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What Should I Do to Start a Business?

January 15, 2009 By Mariela Leave a Comment

Starting and managing a business takes motivation and talent. It also takes research and planning. Although initial mistakes are not always fatal, it takes extra skill, discipline, and hard work to regain the advantage. Take time beforehand to explore and evaluate your business and personal goals, then use this information to build a comprehensive and thoughtful business plan that will help you reach these goals.

Developing a business plan will force you to think through some important issues that you may not otherwise consider. Your plan will become a valuable tool as you set out to raise money for your business, and it will provide milestones to gauge your success. Follow these steps, as advised by the Small Business Administration.

1. List your reasons for wanting to go into business. The following are some of the most common reasons:

  • Self-management
  • Financial independence
  • Creative freedom
  • Full use of personal skills and knowledge

2. Next determine what business is right for you. Ask yourself these questions:

  • What do I like to do with my time?
  • What technical skills have I learned or developed?
  • What do others say I am good at?
  • Will I have the support of my family?
  • How much time do I have to run a successful business?
  • Do I have any hobbies or interests that are marketable?

3. Identify your business niche. Research and answer these questions:

  • What business am I interested in starting?
  • What services or products will I sell?
  • Is my idea practical, and will it fill a need?
  • What is my competition?
  • What is my business’s advantage over existing firms?
  • Can I deliver a better quality service?
  • Can I create a demand for my business?

4. The final step before developing your plan is the pre-business checklist. You should answer these questions:

  • What skills and experience do I bring to the business?
  • What legal structure will I use?
  • How will my company’s business records be maintained?
  • What insurance coverage will be needed?
  • What equipment or supplies will I need?
  • How will I compensate myself?
  • What are my resources?
  • What financing will I need?
  • Where will my business be located?
  • What will I name my business?

Your answers will help you create a focused, well-researched business plan that will serve as a blueprint for business operations, management, and capitalization. The SBA offers a tutorial on preparing a solid plan.

Once you have completed your business plan, review it with a friend or business associate. When you feel comfortable with the content and structure, review and discuss it with your banker. The business plan is a flexible document that should change as your business grows.

Filed Under: Featured, Starting a Business

Too Busy To Network…

January 10, 2009 By Mariela Leave a Comment

If you think you are too busy running your business to make time for networking, think again. As the business owner, getting your face “out there” is an important part of your position description.

Networking exposes you to a whole new world of possibilities. Much has been written and discussed about networking, yet only few business owners possess a true grasp of how to network effectively. Networking must be fully incorporated into the daily operations of your business, not considered a secondary activity. Trust me, the more you do it the easier and more rewarding it becomes.

There are some common misconceptions held by skeptical business owners that need to be addressed here:

* Networking is not attending unlimited luncheons to collect and distribute as many business cards as humanly possible
* Networking is not joining 65 associations and never attending any events.
* Networking is not meeting people and telling them what they can do for you
* Networking is not something to be dreaded!

Networking is, quite simply, the building and nurturing of professional relationships. Your network of contacts is one of the most valuable assets as a business owner. And remember, networking is not just about who you know; it’s about who knows you.

One of the first steps to building a good network is to join organizations that offer opportunities to meet and connect with other businesspeople with whom you share an industry, community or other affinity. Hundreds of thousands of organizations exist, some as small as five or six people, others as large as major corporations. Depending on your interests, business needs and time availability, many associations and networking groups are likely to appeal to you. Given all of these options, how do you decide wish memberships are worthwhile? There is no correct number of association memberships to have, so you will have to decide what makes sense for you. some business owners only belong to one or two associations and become extremely active, while others find value in receiving the publications and member benefits of several additional organizations.

Here are some suggestions for selecting which organizations and networking groups are worth the membership dues. Keep these tips in mind as you read through the organizations described below:

* Ask friends and colleagues in your industry what associations they belong to and/or recommend. If it seems like “everyone” belongs, then you should do to.

* Visit the website of each association (and each association’s local chapter, if applicable) you are considering. Check closely for information about:

  • Membership dues: be on the lookout for lower prices if you join for multiple years at one time, or if you join during a special “membership drive.”
  • Membership benefits: often the benefits available to the association members, such as free subscriptions to industry publications or discounts on event attendance, justify the annual membership dues
  • Publications: does the association offer a magazine, newsletter or e-newsletter? Publications are one of the best ways to educate yourself about your potential customers and competitors and to promote yourself as a contributor or interview subject.
  • Events and workshops: how often does the association host conferences, networking events or educational workshops in your area? Does the organization host teleclasses or web seminars? Will membership guarantee you will receive invitations to these events? Are there separate fees to attend these events and can non-members attend at a higher price?
  • Membership Directory or Database: if you join this association, will you receive a directory of members, and will you be able to promote yourself to you fellow members? Is the directory in print or electronic?
  • Special interest groups: if the association is particularly large, does it offer smaller groups that meet your particular needs? For instance, do they offer a women’s group, a finance group, etc?
  • Board of directors: who sits on the association’s board? These “VIPs” will offer insight into the caliber of the association.
    * Take a test drive. While most associations do not offer trial memberships, it is worthwhile to call and request free attendance at an event or a free copy of the association’s most recent communication so you can check them out before committing.
Filed Under: Featured, Marketing

Goals, goals, goals… objectives to be achieved in a period of time

January 8, 2009 By Mariela Leave a Comment

Within weeks of the start of the year – or a month or two at best – the comments abound in the newspapers, online and on radio and TV with readers, listeners, columnists and presenters lamenting their inability to follow through with their resolutions.

Their once-firm intentions have been abandoned and they berate themselves for their lack of resolve. They have, in their words, “failed.”

However, as most life coaches tell us, there is no such thing as failure – just feedback; a lesson for the future.

It’s up to us to use our experience in a positive way. If we are learning to ride a bicycle and fall off, we get back on. No one said we would be free wheeling from the word “go.”

In an earlier article, I mentioned Thomas Edison and his quest to invent the electric light bulb. At each unsuccessful attempt, he simply refined his process and stated: “I have not failed. I have just found 10,000 ways that don’t work.”

So, what can we do differently? How can we refine our processes? What type of support network do we need to have in place this time and how can we remind ourselves of how much better our lives will be if we achieve what we set out to achieve?

Sometimes it helps to have an inspirational song, piece of music, image or text in our head. For me, it’s any of the many breathtaking views of England’s Yorkshire Dales to the sound of Mama Cass giving us the immensely uplifting It’s Getting Better.

I speak to many goal setters about the images and songs that spur them on and each is inspirational in its own way – a mother seeing her baby daughter wake each morning, a journalist thrilled by an ocean drive to the sound of Bruce Springsteen’s Thunder Road and an artist friend who adores watching winter sunlight break through trees.

Some goal setters report how “going public” and declaring their goals to others on a blog can be “liberating”. While it has taken them time to consider carefully what they genuinely want to achieve, once they’ve committed their thoughts to cyberspace, they’ve committed themselves to action.

Filed Under: Featured, Mindset for Success