Wed.
9 December 2020
START MY OWN BUSINESS
Do I have enough money?
If you have a family, are they ready for this?
Is there a need for a product or service like mine?
Is my driving force a sense of urgency?
What motivates me as an entrepreneur to stop daydreaming about business ownership and
actually do something about it?
What are my business goals?
But opportunity comes in many guises. It might be when potential customers start calling
you, or perhaps a business in your area is failing and you know you can make it work. Or
maybe you feel as if you’re underemployed (working below your potential salary or your
skill level) or not putting your skills and talents to their best use. Perhaps there’s a need for
the product or service you want to provide. Or you’ve simply figured out a better or a new
way to do something.
Conducting thorough market research is a must. Make sure you have enough cash—not only
for the business, but to sustain your life—and discuss the decision with your family.
the rewards of small-business ownership are not instantaneous. You must be determined,
patient, persistent, and willing to make sacrifices to ensure those rewards eventually do
come.
Small business is fiercely competitive, and it’s the business owners with confidence who
survive.
“Setting goals is an integral part of choosing the business that’s right for you.”
When setting goals, aim for the following qualities:
Specificity. You have a better chance of achieving a goal if it is specific. “Raising capital” isn’t
a specific goal; “raising $10,000 by July 1” is.
Optimism. Be positive when you set your goals. “Being able to pay the bills” isn’t exactly an
inspirational goal. “Achieving financial security” phrases your goal in a more positive
manner, thus firing up your energy to attain it.
Realism. If you set a goal to earn $100,000 a month when you’ve never earned that much in
a year, that goal is unrealistic. Begin with small steps, such as increasing your monthly
income by 25 percent. Once your first goal is met, you can reach for larger ones.
Short and long term. Short-term goals are attainable in a period of weeks to a year. Long-
term goals can be for five, ten, or even 20 years; they should be substantially greater than
short-term goals but should still be realistic.
There are several factors to consider when setting goals:
Income. Many entrepreneurs go into business to achieve financial security. Consider how
much money you want to make during your first year of operation and each year thereafter,
up to five years.
Lifestyle. This includes areas such as travel, hours of work, investment of personal assets,
and geographic location. Are you willing to travel extensively or to move? How many hours
are you willing to work? Which assets are you willing to risk?
Type of work. When setting goals for type of work, you need to determine whether you like
working outdoors, in an office, with computers, on the phone, with lots of people, with
children, and so on.
Ego gratification. Face it: Many people go into business to satisfy their egos. Owning a
business can be very ego-gratifying, especially if you’re in a business that’s considered
glamorous or exciting. You need to decide how important ego gratification is to you and
what business best fills that need.”
1. Create a personal resume. Compose a resume that lists your professional and personal
experiences as well as your expertise. For each job, describe the duties you were
responsible for and the degree of your success. Include professional skills, educational
background, hobbies, and accomplishments that required expertise or special knowledge.
When complete, this resume will give you a better idea of the kind of business that best
suits your interests and experience.
2. Analyze your personal attributes. Are you friendly and self-motivated? Are you a hard
worker? Do you have common sense? Are you well-organized? Evaluating your personal
attributes reveals your likes and dislikes as well as strengths and weaknesses. If you don’t
feel comfortable around other people, then a business that requires a lot of customer
interaction might not be right for you. Or you may want to hire a “people person” to handle
customer service.
3. Analyze your professional attributes. Small-business owners wear many different hats,
but that doesn’t mean you have to be a jack-of-all-trades. Just be aware of the areas where
you’re competent and the areas where you need help, such as sales, marketing, advertising,
and administration. Next to each function, record your competency level—excellent, good,
fair, or poor.
Personal Goals and Objective Worksheet
Setting goals not only gives you an ongoing road map for success, but it shows you the best
alternatives should you need or desire a change along the way. You should review goals on a
regular basis. Many do this daily as it helps them assess their progress and gives them the
ability to make faster and more informed decisions. Take a few minutes to fill out the
following worksheet. You’ll find this very helpful in setting and resetting your goals.
1. The most important reason for being in business for myself is:
2. What I like best about being in business for myself is:
3. Within five years I would like my business to be:
4. when I look back over the past five years of my career I feel:
5. My financial condition as of today is:
6. I feel the next thing I must do about my business is:
7. The most important part of my business is (or will be):
8. The area of my business I really excel in is:
