Strategically Starting Your Own Business
Strategically Starting Your Own Business
The lack of “accuracy first and then momentum” on the part of people establishing a new businesses has led to an overwhelming number of business failures according to Dunn and Brad and the Small Business Administration. Over the past 30 years the sickening statistics have remained the same. 90% of new start up businesses fail… half the first year and the rest over a five year period. The main reasons why? Poor managerial and leadership skills and under funding.
As a former small service company owner and CEO at 26 years of age working with over 100 employees, I’ve taken what I learned in the trenches to coach and consult with small business owners for over four decades. Again and again, I’ve found that under funding is a result of an entrepreneur’s lack of managerial and leadership skills related to proper planning and financial forecasting. I’ve also found that acquiring and using key knowledge, skills and attitudes related to the managerial and leadership functions and tasks required to successfully operate a new business venture are the first things to focus on if you want to tilt the scales toward success instead of failure.
Free counsel on starting a new business is available from your local SBA SCORE office. There is also a great web site with a free Internet course on “My Own Business.” It is available to help you avoid the pitfalls when starting a new business, www.myownbusiness.org. I’m one of the resource experts featured in this free program. The program is full of wise counsel in some of the basic business areas that will help you avoid the pitfalls before you start your own business.
If you are serious about starting a new business, I have 10 tips to help you intelligently think it through. I’ve developed them from much of what Dun and Brad and Small Business Administration researchers have found in assessing millions of successful and failed businesses over many years.
Identify Your Talents - Define your passion and think of it in terms of profit. It may be product-oriented or service-oriented.
Know Yourself - Honestly assess your personal strengths and weaknesses. Motivation, organizational skills, leadership skills, managerial skills, internal drive, integrity, planning, diligence and patience will be important to your success.
Be Clear About The “Why” Of Starting Your Own Business - Before starting a business, write down why you decided to become an entrepreneur. Keep this list in mind at all times to keep you motivated through the fun and difficult times in starting and growing your new business..
Assess Lifestyle Changes - Discuss the possible lifestyle, financial and emotional changes your family will face. Encourage everyone to share all concerns and make sure your family supports your decision.
Get Counsel From Competent People - Mentors and friends can provide valuable initial feedback and guidance related to your start-up ideas and provide needed support and suggestions as your business venture progresses.
Do Research And More Research - Learn about the business you want to start by attending association meetings, local networking groups, and by talking with owners located in areas that are not competitive to you. Carefully research the industry and check out the competition.
Engage A Professional Business Development Coach - You will increase your odds for successfully establishing and growing your new business if you invest early on in engaging a trusted and competent business development coach. Before you do this, I urge you assess your own readiness to work with a coach using the free assessment tool I’ve developed. http://www.PALConsulting.net/dcasses2.asp
A personal and business development coach of high character and competence will ask you the tough questions you need to address, help you acquire the knowledge, skills and attitudes you need to be successful, give you straight feedback on your performance and encourage you through the tough spots encountered when starting a new business. He or she will be the accountability partner you need to most consistently be and do your best as a manager and leader of your new business. He or she will help you identify problems over symptoms and work through with you the resolution of the problems you face.
You should also develop a personal advisory team made up of your business coach, a business lawyer, a business CPA, and a business banker. This team will help you avoid costly mistakes and make more profitable decisions as you launch and run your new business.
Know You Have Sufficient Money - Analyze your financial resources before pouring your savings into a business venture. Clearly identify the start-up costs and carefully forecast and plan for sufficient cash to reach the break even point. Also know how much you will need to adequately support your family while building your business.
Set Up Record Keeping - Complete accurate records are needed to file taxes and properly manage your cash flow and bank account. Record new business ideas and business mistakes for future guidance.
Identify Necessary Resources - Determine your real sources of customers, capital, equipment, facilities, employees and vendors. Always have a list of back-up sources identified and on your computer for easy access.
Strategically Starting Your Own Business - To learn more about this author, visit Millard MacAdam's Website.
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Are you seriously considering starting your own business? When layoffs peak, many people think about working for themselves. This is actually a very positive thing because small businesses employ the masses of Americans, far more than the big companies all combined. If you examine the data, entrepreneurship has always been a significant stabilizer in economic recessions.
The lack of “accuracy first and then momentum” on the part of people establishing a new businesses has led to an overwhelming number of business failures according to Dunn and Brad and the Small Business Administration. Over the past 30 years the sickening statistics have remained the same. 90% of new start up businesses fail… half the first year and the rest over a five year period. The main reasons why? Poor managerial and leadership skills and under funding.
