Five
Questions To Ask Yourself Before You Start A New Business
by
Nancy Wurtzel
Owning
a home used to be the "American Dream." However,
this long-standing goal that so many aspired to, and ultimately
reached, has been replaced with a new goal -- becoming a
business owner.
At
first glance it sounds perfect: Leave the corporate world
behind and become an entrepreneur. No more commuting, office
politics, difficult co-workers and demanding supervisors.
You¹ll
be your own boss and reap all the financial rewards. It will
be a brand-new lifestyle with incredible opportunities and
much less stress.
Others
have achieved the new "American Dream." Look at
the young kids who started Apple on a shoestring in the late
1970s. Don¹t forget the two engineers who launched a little
company called Hewlett Packard out of a small backyard garage.
Mrs. Fields took a cookie recipe -- of all things -- and built
it into a national model that is taught in many business schools.
Why
not you? Yes, you could have the next great business idea,
but that alone might not be enough. Ask yourself, do you have
the right stuff to launch and run a successful business? Here
are five questions to consider before making the big leap
from a steady paycheck to business owner.
1.
Are you a self-starter? With no one looking over your shoulder,
it¹s easy to procrastinate. You must have the discipline that
is needed to plan, set goals and stay focused.
Since
many small businesses initially start out as home-based to
keep overhead low, working from home brings additional distractions.
Can you resist the temptation to eat cookies and watch reruns
of ³Law and Order² when you should be making marketing calls?
2.
What are your expectations? If your goal is to work fewer
hours and feel less stress, then think again.
The
U.S. Small Business Administration estimates that business
ownership requires a tremendous commitment, with 12-hour workdays,
often seven days a week. Needless to say, this can be a strain
on family life. If you think it might be too much, then consider
a job change instead or a new career with an established company
rather than launching your own business.
3.
What are your financial goals? In the short-term your income
will probably be lower, and it could stay this way for a long
time. Additionally, no one pays for vacations, health care
plan, profit sharing or stock options. You must set up your
own retirement plan as well.
The
U.S. Small Business Administration offers some sobering statistics.
It reports that half of the small businesses started will
fail within the first year. Furthermore, by the fifth year
95 percent will have ceased operations. While the reasons
for failure vary, one of the most common is a lack of adequate
financing. To beat the odds, meet with an independent accountant
to honestly discuss your finances and expectations. The good
news is that if your business takes off you will reap the
financial benefits.
4.
Are you a "water-cooler person" at heart? When you
become a business owner, your days of taking a long lunch
or chatting with the guys around the water cooler are over.
Can you make the transition from ³worker bee² to boss? It
can be lonely.
On
your own, you¹ll be making countless decisions every day --
from the mundane to the critical. And, you alone must shoulder
the daily ups and downs that come with running a business.
However, it can also have tremendous rewards in that you are
building something from scratch. So, if you believe you can
weather the isolation and roll with the punches, you might
be a good candidate for owning your own business.
5.
Can you create an organized environment? Where you work is
certainly important. You¹ll need an acceptable work space
and the right office tools in order to be creative and successful.
Even more important, however, is how you work.
For
example, you can have an incredible sales presentation with
the latest technology that will wow clients, but if you¹re
constantly late for meetings and lose important documents,
you¹ll probably also lose business.
Ask
yourself if you can flourish in an environment where creativity
and operational systems are equally important? Many entrepreneurs
make the mistake of thinking the company will simply ³run
itself² if they just come up with great ideas and business
leads. They pay scant attention to the details of building
a business. Too often this is a recipe for failure.
To
be a success, you must combine your fantastic ideas and business
tools with solid planning and organization.
Success
for any new business is never guaranteed. There are too many
variables, and many factors will be totally out of your control.
But you can avoid making a costly mistake by asking yourself,
honestly -- before you take the plunge: Do I have what it
takes to run a business? The answer should tell you if the
new ³American Dream² is the right fit for you.
Nancy Wurtzel is the founder and
owner of All About Baby, an ecommerce
business located at http://www.allbaby.com. All About Baby
offers personalized and memorable gifts for children plus
helpful content. Ms. Wurtzel consults with small businesses
seeking to enter the marketplace or grow their existing ecommerce
business http://www.allbaby.com
- allbaby@earthlink.net
Keywords:
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