Tuesday, June 2, 2009

I Need Help To Start My Own Business!!

This statement is exactly why I started charging for my time instead of just giving free advice. EVERYONE says it; unfortunately very few follow through with it. I am going to go over just a few things you don’t get taught with a Formal education. Consider these “Tips from the Inside” so you can help your friends next time they say “I need help to start up my own business.”

No Boss: Now before you get excited and start high fiving your buddies let me shed some light. For most people this is not a blessing. Believe it or not, your boss is the one who delivers pressure to you to help keep you on track. No schedule, no measureable goals and worst of all no fear of losing your job are HUGE downfalls of many would be entrepreneurs. Now is the time to be more focused, more organized and better prepared than you’ve ever been! Here’s a good link to look through http://www.sba.gov/smallbusinessplanner/plan/index.html
Costs: It takes most beginners that first trip to Staples before they realize just how much everything REALLY costs. It’s not enough to just have the Start up Capital. You need more than just enough to do the first deal. Did you forget that the utility bill, phone bill, taxes and insurance are now in YOUR name? I know PLENTY of business owners that make a lot of money. Unfortunately most of those business owners also spend more than they make. This is a huge factor of going out of business. Be Accountable.
Staff: Congratulations, you are now the CEO, receptionist, janitor, accounts payable, accounts receivable and your own assistant. I know what you’re thinking, “I’ll just hire someone to do all of that.” You must have forgotten the previous tip about COST!! Unless you make more revenue to off-set the cost of that new hire YOU ARE LOSING MONEY! It is that simple and no getting around it.
Consistency: You’ll begin to laugh when someone asks how much vacation time you get or if you have paid leave. These are things of the past for Entrepreneurs. It’s time to face facts and understand that when you do start making money you need to re-invest that money both into your business and yourself. Keep your head down and keep working. Hopefully you’ve chosen an industry you love so this shouldn’t be an issue. You need to become an expert in your field and the only way to do that is through repetition. Keep at it my friend, you’ll get there.
Persistence: Most people stop just before it gets good. It’s said that you only grow in direct correlation to the amount of resistance you can sustain. The larger the goal the larger the resistance. You must continue down your path regardless of what comes in your way. As long as you stay focused and are clear about what you really want out of this, you should have no problem moving forward. Chances are if you’ve got the passion persistence is secondary.

Hopefully this will give you a glimpse of some of the traits of successful entrepreneurs. Remember you are the boss now, keep your costs down and be prepared to wear ALL the hats, do something EVERYDAY

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