Posts Tagged ‘“can do” attitude’

Job laid you off?  Can’t find another job?  Tired of looking for a job?  Maybe starting your own business is the answer.

79 million people will start a home business in the next three years according to this recent report in Forbes magazine.  American forefathers left England and came to America to build their businesses.  The entrepreneur has always been the backbone of America.  Edison, Jefferson, Washington, Franklin, Ford, Carnegie, Rockefeller, Gates and so many others were all entrepreneurs.  Every one of them started and developed their own business.  Why not you?

Why start your own business?  You control your income potential; you do not have a boss setting a salary or bonus cap on your earnings.  You set your own hours; no one tells you what time to arrive, take your break, take your lunch or what time to leave at night.  You no longer have to ask permission for a day off or a vacation.  Your duties are also your decision.  Sound good?

Even the beautiful petals of a rose and the heady perfume of its soft fragrance have a down side.   A rose bush has thorns.  Owning and operating your own business requires work.  Yes, I know.  Bummer.  The price you pay for all of those wonderful benefits is the responsibility of accomplishing all of the tasks necessary to make a business successful.

Decision one requires that you do something you know.  Either you already possess the necessary knowledge to be successful or you start learning.  Unless you already know exactly what you want to do, it is time to start assessing factors.

Before I started Mountain Castles Property Management, I asked questions and listened until I discovered a niche which needed to be filled.  Steamboat needed a property management company specializing in single family homes.  They wanted to rent homes on a yearly basis, a vacation basis or an executive basis.  An executive home does not rent; however, it must be cared for during the owner’s absence.  In some cases, the home needed attention even during the owner’s stay.

My knowledge was grossly insufficient in property management.  Reading books, attending classes and working for another property management company provided the training.

Decision two requires writing a detailed business plan.  What equipment, facilities, and supplies will be required?  How much will it cost?  What is the income projection?  What advertising will be used to achieve that income?  What about office staff?  The list goes on and on.  Prior planning avoids being blindsided by expenses.

Be optimistic but add a dash of realism.  You will not start out earning 20,000 income per month.  You will have unexpected expenses.  One of the jokes in building a new home is that it will take twice as long as expected and cost twice as much.  If you do not plan carefully, starting a new business can follow that same scenario.

Accurate record keeping is essential.  If you have a question about keeping a receipt or not, write every detail on it and file it where you can find it.  The IRS loves paper.  The steps to start a small business are quite simple and direct; however skipping any of them is not an option.

1. Find a niche doing something you enjoy
2. Either already posses the knowledge or acquire it
3. Write a detailed business plan which includes every potential cost or situation
4. Implement the plan.  Knowledge without action has far less value.
5. Keep a very positive mental attitude and keep moving forward
6. Celebrate every little success on the way to the big successes

The steps to start a small business are not difficult.  In a tough economy, starting small business may be easier than finding that magic job.

For specific, individual help, join me at www.Elaine4Success.com.

Over 79 million people will start a home based business this year according to Forbes magazine.  Yesterday I wrote an article on Steps to Start a Small Business.

Starting a small business from home has positives and negatives.

Positives:

1. You do not have any additional rent for your business location.
2. You do not have any additional utility expense for your business.
3. You do not require any travel time or expense.  A 30 second walk from your bedroom to your office does not count as travel time.

4.  In the initial stages you will probably not have any employee expense

Negatives:

1. You work from home.  You have all of the distractions of home life which makes it more challenging to focus and concentrate on business tasks.
2. You have to do all of the tasks.  You place the ads, you call the people, you do the  training, you do the record keeping, you do the short and long range planning and you do your own research to learn more about your new business
3. Wow.  After all of that you are probably thinking about a nap.  No can do.  Until you start making money in your new small business, you are probably still working your day job.  Plan at least 20 hours a week for you new business.

Being health conscious and an exercise-a-holic, I am not telling you to give up your sleep, give up healthy eating, or give up exercise.  It will be more challenging for awhile to accomplish everything.

Oh, your sanity is in the mix somewhere as well.  I am not telling you to give up your spouse, your kids or even your tennis racquet.  You WILL have to focus your time and energy carefully.  No more wasted time.  Carefully examine your schedule and make every minute count.

Weigh the time freedom, lower start up cost, convenience, and unlimited income potential against the discipline, time, initial investment and learning curve required for entrepreneurial thinking.  Do you have what it takes to be successful?

You may be thinking, “What if I fail?”  The best way to overcome your fear of failure is to make your desire for success more powerful than you fear.  What is your “why?”  What is your powerful reason to push through any obstacle until you reach success?

Every business requires a powerful “why,” but a home based business seems to require an even stronger why than a brick and mortar business.  Maybe it is because there is a lower investment or because it is easier to quit.  You do not have a lease to break or contracts to renegotiate or transfer.  Work from home business ideas sound great and they are great.  The catch is the follow through.

If you have the discipline, determination and “why,” your odds of success just skyrocketed.

If you would like individual coaching or more personalized guidance on your steps to start a small business, contact me at www.Elaine4Success.com.