| Life as an entrepreneur, soloprenuer, small business | | | | Generally, a good start up solves a legitimate problem. |
| owner, or independent contractor is very different | | | | For example, do you remember life without Google |
| from one business professional to the next. What | | | | and page rank? Google was able to solve the problem |
| makes it different depends on your business model, | | | | of poor search results. They were the first company |
| your passion and tolerance for risk, and whether or not | | | | that banked on people wanting smarter search results |
| you are promoting tangible or intangible products and | | | | and look at them now. |
| or services. Having said all that, you want to start a | | | | 3. START. "I am so grateful for my clients for they |
| business and you want to do it from scratch. Great! | | | | buy my products before they are perfect." Bill Gates. |
| Being a business owner is like all things in life: it can be | | | | You cannot allow yourself to get stuck in the |
| rewarding and frustrating at the same time. I am here | | | | proverbial fork in the road. If you have a burning desire |
| to tell you how you can minimize your frustrations and | | | | to do something, just do it. Then, speak it out loud to |
| reap the rewards sooner rather than later with the | | | | friends and family, even if they are not immediately |
| following 6 simple tips on how to start a business from | | | | supportive. You have to say it out loud to |
| scratch. | | | | subconsciously see yourself being the entrepreneur |
| 1. Write a business plan. Oftentimes we start a | | | | you always wanted to be. It's similar to wanting to lose |
| business out of passion or disgusting for working for | | | | weight. If you keep it to yourself, you risk putting |
| someone else. We jump head first into the deep end | | | | yourself down. But if you speak it out loud, you not |
| of self-promotion, yet we forget to take the | | | | only accountable to yourself but to others as well. |
| appropriate steps that lead to the best results. A | | | | 4. Hire a Business Coach. You may be in business for |
| Business plan can be as simple as writing down your | | | | yourself, but you certainly don't have to do it alone. A |
| company's vision, mission, objective, strategies and | | | | good business coach listens, teaches, keep you |
| action plan(s) or it can be as sophisticated as showing | | | | accountable, and can model the same activities he or |
| income projections over the next few years, | | | | she recommends to you. A coach can take you |
| marketing efforts, sales strategy, cash flow, etc. | | | | through the development process and knows how to |
| Regardless on how simple or sophisticated your plan is, | | | | give "constructive criticism." That's the type of criticism |
| you have to start with something, but not something | | | | that hurts, but helps us grow at the same time. |
| that stays in your mind, but rather something written. | | | | 5. Take Calculated Risks and Track Your Results. |
| Then, when you have a clear vision of what you want | | | | Tracking is the most important part of any small |
| to do, how you want to do it and how much you plan | | | | business's owner's life. If you invest $100, $1000 or a |
| to charge for it, you can invest in a sophisticated plan. | | | | million dollars, you will want to know what will be your |
| 2. Identify your secret ingredient. Starting a business | | | | return on your investment to decide if the risk was |
| can be an overwhelming process if you are unsure | | | | worth your time. |
| what makes your business unique. Offering lower | | | | 6. Understand and accept that starting a business is a |
| prices for something that already exists is not | | | | journey. You may find that what you started out as is |
| necessarily a good reason to start a business. | | | | not what you end up to be. In fact, as you are going |
| Oftentimes, you cut yourself to the point where you | | | | through your business building motions, you may find |
| can't afford to stay in business. You may not need to | | | | your secret ingredient and live out the life you've |
| be the first person to do something, but you have to | | | | always dreamed about. "I am a small business owner |
| offer something of value so that people will pay. | | | | and I am proud of it. |