The paradox of starting your own business lies in the simultaneous challenge and reward, making it an experience unlike any other. So many businesses fail, and most entrepreneurs exclude themselves from the possibility. The tragic reality is that when businesses fail, the passion often dies with it. By following some sound advice and being prepared for the process, you will decrease your chances of losing a lot more than you bargained for. I have recently started a business and have learned some crucial lessons in the process that I feel privileged to share with you.
1.Identify your motivation. Why do you want to start your own business?To have more time ? To make more money ? To be your own boss ? To have creative control over what you love to do ? Write out all of your motivating factors and prioritize them. When you see them listed, you might see a pattern in that youre just unhappy at your current job and starting your own business isnt the answer.
2. Identify your passion. What do you love to do ? What skills and knowledge do you uniquely bring to the table ? What gets you excited about your work ? Keep that passion at the forefront of your business plan, your marketing strategies, and your daily routine. If you keep your passion in plain sight, you will stay focused on the purpose of your business and not solely on the logistics.
3. Identify your market. If you are starting your business locally, research your competitors. Determine if there is room in the market for your business. What will you do differently to draw in customers ? What niche market are the other businesses missing ? If you are starting an Internet company, research the requirements for your own unique Web presence. Your business cannot survive without customers, so do enough research on the front end to determine of there are enough potential clients to keep your business alive.
4. Identify your finances. If you have even purchased a new home, you know that the financial obligations extend beyond the down payment and the mortgage. You have to buy furniture, trash ans, a garage door opener, light fixtures and landscaping equipment, and before you know it, youve far exceeded your financial boundaries. That can happen just as easily in a business. Do exhaustive financial planning. Meet with a financial advisor or someone at your bank to examine the financial viability of your business and the process of getting it up and running. Plan wisely and do not assume the best about your business. Be prepared for financial loss and get advice on how to alleviate that burden in the future.
5. Identify your support system. Seek out advice from seasoned business owners, even those in your own field.Develop relationships with people who can offer sound advice and criticism that you might not see. If there is a business owner in your community or in your network that you aspire to model, examine his or hers business practices and how they handle various situations. Ask for counsel before big decisions, and even create your own makeshift Board of Directors to help guide you in the planning and start-up process.
Once you have all of these elements in place, you are prepared to start the process of developing a business plan, applying for a license, establishing a marketing presence, etc. Owning your own business can be unparalleled in the professional world, and if you surround yourself with wise counsel, you can have a career that daily feeds your passion.
At a dinner party in New York, one of the guests, a woman who had inherited money, was eager to make a pleasing impression on everyone. So had squandered a modest fortune on sables, diamonds and pearls. But she hadnt done anything whatsoever about her face. It radiated sourness and selfishness. She didnt realize what everyone knows: namely, the expression one wears on ones face is far more important than the clothes one wears on ones back.
Actions speak louder than words, and a smile says, I like you. You make me happy. I am glad to see you. That is why dogs make such a hit. They are so glad to see us that they almost jump out of their skins. So, naturally, we are glad to see them.
A babys smile has the same effect.
Have you ever been in a doctors waiting room and looked around at all the glum faces waiting impatiently to be seen ? Dr. Stephen K. Sproul, a veterinarian in Raytown, Missouri, told of a typical Spring day when his waiting room was full of clients waiting to have their pets inoculated. No one was talking to anyone else, and all were probably thinking of a dozen other things they would rather be doing thanwasting time sitting in that office. He told one of our classes:
There were six or seven clients waiting when a young woman came in with a nine-month-old baby and a kitten. As luck would have it, she sat down next to a gentleman who was more than a little distraught about the long wait for service. The next things he knew, the baby just looked up at him with that great big smile that is so characteristic of babies. What did that gentleman do ? Just what you and I would do, of course; he smiled back at the baby. Soon he struck up a conversation with the woman about her baby and his grandchildren, and soon the entire reception room joined in, and the boredom and tension were converted into a pleasant and enjoyable experience.
The ancient Chinese were a wise lit----wise in the ways of the world; and they had a proverb that you and I ought to cut out and paste inside our hats. It goes like this, A man without a smiling face must not open a shop.
Your smile is messenger of your goodwill. Your smile brightens the lives of all who see it. To someone who has seen a dozen people frown, scowl or turn their faces away, your smile is like the sun breaking through the clouds. Especially when that someone is under pressure form his bosses, his customers, his teachers or parents or children, a smile can help him realize that all is not hopeless----that there is joy in the world.
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