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Do You Have The Right Stuff To Start A
Business?
If you’re going to start a business that has staying power, there are resources
that you must have in place before
you open your literal or figurative doors. To turn a start up
venture into a successful business, you must:
Be Fully Committed
Successful
entrepreneurs are people who are fully committed to their business ventures.You
have to be prepared to put your heart and soul into what you’re doing. You have
to truly believe in your product
or service, and be prepared to work to get others to believe in
your product or service, too.
Have Desire Coupled with
Drive
People commit
themselves to all kinds of things; causes, hobbies, other people. Just being able
to make a commitment doesn’t automatically lead to business success. If you’re
going to get where you want to go
in business, and start a business that will endure, you also have
to be what I call a "Type D” person; someone who has desire coupled with drive,
with strong discipline and
determination.
You
have to not only have the business ideas, but be able to execute them.
Successful business people are
tenacious; obstacles are temporary barriers to work around. They may take
“No” for an answer, but only for as long as it takes them to reframe the
question from another angle and
ask again.
But
desire and drive alone are not enough to start a business; you don’t want your business
to be a temporary comet streaking across the sky. Discipline and determination are
what give successful business people the endurance to follow through on their
business ideas, and weather the
storms and calms of the economic climate.
Get
The Business Knowledge You Need
Knowledge
is another resource you need to have in place before you start a business. You must
read about information on starting a business and how to make it work.
Many
people have tried to start their own businesses without bothering to acquire
the business knowledge they need
to make their business a success - and their businesses have
failed.
To
start a business, you have to be knowledgeable about many different aspects of
business and have many different
skills…
or at least have done
the research to find and hire the people
who have the skills you lack.
If
you aren’t knowledgeable enough about accounting to keep your own books, for
instance, you’re going to need to
hire a bookkeeper and/or an accountant. If your business is Internet-based,
you’d be wise to hire a company to design your web site and handle the back
end, unless you personally are an expert in site development.
When
you’re creating your business plan, one of your first steps needs to be a frank assessment
of your skills and expertise.
What
aspects of the business are you qualified or willing to handle, and which
aspects will necessitate either
more learning on your part or calling in outside help?
You
also need to be knowledgeable about sales and marketing. For
example, suppose you’ve developed a better mousetrap. Who are your competitors? What are
the mousetraps they’re offering like and how are they priced? What makes your mousetrap
better? Is there even a need for a better mousetrap out there? Where is “out there”? Do you
have the skills needed to identify and contact customers? Are you good at
selling mousetraps? Can you
develop a feasible marketing plan and promotional material?
And
what about business operations? Do you have the business knowledge to manage
inventory and fill orders? Where
all you going to store all your mousetraps and how are you going to get
them to your customers? Have you found the suppliers you need and developed relationships
with them? Have you set up a customer support policy?
Business knowledge
before you start a business is critical. All the drive and determination
in the world isn’t going to help you if you don’t have the knowledge to actually
run a successful business and don’t bother to research and plan for your
success appropriately. A friend of
mine had long dreamed of opening a bookstore. So he did. Unfortunately,
he hadn’t bothered to study the competition or the demographics of the market
in the area. It took less than a year for his bookstore to fail. He had the
desire and the drive, but didn’t
have the knowledge he needed to apply them.
So
let's assume that you are a Type D Personality with all the business knowledge necessary
to start a business. Are you a shoo-in for success? Not
unless you have the money you need
to start a business. Continue on to the next page to learn about finding start
up money.
The Business Support You Need To Start
A Business
The
last of the four resources you must have to start a business that will be
successful is a good support
system. When you're thinking of business support, look first to the home
front.
It’s
no coincidence that most successful small business operators are married. While
we like to talk about “going it
alone” and “running our own show”, you can’t start and run a successful
small business without the support of other people. And who better than a supportive
spouse to listen to your ideas or problems, and provide the encouragement or advice
that keeps you going?
Jennings
points out that the successful entrepreneur usually has an exceptionally supportive
spouse.
He
adds that these exceptional spouses don’t just provide love and stability, but
also specific support for the
business, such as helping to provide the capital needed to start a
business, or working in the company without pay to keep costs down. Spouses who contribute
financially by working outside the business are also a common small business
scenario.
Having
a supportive spouse is especially critical if you want to start a home-based business.
As Barbara Mowat and Ted James say, “in reality, you don't start a home business,
your whole household does” (Right From Home; Starting A Successful Home-Based Business).
You can’t start a home-based business without considering what your family members
think about the idea, what role(s) your family members might play in your business,
and how your business is going to affect your home life. Without the active support
of your family, your home-based business will fail. Talk out these issues beforehand
and explore how supportive your family is before you start a business.
Other
business people are another valuable source of business support. No matter what
kind of business you’re thinking
of starting, someone has been there and done that. Talking to other
business people who have already established a successful business can go a
long way towards avoiding pitfalls
and provide insight into what works and what doesn’t.
I’ve
always found that other business people are willing to share their knowledge
with others; if you can’t find
someone locally to talk to, there’s a ever-growing network of business
communities online (like this one!) where you can get the information you need, and
sometimes good advice, too.
Are
You Ready?
All of these resources are necessities for starting a successful small or home business.
And all five of these resources need to be in place before you start a
business. Are you a “Type D”
person willing to fully commit to starting and running a successful business?
Have you figured out where to get the business start up money you need? Do you have
the business knowledge and the support system to help you do what you need to
do to be successful? Then go for
it! You’re already well on your way to small business success!
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