Should I Start My Own Business?
By: je Dunn
This is probably the most over looked basic question that a
person considering starting a business should ask himself or
herself. You should sit down and make a list of the advantages
having your own business would bring, and also what skills do
you bring to the table that makes you think that you can
successfully run your own business.
In this section I am going to lay some tough love on you. This
is not meant to discourage you just to better prepare you for
the realities that await you when you hang your, “Open For
Business” sign. The business world truly is a jungle.
Survival of the fittest is the law of the land. There are wolves
in sheep’s clothing waiting to prey on inexperienced
entrepreneurs at every bend in the road. Not to mention the
lions, tigers, and bears oh my how can a new business person
survive?
Your best weapon to carry when entering the wild, wild world of
business is knowledge.
When we decide to start our own business we tent to get all
fired up.
Our emotions get the best of us and we get carried away musing
the possibilities of our future financial freedom.
We are so excited to get the project up and running that we
start spending money on all the things we are going need for our
new successful business.
Maybe you buy a desk, a computer, get business cards printed,
maybe a fax machine, a business phone number, you pay to
register your business name and get a federal tax ID number wow!
This is all new cool and exciting but what about the boring
stuff. Things like writing a business plan, researching your
niche market, putting your goals down on paper. Yuck!
One of the key elements of a successful small businessperson is
the willingness to do the unglamorous tasks that running your
own business requires every day. Whether it is making sales
calls, writing letters, submitting articles, tracking ad
results. These repetitive tasks are the backbone of your
business.
To run a home business you must be prepared to wear many hats.
You will be the CEO, the CFO, head of R&D, sales manager,
accountant, secretary, and janitor, plus many other titles that
are necessary to make it all happen every day. You will be, “The
Man” or “The Woman” as the case may be. Do you really want that?
Are you prepared to accept all that responsibility? If the word
YES did not jump into your head STOP, before you invest any of
your time or money.
Owning your own business can be a very rewarding experience. If
you prepare yourself with the realities of what running your
business will entail the chances for your success will greatly
increase. I remember reading an article on the blues legend BB
King.
In the article the interviewer stated to BB that it must be
great to make a lot of money doing what you love, and having all
those fans around wherever you go. BB’s reply can be applied to
any business. BB said it only took me twenty years to be an over
night success.
When you look at a business that is successful today there has
been possibly years of trial and error behind the scenes. Most
of the time we only see the finished product and try to emulate
it without realizing what it took to get that business to that
point.
When our business fails to achieve the same level of success in
an unrealistic time frame people give up and jump into another
venture.
Do you want to know why only a few people ever make it with
their own business? They start a business doing what they love
to do.
Just like BB King, if he didn’t love what he was doing do you
think he could have stuck it out through twenty years of
terrible money and poor working conditions?
If you start a business doing something that you are passionate
about, that you enjoy, that alone can get you through the lean
times.
Add realistic expectations and a willingness to continue to
learn and seek help for the aspects of your business that you
are not great at, in a few years you could be an over night
success.
|
