If you are looking for a hot business to start and you have a good eye for design and presentation, then now is a great time to start a Home Staging Business.

I know the real estate market is down in most areas, but that is what makes this business so attractive right now. People still have to sell houses! And, they are more willing to pay for some expertise and help in doing so!

Here's a tip I learned in college: Some people get rich during economic down-times. Some people got rich during the Great Depression! It's a huge mistake to think now is a bad time to go after your dreams!

I have always wanted to do this. Of course it would require a big life change and giving up other things. How does one figure out what to keep and what to let go of, and if it's time for a new direction?

Jilly, I think you can dabble in something without doing a whole life-changing committment. I do it all the time! LOL

That way, you can see if you truly love it or if it is just a great hobby or interest.

So, you could read and learn and talk to people about it and perhaps do some freebie consulting for a real estate agent and then move into it more if that works. Your only investment is your time & energy up to that point. If you love it, do more. If not, back out. And, as you learn, you'll find other things open up--maybe you promote your business with articles or seminars, maybe you find a builder who wants you to help her with model homes. Maybe you find a great house to flip. Or maybe you decide you want to decorate store windows! Who knows till you try?

I'll talk about real estate investing in baby steps in that thread.

Deb, i have way too much on my plate right now. I always do, really. I am an involvaholic. SO something has to go if i want to pursue anything new. What to take off the plate? I can't see the forest for the trees.

Involvaholic! Love it! I totally get you--I'm a bit the same way, wanting to do so much.

Here's an exercise for you:

List all the things you do and all the things you'd like to do on a sheet of paper.

Assign each a "time" value--how much time does it take each day (or week) to have that in your life?

Then, determine how much time you have available. To do it on a weekly basis, there are 168 hours in a week. Deduct sleeping time--56 hours a week if you're at 8 hours a night, upkeep time (this is everything you do to maintain yourself & your stuff--bathing, laundry, meals, cleaning, shopping, repairs & maintenance, etc.) let's use 4 hours a day for 28 hours a week.

Wow, that works out to half your time--84 hours.

Now, suppose you work a job 40 hours a week. That leaves 44. With commuting and the lunch hour, let's say another hour a day--37 hours a week left.

Add in your "habits"--reading an hour a day, watching six hours of TV a day (I think that's the national average--seems like way too much to me), working out, playing with your dog, gardening, talking on the phone, surfing the web.

Then, deduct your weekly activites--two hours at church, an hour-long Board Meeting, and so on.

Most of us are in a deficit already before we even get to our "want to do list!"

Once you really look at where your time is going, you can then make better decisions about what to take off your plate so you can fit more of your passions on there.

Sometimes, it's just rearranging or better managing your time--I usually hate "multi-tasking", but sometimes, you can do two things at once--like exercising while you watch a favorite TV program, or learning Italian by listening to audiobooks during your commute, or listening to music while you clean, or reading in a bubble bath!

Sometimes it's realizing that while you may love to shop, you could do so much more in the times you spend browsing and decide to cut your trips to the stores in half.

Sometimes, it's cutting down on some activities in order to pursue others you like better.

Sometimes, it's mixing them up--one week, I'll paint, the next week I'll make earrings. Both are creative outlets that I love, so to have them both, I'll alternate. (I do this with several hobbies, actually.)

Budgeting your time is much the same as budgeting your money--only you can make more money. Making more time--not so easy, so you have to be even more "greedy" with it and spend it more thoughtfully.

With all that being said, I'm a "dabbler" myself, with many interests and so I've learned that I can dabble without full-on life-changing committment. I like forensic science, so I watch TV shows on it, read books about it, even write about it. I don't have to go back to school and become a forensic scientist to pursue the interest in the field.

I am digesting this. it's good advice. And i do have a plan, but right now it's all baby steps. or smaller than that. Fetus steps? Zygote?

I love baby steps or pre-baby steps! LOL--as long as you do a little bit regularly, you're making progress. And, as long as you are making progress toward your goals, you'll find that everything else works. It's when you get bogged down in details or just stand still that frustration and boredom set in.

And, some people do get paralyzed by the choices and so they just don't make any! That's really the worst--you never do anything because you want to do too much! I do know people like that!

Yes the Tyranny of Choice. I get that a lot. maybe I am ADD, or perhaps it's just a reaction to our fast moving society.