Are You Sure You Want To Start Your Own Business? Part Two of a Series
Why, exactly, do you want to go into business for yourself?
- Is it because you cannot stand the thought of working for an uptight, demanding, and perfectly dreadful boss?
- Is it because you cannot bear the thought of going through another downsizing or restructuring, knowing that your job could be on the line?
- Is it because you want to be your own boss, call your own shots, or see more up side in your earning potential, with the possibility of financial self-sufficiency?
These are all good reasons for wanting to go into business. In fact, studies have shown that many entrepreneurs get their start due to some life-altering experience such as losing a job or finally walking away from a dead-end job or a demoralizing work environment.It is amazing how creative, resourceful, and innovative you can be when, finally, you reach the edge and find yourself in a survival situation professionally. In times like this, the entrepreneurial spirit comes alive and you figure out that you can simply do it on your own. Does dissatisfaction alone in some area of your life constitute reason enough to venture into business and the life of entrepreneurship? Many potential entrepreneurs get to this bridge and never cross because they do not know how to discover and unleash the entrepreneur within himself or herself. Many people resist giving credence to their entrepreneurial tendencies no matter what the circumstances, ignoring the potential for self-expression, independence and the fulfillment of their dreams. Herein resides the real tragedy. Many people experience paralysis from fear of the unknown and fear of failure. Consequently, they never pursue entrepreneurship and the potential freedom that it can bring to their lives. Although entrepreneurship appears to offer many advantages for personal and professional growth and accomplishment, why is it that so many new entrepreneurs fail? In fact, studies have shown us that out of every 100 entrepreneurs who start their own businesses, 14 will succeed and a whopping 86 will fail in the first five years. The odds, so to speak, are stacked against you as a nascent entrepreneur. Therefore, if you are contemplating starting your own business you should take it very seriously. The two biggest reasons people fail in a new business are:
they don't know what they are doing, andtheir business is undercapitalized.
When we say they don't know what they are doing, we mean they literally don't know what they are doing in terms of running a business day in and day out. It also makes perfect sense that a new business might be undercapitalized (not having enough working capital to run the business). In fact, many new entrepreneurs, who don't know what they are doing have a hard time finding either equity or debt capital for the reason that lending institutions and savvy investors typically do not like to give money to people who don't know what they are doing in business.In order to improve your chances of beating the odds, what is important is that you educate yourself about business development. There certainly is enough information out there on how to start and run a small business. For instance, if you go to Amazon.com and type in a search for books on 'Entrepreneurship'' alone, you will have over 21,000 book choices. Nevertheless, where does one start in deciding what to read, who to listen to, and what to implement? In the more than 55 years of combined experience in the world of business that my wife and I have had, and working with hundreds of hopeful entrepreneurs, we discovered four basic stages to business development that every entrepreneur must go through to enhance their chances for business success.
ReflectEnvisionCreateBuild
Most entrepreneurs, especially the 86 that fail, usually skip one or more of these essential stages of business development and find themselves in a heap of trouble before they know it. Typically, a new entrepreneur will get and idea (envision) and go straight to market (build). They simply unknowingly skip the 'reflect' and 'create' stages, and charge into business with an 'if-I-work-hard-enough' attitude everything will be all right.Well, statistically we know that not everything is all right and it does not work. About The Author Charles and Holly Egner are veteran entrepreneurs. They have trained, coached, and mentored hundreds of aspiring entrepreneurs. Their last entrepreneurial venture sold for just under $400 million in 1999. BuildOnYourDreams.com was founded to help promising entrepreneurs to build the business of their dreams. For their free Life Strategy Planning Teleseminar, visit http://www.BuildOnYourDreams.com today.
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
The New Paradigm for Entrepreneurial Success
Entrepreneurship is a great magnet to deliver new ideas, unique approaches and innovative technologies. When conducted in a proper way, turning people into entrepreneurs improves a country's economic situation and aids sustainable progress. However, transition to become an entrepreneur is not that aspiring to all. Risks and uncertainties involved in starting a new business coupled with stagnant economy discourage people to step up the plate and take a swing.
Walt Disneys Failures Could Inspire Entrepreneurs
You are a struggling entrepreneur and sometimes it feels like you are pushing a 3 ton boulder up a steep hill. Costs keep mounting and you are considering giving up. Well before you do, check out these 10 setbacks that Walt Disney had, some were financial nightmares that put him millions of dollars in the red:
Competitive Edge
In his book, The Road Ahead, Bill Gates of Microsoft writes of "friction-free capitalism" made possible by developments in communications, chief among them the Internet and its World Wide Web. In this context, "friction" is everything that keeps markets from functioning as the "perfect competition" of economics textbooks. This friction can be a function of distance between buyer and seller, costs of overcoming this distance, and incomplete or incorrect information.
Great Tips Of Choosing An Office
You have decided to strike it out on your own and set up a business consultancy. Chances are you want to look at getting your own office premises. Besides ensuring that your rental payment does not create serious cash-flow problems in the medium term, you have to look out for these other factors:
Find Out If You WILL Be Successful As a Franchisee?
