Business Alone

Starting a business is much the same as beginning a road trip to some far away destination that you've never been to before. Hopefully the journey will be a pleasant one and will provide you with the profit and satisfaction that you desire.

You'll find that this journey is often a "thankless" one, but the rewards and the experiences along the way will more than compensate for the many hours of tedious dedication.

I have met many many entrepreneurs that were all packed and ready to go on their business journey, but when asked if they had planned out the trip, the course, the route they were going to take . . . they had given no time or attention to writing down how they intended to proceed.

They were just going to "wing it" and move from one day to the next down the path that seemed to be the correct one at the time.

Coming up with a workable home business idea is only a beginning. If whatever that idea is never develops beyond a thought, your dream of a real business will never happen.

In fact, let me be so blunt as to say that your chances for success in any business creation attempt will be directly proportional to your ability to translate ideas, and feelings, and thoughts into executed action steps.

Every new product and service that you see in the world today is the result of someone's acting upon an idea and following through by executing a series of steps that eventually resulted in the product's launch.

There may have been many, many people that had a similar, or even the exact same idea.

Among the many choices the entrepreneur faces in setting up a business from scratch is deciding upon the type of structure he/she will set as the framework for the enterprise.

Sometimes the alternatives are few and the choice is readily apparent. At others, it may be difficult to know what's best.

Typically, the decision about the structure of your business is influenced by the following factors and the answers you come up with to some pertinent questions like:

Picture yourself leaving on a journey to a far away place you've never been to before. You're not quite sure how to find this place, but you think you can ask questions of the locals along the way so you'll be able to zero in on your final destination.

Let me ask you: "What's the single best resource you could take with you on the journey if you had your choice?"

Would it be lots of money to buy your way in to the directions you need? Maybe.

Would it be a detailed map that showed you the exact way to your destination? Maybe.

What would you want to take on your journey?

Every business begins with an idea. The idea may or may not be your own, but it will determine, to a large extent, the success of your business.

So it follows that finding a good idea, the right idea for you at this time and place, is paramount in your attempt to begin a solo business.

But how do you know whether you have a good business idea or not? How do you know that the product or service you will offer will be something that others will buy?

Maybe you trust your brother-in-law Harvey's opinion that "this business is going to revolutionize the future of every man, woman, and child living in the free world."

It's fun to skim through a number of new business plans in a short period of time. I always take special note of the sales projections and compare set against set.

Of course, there is probably no merit in comparing apples to oranges as I'm suggesting I like to do. But it sometimes becomes apparent which prospective owners are attempting to be objective, and which are merely dreaming.

Even if you don't understand specific market demand, you will get a distinct "feel" for the amount of hype and exaggeration that floats around in the numbers and the logic.

Let's face it, many folks that start their own solo business are first time entrepreneurs. They have no history, background, or training in small business development or operation.

That presents a great challenge - one that can certainly be overcome - but one that must be recognized and met head-on.

You see, operating a business is like most other professions. You don't just declare that you want to be in business for yourself and all of a sudden possess all the skills and knowledge that you need to be successful.

Preparation for business success can come in many ways.

Some follow a regimented career path through college and possibly graduate school to learn the art and science of becoming a business owner.

Others choose to get their education from home study courses, books, tapes, and other media presentations.

Most businesses are started by folks that don't have formal training in business. The school of "hard knocks" is their educational backdrop.

Over the next few posts we will be looking at things you can do in your business to:

- gain the education and experience you need to learn important and useful business skills directly related to your success,

- present your business in the best light as one that is real and credible,

- grow your business beyond being just a startup that doesn't go anywhere,

- expand your mind and your opportunities for new business ideas, new products, and creative solutions to business problems,

We're discussing the steps you can take as a business owner to make yourself and your company a professional, trusted, "real" business; not some sloppy and suspect half-hearted attempt to grab a few customer dollars.

Here's the next step: Search out one or more experienced mentors to guide you in your business.

If you can find experienced business people that are willing to provide you some direction, advice, and counseling, you will be miles ahead of the pack of those who simply "go it alone" with no additional help.

I spoke with a young gentleman today about his dream to start a business. That's not a rare occurrence as I deal in such discussions quite a few times every week.

As we began talking, it was obvious to me that he was passionate about his idea and his plan to take that idea to market.

His reason for contacting me was to find out where he might begin looking for funding to finance his project. It was the next item on his "to do" list.

I think this is an important question that every entrepreneur needs to ask of him/herself. I'm not talking about turning a dollar bill into coins.

You've probably noticed that everything related to Internet business changes quite rapidly. It's business at the speed of light, so to speak.

Your niche market changes and morphs over time as new innovations come on the scene and old traditions die out.

You targeted customers change. It is a rarity nowadays to keep the same customers as regular purchasers at your site for more than a couple of years.

Small business is never easy.

I don't care what tales and stories you hear of entrepreneurs coming up with the perfect idea at the perfect time.

Most such tales are just that. Millionaires aren't typically created overnight and they don't automatically or magically appear when an Internet company goes public.

So to suggest that a great piece of entrepreneurial advice and wisdom can be boiled down into three tiny words is really heresy in many ways.