domain name must be available, some other suggestions for picking your name are one that is easy to remember and easy to spell. I also recommend buying obvious misspellings of your domain name so you can redirect them to the correct name. To reduce search engine competition later, you might also want to purchase both the .com and .net versions as well. You may even wish to purchase derogative versions of your domain name to prevent them from being used against you in the future (such as businessnamesucks.com). [Tip: See our domain name registration page to get started.]

Now is a good time to get some professional advice too. Enlist the assistance of a competent attorney and accountant to set up the legal and financial side of the business equation. Make sure you are on sound footing to protect your personal assets and that you have a viable business plan to proceed. [Tip: You can get help online and create your own legal documents. See our legal services page to get started.]

I also strongly recommend separating business and personal assets and accounts early in the process. That means getting separate business credit cards and banking accounts and not mingling your personal and business funds. Separate bookkeeping makes life easier when filing your income taxes and much easier if you are ever audited. [Tip: Our business finances page makes it easy to open business credit card accounts.]

Conclusion

The above thoughts cover a few aspects of vision in business planning. This brief overview gives some personal insight into what you may face in planning your own Internet business. Remember, good planning now makes later success easier to achieve.

My next article will focus on the second essential aspect for an Internet business: Investment.

You’ve probably seen a television commercial suggesting that if you just buy such and such a book and follow a few easy steps you’ll soon be making big bucks in your easy Internet business working only a few hours each week. The setting for the commercial often shows someone luxuriously lounging on the beach enjoying “the good life” of riches and ease.

This picture does not paint an accurate view of reality for the vast majority of Internet business owners I know. As an Internet business owner since early 1999, I have met hundreds of others like me. Most work long hours and are very much involved in all aspects of the daily operation of their businesses.

Armed mainly with my experiences, I have a few “common sense” suggestions for getting started. Also, given that many potential Internet business owners don’t know where to start, I’ll pass on some of my tips that I’ve learned over the years since starting Shopping-Bargains.com in early 1999. And since experience is something you get after you need it, most of what I’ve learned has been the hard way through trial and error.

Basically, an Internet business is a business like any other business. It takes a lot of time, work, and vision to see the process from concept to successful reality. There is no substitute for these things if one is going to achieve long-term success.

An Internet business is a real business and can experiences the triumphs and defeats found in any business. While any business potentially can lead to wealth, an Internet business is not a shortcut to wealth. It has advantages in many areas, especially relative to market potential and efficiency. It also has disadvantages in many areas, especially due to the lack of true physical and face-to-face interaction.

As I see things, an Internet business, like any other business, requires four essential things:

1. Vision (concept, name and business plan)
2. Investment (startup resources, effort)
3. Infrastructure (web site and means to facilitate transactions)
4. Profit (customers and a long-term positive revenue stream)

Over the next few posts I’ll take a practical, “business-owner” look at each of the four areas. I’ll also suggest some resources to address various elements within these four areas.