18 Steps for Starting Your Business
CHAPTER
It’s Time to Be Your Own Boss
CHAPTER
It’s Time to Be Your Own Boss
You have decided that you would like to be a business owner. You want to
quit working at that “nine to five” job that doesn’t seem to pay well or to bring
any excitement to your life. Instead, it sounds like a great idea to take the leap
into entrepreneurship and be your own boss.
Why Do You Want to Own a Business?
Business ownership is often looked upon as a means of creating wealth and
achieving personal freedom. Some of the most common reasons why you might
choose to go into your own business are:
9 To build a business for yourself instead of for
someone else
9 To pursue a passion (e.g. "I’ve always wanted to
own a restaurant.")
9 To be your own boss and master of your own time
9 To make a living doing what really enjoy doing
(woodworking, photography, writing, childcare, etc.)
9 To capitalize on an invention
9 To replace income from the loss of a job
9 To create net worth (long-term capital appreciation)
2 18 Steps for Starting Your Business
Are You Are Ready to Make the Transition?
When you are contemplating business ownership, it tends to be exhilarating. However, it is
common to experience uncertainty as well. Am I willing to invest the time it takes to start and run
a business? Can I deal with the emotions that come with running a business? Will enough people
use my services or buy my products? Will I make enough money to sustain the business and my
desired lifestyle? Am I mentally prepared to give up my current salary and accept the financial
uncertainties that come with running my own business? Will I be able to support my family?
In order to be successful in your new business you have to be fully committed to your vision.
Instead of working eight hours a day, most new business owners work sixteen hours a day with
very few days off for leisure activities. You will indeed be your own boss and the master of your
time – but, that does not mean that you will be free. I have always thought that I am the toughest
boss that I ever worked for.
Think about it and make sure that the timing is right to make your move from employee to
business owner. Review possible threats that are likely to arise and determine how you will
mitigate them. Determine what your strengths are and how you will use them to get your business
up and running and on the road to profitability.
To complete your reality check, ask yourself the all-important question, “Am I ready accept the
responsibilities of business ownership?” If the answer is “yes,” then it is time for you to move
forward in a logical way to decide on a business and to get it off the ground and running
smoothly.
Match Your Skills and Interests to Your Business
Skills are the things that you are good at. Interests are the things that you like to do. When you
are considering the type of business you want to start, it is generally best to find one that utilizes
your skills and that captures your interest. If you are good at something, but don’t like doing it,
you will soon find yourself wishing that you were doing something else. Likewise, if you are
interested in what you are pursuing, but you are not good at it, you are not likely to stick with it
for long.
After you have identified your various skills and interests, you can then begin to identify potential
businesses that satisfy both requirements. This is where the true entrepreneur can use the
imaginative processing to come up with creative ideas for new and unique businesses.
quit working at that “nine to five” job that doesn’t seem to pay well or to bring
any excitement to your life. Instead, it sounds like a great idea to take the leap
into entrepreneurship and be your own boss.
Why Do You Want to Own a Business?
Business ownership is often looked upon as a means of creating wealth and
achieving personal freedom. Some of the most common reasons why you might
choose to go into your own business are:
9 To build a business for yourself instead of for
someone else
9 To pursue a passion (e.g. "I’ve always wanted to
own a restaurant.")
9 To be your own boss and master of your own time
9 To make a living doing what really enjoy doing
(woodworking, photography, writing, childcare, etc.)
9 To capitalize on an invention
9 To replace income from the loss of a job
9 To create net worth (long-term capital appreciation)
2 18 Steps for Starting Your Business
Are You Are Ready to Make the Transition?
When you are contemplating business ownership, it tends to be exhilarating. However, it is
common to experience uncertainty as well. Am I willing to invest the time it takes to start and run
a business? Can I deal with the emotions that come with running a business? Will enough people
use my services or buy my products? Will I make enough money to sustain the business and my
desired lifestyle? Am I mentally prepared to give up my current salary and accept the financial
uncertainties that come with running my own business? Will I be able to support my family?
In order to be successful in your new business you have to be fully committed to your vision.
Instead of working eight hours a day, most new business owners work sixteen hours a day with
very few days off for leisure activities. You will indeed be your own boss and the master of your
time – but, that does not mean that you will be free. I have always thought that I am the toughest
boss that I ever worked for.
Think about it and make sure that the timing is right to make your move from employee to
business owner. Review possible threats that are likely to arise and determine how you will
mitigate them. Determine what your strengths are and how you will use them to get your business
up and running and on the road to profitability.
To complete your reality check, ask yourself the all-important question, “Am I ready accept the
responsibilities of business ownership?” If the answer is “yes,” then it is time for you to move
forward in a logical way to decide on a business and to get it off the ground and running
smoothly.
Match Your Skills and Interests to Your Business
Skills are the things that you are good at. Interests are the things that you like to do. When you
are considering the type of business you want to start, it is generally best to find one that utilizes
your skills and that captures your interest. If you are good at something, but don’t like doing it,
you will soon find yourself wishing that you were doing something else. Likewise, if you are
interested in what you are pursuing, but you are not good at it, you are not likely to stick with it
for long.
After you have identified your various skills and interests, you can then begin to identify potential
businesses that satisfy both requirements. This is where the true entrepreneur can use the
imaginative processing to come up with creative ideas for new and unique businesses.
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