| Starting a business appears to be as American as | | | | have been adhering to? |
| apple pie. Every year, tens of thousands of people in | | | | These types of questions serve to jog your thinking |
| the United States decide to launch their own business | | | | into action and to help you discover hidden |
| start up. If you are thinking of doing the same thing, you | | | | opportunities for doing business. |
| probably need some help in deciding exactly what | | | | 4. Audit your Hobbies |
| type of business you should start. | | | | If you have outdoor hobbies like extreme sports or |
| In over 9 years of being a business adviser and coach, | | | | hiking and mountain climbing, you can leverage your |
| I have helped numerous entrepreneurs make decisions | | | | knowledge of these areas to start a related business. |
| like this with a special set of tools known as personal | | | | Not only could you start an equipment or accessory |
| inventory audits. These personal inventory audits are | | | | supply business, you could start an internet-based |
| simple sessions where you think specifically about a | | | | business where you sell valuable information to fellow |
| particular life area and create a list of assets. Here are | | | | hobbyists. The internet is also a great business |
| 5 simple audits you can perform on yourself to help | | | | platform if your hobby is an indoor activity like |
| you decide on the business startup of your dreams. | | | | embroidery or scrapbooking. |
| 1. Audit your Skills and Competencies | | | | 5. Audit your Professional Knowledge |
| Starting a business related to skills you have means | | | | Do you have professional credentials? If so you could |
| that you can be your own employee. These may be | | | | start a business in your area of expertise. An |
| broader professional skills, or technical skills or even | | | | accounting professional I know recently started a |
| leadership skills. When you establish a company that | | | | bookkeeping business to help business owners in a |
| delivers a skill set that you understand, you can | | | | very specific niche. This is a great way to leverage |
| manage your employees based on your first hand | | | | the work you have already done and the experience |
| knowledge of what they do. | | | | you have already built in your professional life. |
| 2. Audit your Experiences | | | | Conclusion |
| The experiences you have been through in your | | | | Starting a business can be one of the most exciting |
| personal or business life can form the foundation of a | | | | but challenging experiences of your life. You can |
| new company. Whether these are nominally negative | | | | increase the chances of your business reaching the |
| or positive experiences does not matter. In seminars | | | | point of ultimate success that you define by building a |
| and workshops, I instruct people to "turn tears into | | | | business according to your core strengths. Learning to |
| gold" by repackaging their experiences (and lessons | | | | conduct regular personal audits gives you a great |
| learned) for the marketplace of people who may be | | | | measure of control in your decision-making. |
| going through similar situations. | | | | These personal inventory audits are not so much |
| 3. Audit Proximities | | | | exercises in starting a business as they are tools for |
| By proximities, I mean that you should audit and create | | | | building self-knowledge. |
| a list of people, places, products, or philosophies that | | | | Self-knowledge is something you will need to make |
| are near and dear to you. Ask yourself questions like: | | | | sure that starting a business does not become |
| | | | something you deeply regret down the road. Whether |
| - What can I partner with these people to offer? | | | | you are in charge of a business startup or you are |
| - What do these people do well that I can sell? | | | | leading a corporate unit within an established company, |
| - What are the places I'm familiar with well known for? | | | | gaining this kind of self-knowledge makes you a more |
| - What do I know about this product that many others | | | | effective leader - a more effective leader for your |
| need to know but do not? | | | | business organization, and a more fulfilled person in life. |
| - How many others could use these philosophies I | | | | |