Will I be successful as a franchisee?
My Nemisis
Living in the twilight zone has its advantages. In the early days of starting my business, I found the limitations of living in a rural area to be restrictive. However, later I realized that those limitations were not an obstacle that could stop me; they were only a challenge that would strengthen me. Since my business would be smaller, I would have the advantage of fewer employees and less strife in the processes of doing business.
The Dirty Dozen
1) No Umbrella Business Plan or Strategy -- Without a plan, there's no serious way to gauge the growth and progress of your business. You need a realistic map for where the customers will come from and where your business is going. You also need a plan to bail you out when difficult personal and business times come your way. Solution ? get a plan together. Stop thinking about it and do it.
Lessons Learned from Successful Entrepreneurs
Entrepreneurs are a special breed of high achievers. They create things, get things started: businesses, clubs, churches, associations, even nations. Their motivations vary. Not all want to be rich. Not all want to produce a Fortune 500 company. Some are motivated by pleasure or civic pride or the desire for fame. Mary Madden, president of Information America, told me she and Burton Goldstein started their company because it gave them freedom and flexibility.
Franchising Companies Need New Franchisee Checklists
When franchise companies are moving fast in the market place they must pay attention to the details. If a franchisor fails to give the required items as outlined in the franchise agreement to the franchisees on the prescribed timeline they risk legal issues and regulatory issues. In addition even if they do provide the items on time, there is a chance later that a franchisee may claim that something was not provided and they will use this to break the franchise agreement, sue or file a complaint with regulatory bodies at the state level or even the FTC, Federal Trade Commission. But if you keep proper records and have checklists and monitor dates and deliveries you can win a law suit or force a regulatory agency to backtrack.
An Entrepreneurs Biggest Cost
When launching a new product or company, an entrepreneur must consider their biggest cost - the opportunity cost. Opportunity cost is an economic term that is defined as the cost of passing up the next best alternative when making a decision. For instance, if an asset such as capital is used for one purpose, the opportunity cost is the value of the next best purpose for which the asset could have been used. In the entrepreneur's case, this asset typically includes the entrepreneur's time and money.
Entrepreneurs, Are You Hauling Buckets?
Once upon a time, there was a village on the banks of a fine, clear river. The villagers all drew their water from the river, and used it to cook, and bathe and water their gardens. Life was good.
Online Women Entrepreneurs Need To Pace Themselves
Saving time means pacing yourself, being organized, and always prioritizing your duties, responsibilities and efforts.
Raising Entrepreneurs: What to Do When Your Kid is Born to Think Differently
Adolescence brings with it many challenges ? for both parents and kids. Young people, still new to the world, are embarking on a journey to discover their passions, joys, and authentic self-images. More often than not, however, their journey more closely resembles an elongated stampede of enraged elephants than it does an innocent soul-searching endeavor. But no one said growing up would be easy.
Something From Nothing, With Something To Share
Betrayal, it can hit you like a load of bricks falling from the sky, leaving you with a pit in your stomach that no pill can cure.
Start a Business Selling Government Surplus
Did you ever wonder what happens to all that government equipment that is
purchased each year by federal, state, and local governments? They don't just throw
it away! By law, all unused and out-dated equipment must be sold back to the
public at a public auction! That's right. Everything is available to you and I the
American taxpayer. There are primarily two ways that the government does this: on-
site auctions or online auctions.
How To Get More Clients and Customers; Dont Sell Be of Service
Whether you are just starting your business or focusing on growing it, I'm sure you are like most small business owners you are looking for ways to get more clients and customers. There is a lot of information out there on selling, persuasion tactics, and gimmicks to get people to buy. I am suggesting a radical shift in perspective when thinking about the question: How do you get more clients and customers?
A Dorm Room With A View
As a senior in high school, he paid cash for a BMW with money made by selling newspapers. In 1983, as a college freshman, he sold custom-made PCs and parts out of his dorm room?hiding them behind his roommate's shower curtain whenever Mom and Dad visited. A year later, with just $1,000 in start-up capital, he dropped out of school to focus fully on his expanding business. It took him just eight years to become the youngest CEO ever of a Fortune 500 company.
The 9 Key Distinctions of Successful Solo-Entrepreneurs!
SUCCESSFUL Solo-Entrepreneurs approach life and business from a perspective that is new, fresh, and rather unorthodox. The differences are subtle, yet significant. These distinctions are more than just fads or interesting tips; they are direct, measurable SHIFTS in how you will approach your business, your personal life, your relationships, etc. - for the rest of your life! They are direct from the experience of hundreds of successful solo-entrepreneurs!
What Online Millionaires Tell Me They Are Worried About
I just arrived back from the best seminar I have ever
attended in the last 10-years.
Part-Time/In-Home Business - Low Expense and Low Risk
As a first time entrepreneur, there are a variety of franchises, dealerships, distributorships, and licensing opportunities available for purchase. Many of these you can start by working part-time from your home. In doing so, you save thousands of dollars in start up and operating costs, while at the same time reducing your overall risk.
|
|