Posted by admin | Posted in Articles, Business Start Up | Posted on 02-02-2010
Thinking of turning your passion into a fruitful enterprise? Want to do what you love all day long, get paid for it and be the boss?
While starting a business may not be for everyone, it does provide some people the avenue to fulfill their dreams and meet their true potential. Many people who go into business for themselves, do so to pursue a hobby full-time (such as a canoe maker), do something they are good at and have been paid by others to do (such as a bookkeeper), or they want to try something completely different (start a doggie bakery). They may like the idea of having flexible work hours, accountability to themselves and being in control. These are all valid reasons for going into business and, if the business is thought out and planned properly, starting a business can lead to long term satisfaction and realization of life-long dreams.
Whatever your reasons for choosing to start a business, it is important to keep the following points in mind:
- Plan to work 25-100% more hours than working for someone else.
- Anticipate living without a steady wage (or any wage) for the first few years.
Expand your dreams. If you are dreaming of doing the things the business does (such as bake and decorate the cakes), expand your dreams to include all the other hats that you will need to wear including: bookkeeper, cleaner, banker, errand-runner, marketing executive, trouble shooter and many others. Unless you can afford to hire out these jobs, they will be yours.
If you are starting to dream of entrepreneurship as a way to reach your goals and dreams, learn more about it. Talk to local entrepreneurs about why they went into business for themselves. Ask them if their passion for the “work the business does” is still there and what lessons they have learned along the way. Read books. One recommended selection is “The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It” by Michael E. Gerber.