The Motivation of an Entrepreneur

Running your own business isn’t for everyone. Most cannot deal with the huge time, energy, and financial investment required, all without knowing what’s around the corner. 93 percent entrepreneurs are males, with close to two-thirds in the 26-39 year range. A quarter of them have undergraduate degrees, while 69 percent had master’s degrees. All had been employed for five to eight years before starting their first business. Being an entrepreneur is no easy task, so what motivated them to start out in business and why did they choose to break out on their own rather than going to work for someone else? It is the motivation to work on something because it is interesting, involving, exciting, satisfying, or personally challenging.

Businesses can start-up in a garage and end up being a global Fortune 500 company. Blog.gcase.org states that it starts with an entrepreneur who perceives an opportunity, creates an organization to pursue it, assembles the required resources, implements a practical plan, and assumes the risks and the rewards. It was once said that entrepreneurship is a lot like driving fast on an icy road. Entrepreneurship is a continual problem-solving process. It is like putting together a huge jigsaw puzzle; at first pieces will seem to be “missing,” obscure, or not clearly recognizable. Entrepreneurs do what they love, and they love what they do.

Entrepreneurs stick it out through thick and thin, they have passion. When you truly love your work, you have motivation fueled by passion. This is why you the stories of people that failed over and over again, and finally, they ended up having their success. Their passion never could allow them to give up. So they kept going, trying different angles, until it finally happened for them. When the going gets tough, that’s when you need your motivation. You’ve got to keep feeding and building it. Read books about other successful people, see what they did, and think about how you can incorporate their ways of thinking into yours.

Unlike many working people, entrepreneurs truly enjoy their work. When they find something new, they might view it in terms of “how can this help my business?” and “what opportunities does this open up for me?” Many entrepreneurs enjoy the challenge of building something out of nothing. Many people in the wider business world are only involved with part of a product’s lifecycle, whereas entrepreneurs generally enjoy a bird’s-eye view of it all.

Many people give entrepreneurship a try only to fail miserably very quickly. There is a reason why 95% of startup businesses aren’t around two years later. These people see running their own business as the route to financial freedom. So after a few setbacks, they give up. An entrepreneur will see the big picture, even during those dark days they will focus on the end result. When you first start a business, you will have pour your heart and soul into it. When the results are less than what was expected, it can be very difficult for some to take. A failure is a lesson, and a step in the right direction. That’s how a motivated entrepreneur analyzes any setback. So if you ever think of starting your own business, remember to have passion for it. When you truly love what you do and put so many hours into it, you will not allow yourself to fail miserably at it.

What is driving so many young people to pursue careers as entrepreneurs? What are they searching for? They want more freedom and love the rush. They insist on the flexibility they can create through their own business. They like working for their own goals and their own measures of success in life. Know-accounting.com states that Purdue University conducted a survey between 2004-2006, in which they questioned 101 Indiana entrepreneurs to see what motivated them to start their own businesses. They found that those making more than $100,000 a year were less likely to start their own businesses than those in the $50,000 to 75,000 range. In a Yahoo survey, 21.4 percent of small business owners said they were interested in enjoying a more flexible work schedule and quality time with their family. When you start your own business not only do you become your own boss, but you’re able to enjoy a more flexible work schedule.

To learn more about entrepreneurs, check out a few of our previous posts by clicking here.

Interior Design Colors Trends for 2010

Inspired to start a new trend? Well, here is your chance to experiment and flaunt your own personal taste. The 2010 color schemes for home decorating have taken quite a turn in the last year. When it comes to true color trends, it’s all about palettes and not single colors. Here are some trends to watch for:

• Green will blend with yellow to finally move away from the sage greens that have dominated home décor for years.
• Lavender will be the winner in the bedroom. It portrays luxury and elegance and evokes warmth and comfort.
• Slate and charcoal gray will be the hot new neutrals, taking over from the browns and beiges that had been so popular. Cool gray can be paired with almost any color for a winning combination.
• Aqua has been a recommended color by cutting-edge decorators for a couple of years and will continue to be strong next year.
• Blue will make a comeback after falling out of favor for a few years.
• Shades of red will be darkened with purple and blue tones. Red and white pairings will also be popular.

We recommend that you pick colors that you like and never be afraid to experiment. While it’s tempting to be trendy, always rely on personal taste when choosing a paint color. Pick a color you like rather than a trendy color and you’ll be happier in the long run. Individuality is a strong trend on the horizon. Why not leave your mark with color? After all, it’s only paint!

