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Considering starting a business? 7 signs entrepreneurship isn't for you
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If you have the entrepreneurship bug, then great! Being an entrepreneur, and owning your own business can be one of the most rewarding experiences you'll ever have the pleasure to experience. However, owning and running a business isn't for everyone. - photo by Tyson Downs
This is America, the land of opportunity. With a couple good ideas, a little luck and a lot of hard work, anybody can pull themselves up by their bootstraps and be the next Carnegie or Rockefeller (or for a more time-appropriate reference, the next Bezos or Zuckerburg).

Even if you cant be the next billionaire mogul, who wouldnt want to own their own business, set their own hours and make their own money rather than listen to what some boss tells them to do?

But entrepreneurship isnt for everybody. It can be a hard life its certainly a risky one and if you dont have what it takes, well, maybe youre better off with a boss (and the stability that comes with taking home a paycheck and not having to invest your own money in the business) after all. If any of the following seven signs apply to you, maybe youre just not cut out to be an entrepreneur.

1. Youre not financially stable enough to fail

Most startups fail. Thats the sad, simple truth. And when we say most, we dont mean like 51 percent. According to a recent post by Neil Patel on Forbes, 9 out of 10 startups fail. Before you mortgage the house or empty out your life savings, think about that stat. If you cant afford to lose this game, then dont play. The odds are stacked heavily against you.

2. You expect to start making money quickly

Okay, so even if manage to be one of the 10 percent of startups that succeed, that doesnt mean youre going to start making a lot of money right away. It takes most businesses years before they actually start turning a profit. You must possess a saintly amount of patience to be a truly successful entrepreneur.

Inc.com has reported that five extremely successful companies didn't make money in their first five years.

While you don't go into a business thinking this will happen to you, it is something you need to accept is a possibility.

3. You dont think marketing is important

Marketing is expensive. A lot of startups dont have much of a budget to begin with, so often theyll skimp on their marketing budget to save a little cash.

Thats a mistake.

Marketing is incredibly important, because product/service quality isnt everything. Quality does matter, of course, but even if you offer the best service or product in town, if you arent able to effectively get your name out there then youll find yourself losing business to those that do.

Name recognition is half the battle.

Companies wouldnt pay for print, radio and TV ads if they didnt work. For a more targeted and effective approach, you can use online marketing to improve your search rankings.

Just don't stick to one form of Internet marketing such as SEO, or just paid ads. Have a diverse strategy, never relying fully on one source of leads.

4. Youre an idealist rather than a realist

Earlier we alluded to the American Dream: In this country, youre supposed to be able to succeed as long as you work hard. In business, thats just not the case. Even if youre working hard, expect a dozen failures for every victory.

Dont be idealistic, be smart.

Know your territory.

Rose-colored glasses will doom your enterprise.

5. You hate confrontation

It's been reported that introverts make great entrepreneurs.

That said, there is going to be confrontations as a business owner.

To effectively manage your startup, youre going to have to put yourself in some social, and potentially uncomfortable, situations like disciplining employees who arent preforming up to your standard, and also trying to convince investors that their money is well-spent on your business.

6. You dont communicate well

A lot of people dont mind confrontation and talking to people, but that doesnt mean theyre any good at it.

If you have trouble clearly explaining what you do and how its going to make money, even if youre not nervous around investors, youre not going to convince them of anything.

And if you cant clearly explain what you expect out of your employees, youre not going to be able to delegate tasks successfully.

7. You dont handle stress well

Businesses rarely follow a straight, predictable trajectory. Itll be dead one month and incredibly busy the next, and that constant up and down, back and forth can be incredibly stressful. In other words, if your doctor is worried about your heart and wants you to cut the bacon out of your diet, thats a good sign that your body isnt ready for the roller coaster that is running a business.

So what do you think? Do you have what it takes to start your own business?

Want to know one characteristic that can help you overcome every single one of these challenges?

