Thinking about working for yourself can bring out all sorts of anxieties that pepper questions at you. Questions like, “How can I succeed working for myself?”, or “What if I don’t have a college degree?”

Do you know how many millionaires today never got a college degree? Some didn’t even finish high school. Mary Kay, the powerful success behind the well-known cosmetics company didn’t let that stop her. She used drive and determination with a focus on her goals and she accomplished what she set out to do.

The man behind the movies kids (and many adults) love and treasure quit high school as a teenager and built Walt Disney into the money maker that it is today. Lack of education won’t make or break you if you set your mind to do something and determine that whatever it takes – you’re going to do it.  That’s the attitude to succeed working for yourself. You will fall – that happens to everyone. Those who win are those who fall down but then get back up one more time.

Have a core believe to succeed working for yourself

Sometimes, all it takes is an idea where others can’t see the possibility. Take Bill Gates for example. He believed enough in what he was doing that he took an unconventional route, said goodbye to college and traded that for life as a billionaire.

You can bet that not everyone got onboard with his dream. Whenever you step out with an idea, a dream or a possibility, there are going to be people who will try to tell you all the reasons it won’t work.

You’ll hear every reason under the sun as to why you should take a more conventional route in life. They’ll tell you to be reasonable or get the education first to have something to fall back on. They don’t believe that your work from home business will succeed. But they don’t have to. The only one who has to be steadfast in believing and knowing it will succeed is you. You are the key to succeed working for yourself.

That’s not to say that you shouldn’t heed the advice of someone who has been there, done that – because there are some work at home jobs that can break both your bank account and your spirit if you get caught up in them. Which leads us to the first point you need to know when you’re ready to start working from home.

Are All Work at Home Jobs Scams?

 You can believe that there are many work from home jobs that are indeed scams. But take heart in knowing that most are honest, legitimate businesses for you to either get into or start up yourself.

If you consider your options carefully, you shouldn’t have any trouble at all choosing between those who are out to take advantage of you and the ones that you can literally bank on.

So how do you not get suckered into a bad deal? Easy. You do your homework. It’s not hard for a company to promise you the moon, the sun and the stars to get your attention and then take your money.

But it’s a lot harder for them to be able to put their reputation where their mouth is. Your homework is to check out whatever company you’re looking into joining. Look into them from every angle. Find out about their reputation online.

If you decide that you want to create your own business as other entrepreneurs before you have done, seek out a seasoned mentor. There are many retired professionals who will gladly give you some guidance and help you avoid common start up mistakes. You can succeed working for yourself, but you don’t have to learn all the lessons yourself.

We’ll look into some business opportunities in my next post.