Here are a few tips for choosing a paint color you’ll love:

• Create the room’s overall decorating scheme first. When you already have the fabric, flooring, and furniture you like in the room, it’s easier to choose the right color of paint.
• Narrow your options by using an online color-selection tool, Manage My Home Paint Center.
• When you go to buy the paint, bring swatches of fabric or wallpaper you’d like to match.
• Buy a sample jar of the paint you’re considering and apply it in the room to see how it looks in both daylight and artificial light. Some colors, like many shades of yellow, can change drastically depending on the light reflecting in the room.

Hope and Inspiration

Yellow is the color for this year’s decorating palettes. It exemplifies the warmth and nurturing quality of the sun. Yellow is bright, it’s bold, and it makes people happy. While neon yellow isn’t the way to go, choosing yellows with a darker tint to them will help brighten up any room. Deep yellows go great with other natural colors such as greens, blues, browns and oranges. You’ll be able to create a unique, one of a kind color palette using natural, deep color shades paired with dark tinted yellows.

Going Green

Green is also a color trend for the year. Moss green has been making an appearance in many of the upscale home magazines. Try not to use sage green of the 90’s, it was so last decade. If you watch the Home and Garden Channel, you’ve probably noticed that a lot of people are getting deep, earthy greens in favor of last year’s bold red. The great thing about shades of green is that they look fabulous and they’ve got a nice calming effect – making them perfect for bathrooms, bedrooms, living rooms, dining rooms and even kitchens. Deep green walls with white trim can be eye-popping.

Rustic or Burnt Orange

There has been a lot of rustic orange shades popping up as well. This color especially brings a great touch of color into rooms such as the dining room. Be careful not to go too orange, because you may end up with a scary, Halloween styled room.

The Luxury of Lavender

Lavender is the newcomer on the scene for this year. Bright purple just doesn’t cut it – it made a brief appearance in the color forecasts and fizzled. People just chickened out when they saw eggplant and amethyst colors hitting the walls. Lavender is the must-have color for the bedroom, signifying elegance and luxury in a toned down fashion.

Going Gray

Slate and charcoal grays are the new neutrals. Browns and beige are slip sliding away and going gray. From pewter to ash – place a cool gray with almost any color for a hot pairing.

Aqua Cool

Aqua slipped into the scene in 2008 and has shown some staying power. Aqua will be great for the summer, but may fade into the sunset come fall – try it as an accent to make the transition.

Of course, these are only a few of the colors that are coming to the design world in 2010. This article is simply a guideline as to what to expect in the coming year for interior design, particularly in paint colors and accent colors. Five Star Painting is happy to help you with any questions that you might have. Check out our website and call us to schedule a FREE estimate.

Ideas for Holiday Decorating

Here at Five Star Painting, we love the holidays! It gives you the chance to decorate your house all over again. Here are a few holiday decorating ideas provided by Interiors by Decorating Den. It will inspire your own brand of holiday magic in your home.

First, let’s talk a bit about holiday rooms, specifically holiday trees. This year of the very important aspects of holiday decorating is being eco-friendly in all your designs. Fresh cut trees, one without preservatives, is a must. After incorporating a tree in a room, being able to plant it after the season would be a great idea.

Here is a beautifully designed room. The candles are glowing, the Christmas tree is adorned with many lights, and sprigs of evergreen are used around the candle display to add just another “green” touch.

Now let’s talk a bit about mantles, fireplace mantles are a natural for holiday decorating. This elegant design adds gentle curves to the mantle arrangement from the gold garland. The two dramatic florals in black and gold vases flank the large black and gold toned centerpiece mirror and also help to balance the height of the mirror.

Another great tip for holiday decorating is to add lots of sparkle and shine to your overall plan. Nothing helps a room shine more than mirrors and the mirror over this mantle helps this whole room come alive with exciting shine.

Not only is this a round mirror, but it is framed in beveled mirror pieces – giving it double the sparkle. Also, the shine of the silver vase and the glow from the glass candlesticks, simply and dramatically give the room a warm feeling.

Another simple, yet effective way to add just the right touch of ambiance and sparkle to this room’s holiday décor is a candle arrangement. This tree has been swathed in soft green organza garland adding just the right touch of elegance to the tree’s other decorations. Also notice the natural evergreen placed by the candles in the foreground of this picture. Mother nature is definitely taking center stage in this room.

Dining in style. Natural pine boughs add drama and texture to this dining table‘s holiday centerpiece. Adding the small spigs to each napkin creates a holiday touch to each place setting. Crystal balls in green and red help to add sparkle and light, when nestled into this arrangement.

These wonderful holiday decorating ideas have been provided by Interiors by Decorating Den. We hope you take advantage of these to add a bit of sparkle and shine into your home. Feel free to visit Interiors by Decorating Den’s website.