Are You Ready To Start Your Own
Business? The 4 Key Questions You Must Ask
By Deanna Mascle
Every year millions of people answer "Yes" to that question and every
year that answer costs many of them money, time, confidence, and heartbreak.
The Small Business Administration estimates there are 580,900 new small
businesses opening each year and that number does not include the small
one-person entrepreneurships that pop up every day. However even if you
are your business's sole employee then there is still something to be learned
from the SBA's numbers.
According to the SBA, two-thirds of new businesses survive at least
two years and 44 percent survive at least four years. Two of the key factors
in the businesses survival and ability to thrive: the owner's education
level and the owner's reason for starting the firm in the first place.
How can you make sure that you are among the winners rather than the
losers in this high stakes game? The answer is inside of you. You must
ask yourself four key questions to determine whether your own small business
will survive and thrive.
1. Are You Ready
Have you mentally prepared yourself for the switch from employee (or
student or whatever label fits you currently) to boss. You are going to
be the one making decisions now about everything from office products to
product line. This total control is one of the driving forces behind many
people who take the plunge into starting their ownbusiness but it is also
one of the elements that drives new entreprenurs crazy. When you start
out there is an endless list of decisions that need to be made and new
questions crop up every day.
Even more important you will need to remember that in a small business
you will wear many hats. Even if you manage to start out with one or more
employees you will each fulfill more than one role in your new business.
And if you are running a one-man or one-woman show then you serve in every
capacity from file clerk to maintenance crew to salesman to CEO. Can you
handle switching from task to task and role to role like that? Are you
willing to make those switches?
Similarly, have you prepared your family and friends for this switch
in attitude. Your life is going to change -- probably pretty drastically
-- and that change can have a positive or negative impact on your family
life and social interactions. It will make things much easier if your friends
and family are supportive going into the process.
2. Where Is Your Niche?
Have you identified your niche yet? One of the reasons many businesses
fail is that they fail to focus on a target audience. Yes if you are a
major discount chain then you can sell everything from peanuts to wallpaper
but this type of business requires vast resources that just aren't available
to the small business. But small businesses dominate the marketplace (creating
more than 50 percent of the private gross domestic product last year) by
finding a different approach -- a niche.
Knowing your niche means you are better able to find, target, and maintain
your customers as well as provide the best possible goods and services
to that customer base. That focus is one of your best chances to not only
survive but to thrive in a very competitive marketplace.
3. What Is Your Plan Of Action?
Another key factor in the survival and ultimate success of your business
is how much planning you do before you open your electronic or physical
doors. You need to decide if your business will be based on the internet
or include more traditional models. Are you going to work full-time or
part-time at your new business? Are you going to hire help or go solo?
Have you written (or at least outlined) your business plan? Dreaming, thinking
and planning can save you much trouble and waste later when things are
hectic and problems strike. Planning can also help keep you focused and
to balance your spending and time.
4. Who Are You Going To Call?
At some point, no matter how experienced a business person you are,
you will need help. You will need support, advice, tools, or information
-- or all of the above. One of the beautiful, and most frightening, aspects
of growth is that it can lead you to places you never imagined. No matter
how much planning and experience you bring to your new position as CEO
the unexpected will arise. How will you cope with this? It is important
to recognize that no business is an island. It is not failure to seek help.
Failure is when your business shuts down because you didn't get the help
you needed.
The best way to get timely help is to work on your support system while
you work on building your business. That way you will already have a ready
list of resources available that you can quickly tap into when emergencies
strike. In today's world there are many marvelous resources available to
you no matter what your business model may be. These include:
~ Publications (newsletters, magazines, books)
~ People (professional advisors, mentors, teachers, consultants)
~ Networks (organizations and forums in your niche as well as general
business and marketing)
~ Education and training (tutorials, courses, and seminars)
After you have answered these four key questions you are now ready to
ask yourself that one big question again -- are you ready to start your
own business?
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