BUSINESS OVERVIEW PAGE
WHAT ARE THE CONSIDERATIONS AND WHAT DO I DO TO BE SUCCESSFUL?
TBA
THE GLAMORIZED VERSION VERSUS REALITY
Going into business and "not being a slave to an employer" are much ballyhooed and idealizes. As with everything, there are tradeoffs and no workable shortcuts (or ways of escaping paying the price).
Are you willing to pay the price? Are your odds of being successful good enough? How much is the payoff?
The bottomline is that there is alot of work in creating a successful business- and poor odds for most people.
POOR ODDS
The odds of success are poor because:
1. Few people will do what it takes.
2. People do not allow for the risk factors, to guard against them and give them some leeway under poor circumstances or to allow for start up time.
3. People do not fully understand the business and do not plan well enough.
NO PLACE FOR AMATEURS
The questions to ask yourself are:
1. Will I have a fool running my business?
2. Am I knowledgeable enough to be good at this? (Product, business process, managing people and resources.
Business is no place for amateurs. Don't do it unless you are willing to do what it takes - and don't underestimate that. It takes alot. If one does not have the discipline to do it, don't start. It is a bit like choosing any path, whether it is a career or a business, it is essential that one use the Carpenter's Rule: "Measure twice, cut once", as you cannot afford to waste a good chunk of your life getting a poor return for your time (plus the emotional cost, which is huge whenever one fails). See Choosing The Right Career/Business - Measure Twice, Cut Once.
DO I HAVE WHAT IT TAKES?
Rate yourself on these, on a scale from 1 to 10 (the highest), realistically!:
__ Determination
__ Self-motivation
__ Hard work (often failure to work hard enough to learn what is necessary)
__ Planning skills, thinking skills, rapid response to solving problems
__ Business knowledge
__ Product knowledge, industry knowledge
Are you rated high enough to assure success?
___________________________________________________________
Explore:
"To increase your opportunity for success in business, take some time to explore and evaluate yourself, your business and personal goals.You don't need to be born an entrepreneur. Anyone who has the desire, the persistence and is willing to learn can develop what it takes to be a successful business owner and entrepreneur. Those who successfully achieve prosperity in business have similar characteristics. Some distinctive features that seem to be fundamental to business owners and entrepreneurs who are successful are:
•Vision
•Tolerance for failure
•Strong management and organizational skills
•Strong integrity/Highly reliable
•Strong drive to achieve
•Problem solving skills
•Personal initiative
•Persistence
•Independent
•Goal-oriented behavior
•Creative
•Commitment
•Calculated risk taker
After reviewing and pondering these characteristics, are there some that may not describe you? These are areas of weakness that you can work to improve upon. However, if many of these traits do portray you; chances are you have the makings of a successful business owner and entrepreneur."
______________________________________________________________
