The last few years have been very robust in terms of the growth of entrepreneurship, micro entrepreneurship in particular. I am often asked the question; What is the difference between entrepreneurship and micro entrepreneurship. Micro entrepreneurship simply refers to being in business for yourself as an independent contractor, direct seller, freelancer, agent, affiliate of a brand, marketing your products/services on digital platforms like Etsy and others, or even via your own website or social platform. Micro entrepreneurs do not need a fixed facilitate to operate from, are not employees nor do they hire employees.  Micro entrepreneurs are also your Uber Drivers, your Airbnb hosts and the list goes on.

All of the preceding are a part of what we now reference as the gig economy. The popularity and appeal of the gig economy has resulted in new definitions that are changing the way we work and live. The traditions associated with the 9 to 5 work day are now complemented or being replaced by more flexible work opportunities and possibilities that are attractive to all ages and all walks of life.

The definition of an entrepreneur is no longer confined to the person who invests substantial amounts of money into bricks and mortar, real estate, and machinery. The new micro entrepreneur is your next-door neighbor, your relative, your best friend, someone, or anyone that you know who is leveraging their time, talent, skills, experience, in a manner that compliments income or creates an incremental  income stream. The new micro entrepreneur can be YOU regardless of your profession, skill, or trade. Professionals from all fields are involved, even doctors and attorneys, but so are skilled workers, and hobbyists who leverage their skills through their own micro entrepreneurial efforts. The possibilities are now here and available. It is really up to the individual to embrace these new freedoms that activate human potential, perhaps, like never before.

Regardless of your past experience or the great experiences that you may be currently experiencing, you too will benefit from exploring and realizing that the future is really controllable by you …more than you may think. Behind this new interest in micro entrepreneurship is the desire to develop multiple income streams vs relying solely on one source of income.

My career journey started with a focus on becoming an architect of buildings. Because I was fortunate to have been introduced to a micro form of entrepreneurship while working in the architectural firm, I learned from my sponsor that I could also become more of an architect of my personal life. I was introduced to a direct selling business model whereas my wife and I did not have to stop anything that we were already doing in order to learn a few basic concepts that would lead to success in direct selling. The word “selling” is used as a descriptor of the direct selling model, however, success in direct selling is more about “sharing” vs selling. This proved to be a concept that both my wife and I could embrace, and we did. Eventually, the direct selling form of micro-entrepreneurship became our primary focus and source of income.

Ironically, I learned that success in direct selling was very similar to success in designing and building a building. There must be a keen understanding and vision for what is to be accomplished and specific plans developed for achieving the vision. Therefore, success is always about executing a process as flawlessly as possible. The process we adopted to succeed in direct selling always focused on simplicity. We adhered to the following and it worked for us:

1. Be your own best customer.
2. Share with others what was shared with you.
3. Share with others how they too might enjoy doing what you are learning to do.

The above process made sense to me, it was easy to understand and all we had to do was build up a few basic details to effectively adopt the above process which we called the Power of 3. Others have referred to the uncomplicated process as the A – B – C’s of building your own business.

When we look at the three steps in the process I have always used I learned that A. was critical and before I could share, step B, I had to be my own best customer. I had to believe in my product/service! I had to clearly understand the value proposition as I never wanted to attempt to sell someone on something that I was not only a believer, but a passionate advocate. When the A step is in place, it is very easy to go to the B step.

When you market or share your product or service you are basically sharing why the prospective customer, member, partner should engage the product or service with you. Personally, I love sharing something good that I have discovered that I know the other personal has probably never heard of before. I enjoy it when the others person says, “thank you” and decides to engage themselves. Once I understood the value of sharing, I developed a few scripts that I could use anytime, anywhere. I never wanted to make things up on the fly. Because I always knew what I was going to say to any particular audience, I was always ready. Today we can use email, text, phone call, social platform, special application to reach people wherever they are. There are no time zone or geographical constraints. When you share authentically, enthusiastically, and consistently, you will be amazed at the clientele you can build for the product or service that you are marketing. The big take-away from what I have just shared is: Know what you are going to share and engage consistently, every day, or on the days you intend to work your business.

Depending upon your choice of micro entrepreneurial opportunity, there may be an incentive for you to refer others to the same product or service which they too could affiliate or represent.  When this is possible, you activate step C. At this point, all is simple because whatever you are doing yourself, you can easily show others how they too can do what you have learned to do.

Micro entrepreneurial success is much easier than you may have thought for those who take the time to study, plan and execute consistently. Micro entrepreneurial opportunities are Uncommon Freedoms!