A short TV interview (April 2012) with Louis Barajas promoting his book Small Business Big Life for Women. Barajas discusses the rise and economic impact of women-owned firms (noting $3 trillion annual contribution), predicts millions of jobs from women small-business owners by 2018, and emphasizes planning a business around life goals (life plan and one-page business blueprint) rather than creating another job.
Welcome back. More than ever, women are going into business for themselves. Women owned firms contribute 3 trillion. Yes, that's trillion with a T dollars to the US economy every single year.
And not only that, but they're creating more jobs proportionately than their male counterparts. Very cool information. And this morning, we're joined by Luis Barajas. He's the author of Small Business Big Life for Women.
In it, he outlines a plan for women who want to start a small business but aren't sure where to begin. Thank you so much for being here, Louis. We really appreciate it. It's a pleasure.
Thank you.
Welcome.
Thank you.
So you're saying that now, even in this economy, might be a good time to A, start a business and B, for women?
Well, this is the best time. And the reason for that is actually right now there are a lot of opportunities for women to start their businesses. But as we know, recent research shows that by the year 2018, more than 5 million jobs will be started by women small business owners. And that's going to be phenomenal. That's a wonderful thing. And this is a great time to start looking at other opportunities. But to be quite honest with you, over the last few years, a lot of women have started businesses out of necessity, not because they really wanted to, because they've lost their jobs or they need to create an extra income for their spouse and they're working out of their house. But the problem is that most people who do start businesses kind of lose that work life balance. And that's why I wrote Small Business Big Life for Women.
And that's what you're talking about. It's balancing life and professional work at the same time. How do these ladies get off the ground? What are some of the planning that they should look at, look forward towards before they take that first step?
Well, the very first step is everybody asks me, louis, I'm starting my business. What business makes the most amount of money? What business should I start? And I said, that's not how you start. Actually, what you want to do is you don't want to create another job for yourself, because then you end up really feeling terrible about having to work so many hours, leaving your kids at home, not being there for them. You want to focus what I call on your occupation, not your occupation. And that is doing things that you love to do, finding things that you're also great at doing, combining that monetizing and making money from it. That's how you start a business. The next big step is when you go see a business person or Business consultant. The very first thing they have you do is create a business plan. I have you do is create a life plan. Because the purpose of a business should be to support a bigger life, not what I call suck the life out of you. And those are the two key steps actually.
And what are some examples of things that might be a passion or hobby for someone that they could monetize and turn into a business?
Well, you know, there are a lot of people that will start, for example, cooking out of their home and then they realize, oh my God, you make the best pie in the whole wide world. The best. You should open up your own restaurant. Now, just because you know how to do something doesn't mean you know how to run a business that does that something. So what you want to be able to do is if you really love to cook and if you really want to start a restaurant, you got to take a step back and take a look at what it entails to create a business. So in the book I write about creating a business blueprint, not a business plan, just a one page document that helps you outline all the major functions of a business. And so it really doesn't matter what you're willing to start. It's because there's so many things that women can do these days, but I want them to create something that not only will create more money, but will also create more life for them.
And should a woman think like a man or just be herself and do what her.
No, you don't want to think like a man. That's, you know, you don't. And the reason for that, the reason why I always talk about that this book is doing so gangbusters, is because again, more women are really interested in helping their communities, helping their families. It's not about their ego, it's not about themselves. And they create and bring something to the universe that's just more special than I think most men do when they open up a business. And they also involve a lot of other people. You know, the problem is that most people that start businesses really create jobs for themselves. Most women, what they do is they actually find other women to help them out. And that's why all the jobs are being started.
I read an article recently that now a woman on the Forbes I think richest 500 list is the first woman, the founder of Spanx Spanx, which are the undergarments that many women and now men, they make Spanx for men now too. She's the first self made millionaire billionaire billionaire.
And there will be more. And there will be more. Absolutely.
It's very encouraging.
It is. And I hope people read this book because again, and it's just that for women, I mean, I actually would want men to read it, but women are really enjoying the process saying, how do I create something that will not only make more money, give me more time, able to spend more time with my family, but also have this wonderful life in which I can contribute back to society?
Right. And you can find more information on our website.
Absolutely.
@Kcal9.Com and just click on Seen on TV. Louis Barras, thank you very, very.
Hi, Serene. Thank you so much.
Thanks for being here.
My pleasure.
Appreciate it.
It was a pleasure.