It's a no-quit, accomplish-your-goal-no-matter-what attitude. If you have the determination, the perseverance and internal motivation to keep you going, there's no stopping you.
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How to avoid 'sharenting' and other paparazzi parenting habits
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A recent study revealed parents often spend up to two hours staging a single photo of his or her child to post online. - photo by Amy Iverson
Before having kids, some people just dont appreciate their friends baby posts. But after having a child of their own, three fourths of new parents jump right on the parental social media bandwagon. If you have become a member of this group, there are some rules to follow for posting responsibly.

Much of a parents worry is how to teach their children to use social media responsibly. We talk with our kids about privacy, oversharing, and setting restrictions on their devices to keep them safe. But parents themselves need to look in the digital mirror once in a while. Before having children, it doesnt take as much effort to think about what to post online. Its up to us to decide what we share about our own lives. But once you become a parent, there are many questions to think about regarding what is appropriate to post about your kids on social media.

In a recent survey, kids clothing subscription company Mac and Mia surveyed 2000 new parents to find out how they are documenting their kids lives on social media, and what concerns they may have.

First of all, people without children seem to feel a bit differently about the onslaught of baby pictures online than those who are parents. 18 percent of people say before they had kids, they were annoyed by their friends baby posts. But after having children of their own, 73 percent admit they post progress pictures of their little ones every single month.

Not only are new parents letting the world know each time their baby is a month older, but they are posting about their kids every few days or so. Men and women report they post 6-7 times per month about their baby.

And while 70 percent of new parents say the benefit of using social media is how easy it is to help family and friends feel involved, there are some downsides. Here are a few tips to avoid the pitfall of becoming paparazzi parents.

Dont miss the moment

In the Mac and Mia survey, some parents admitted to spending up to two hours to get the perfect shot of their baby. That seems a little extreme. New and old parents alike should be careful about spending so much time taking pictures and videos that they dont enjoy the moment. Years ago, I decided to never live an experience through my phone. A study by Linda Henkel, a psychology professor at Fairfield University in Connecticut, found that when people took pictures of objects in an art museum, they didnt remember the objects as well as if they simply observed them.

This photo-taking impairment effect can happen to parents as well. If we are so consumed by getting the perfect photo, we can miss out on the moment all together, and our memory of it will suffer.

Dont forget about privacy

60 percent of couples say they have discussed rules and boundaries for posting their babys photos, according to the Mac and Mia survey. Even so, men are 34 percent more likely to publish baby posts on public accounts. If parents are concerned about their childrens privacy, keeping photos off of public accounts is a given.

In the Washington Post, Stacey Steinberg, a legal skills professor at the University of Florida, and Bahareh Keith, a Portland pediatrician, wrote that sharing too much information about kids online puts them at risk. They write that all that sharenting can make it easier for data thieves to target out kids for identity theft. Check that your privacy settings are where they should be and never share identifying information like full names and birth dates.

Dont be paparazzi parents

36 percent of parents say they take issue when their childs photo is posted online by someone else. Responsible social media users will always ask permission before posting a photo of another child. But parents should also think about whether their own children will take issue with their own posted photos a few years down the road.

When parents are constantly snapping pictures and throwing them on social media, it can be easy to forget to pause and make sure the post is appropriate. I always use the billboard example with my kids. I ask them to picture whatever they are posting going up on a billboard in our neighborhood. If they are okay with that, then their post is probably fine. Parents should ask themselves this same question when posting about their children. But they should also ask themselves if their child would be OK with this post on a billboard in 15 years. If it would cause embarrassment or humiliation, it might be best to keep it private.

Once children reach an appropriate age, parents should include them in the process of deciding what pictures are OK to post. Researchers at the University of Michigan surveyed 10- to 17-year-olds and found children believe their parents should ask permission more than parents think they should. The kids in the survey said sharing happy family moments, or accomplishments in sports, school and hobbies is fine. But when the post is negative (like when a child is disciplined) or embarrassing (think naked baby pictures or messy hair), kids say to keep it off social media.
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