As a former small service company owner and CEO at 26 years of age working with over 100 employees, I’ve taken what I learned in the trenches to coach and consult with small business owners for over four decades. Again and again, I’ve found that under funding is a result of an entrepreneur’s lack of managerial and leadership skills related to proper planning and financial forecasting. I’ve also found that acquiring and using key knowledge, skills and attitudes related to the managerial and leadership functions and tasks required to successfully operate a new business venture are the first things to focus on if you want to tilt the scales toward success instead of failure.
Free counsel on starting a new business is available from your local SBA SCORE office. There is also a great web site with a free Internet course on “My Own Business.” It is available to help you avoid the pitfalls when starting a new business, www.myownbusiness.org. I’m one of the resource experts featured in this free program. The program is full of wise counsel in some of the basic business areas that will help you avoid the pitfalls before you start your own business.
If you are serious about starting a new business, I have 10 tips to help you intelligently think it through. I’ve developed them from much of what Dun and Brad and Small Business Administration researchers have found in assessing millions of successful and failed businesses over many years.
Identify Your Talents - Define your passion and think of it in terms of profit. It may be product-oriented or service-oriented.
Know Yourself - Honestly assess your personal strengths and weaknesses. Motivation, organizational skills, leadership skills, managerial skills, internal drive, integrity, planning, diligence and patience will be important to your success.
Be Clear About The “Why” Of Starting Your Own Business - Before starting a business, write down why you decided to become an entrepreneur. Keep this list in mind at all times to keep you motivated through the fun and difficult times in starting and growing your new business..
Assess Lifestyle Changes - Discuss the possible lifestyle, financial and emotional changes your family will face. Encourage everyone to share all concerns and make sure your family supports your decision.
Get Counsel From Competent People - Mentors and friends can provide valuable initial feedback and guidance related to your start-up ideas and provide needed support and suggestions as your business venture progresses.
Do Research And More Research - Learn about the business you want to start by attending association meetings, local networking groups, and by talking with owners located in areas that are not competitive to you. Carefully research the industry and check out the competition.
Engage A Professional Business Development Coach - You will increase your odds for successfully establishing and growing your new business if you invest early on in engaging a trusted and competent business development coach. Before you do this, I urge you assess your own readiness to work with a coach using the free assessment tool I’ve developed. http://www.PALConsulting.net/dcasses2.asp
A personal and business development coach of high character and competence will ask you the tough questions you need to address, help you acquire the knowledge, skills and attitudes you need to be successful, give you straight feedback on your performance and encourage you through the tough spots encountered when starting a new business. He or she will be the accountability partner you need to most consistently be and do your best as a manager and leader of your new business. He or she will help you identify problems over symptoms and work through with you the resolution of the problems you face.
You should also develop a personal advisory team made up of your business coach, a business lawyer, a business CPA, and a business banker. This team will help you avoid costly mistakes and make more profitable decisions as you launch and run your new business.
Know You Have Sufficient Money - Analyze your financial resources before pouring your savings into a business venture. Clearly identify the start-up costs and carefully forecast and plan for sufficient cash to reach the break even point. Also know how much you will need to adequately support your family while building your business.
Set Up Record Keeping - Complete accurate records are needed to file taxes and properly manage your cash flow and bank account. Record new business ideas and business mistakes for future guidance.
Identify Necessary Resources - Determine your real sources of customers, capital, equipment, facilities, employees and vendors. Always have a list of back-up sources identified and on your computer for easy access.
Strategically Starting Your Own Business - To learn more about this author, visit Millard MacAdam's Website.
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David BarrDavid Barr is the President of Venture Opportunities, Inc. David has been a professional business broker/intermediary since 1980 focusing on General Business Brokerage and Mergers and Acquisitions representing client transaction value from $400,000 to $20,000,000. Mr. Barr has handled the sale of over four hundred and fifty companies. David earned a university degree from the State University of New York majoring in economics and business. David holds the Mergers and Acquisition Master Intermediary and the Certified Business Intermediary designations from the International Business Brokers Association. He is also a Senior Business Analyst and a Texas licensed Real Estate Agent. For more information about David and Venture Opportunities, visit www.bizdealmaker.com. - Visit David Barr's Website |
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Anne BarrAnne Barr has over 26 years experience in sales and marketing, six years as a franchisee. She has assisted over 367 business owners and purchasers to achieve their goals in career change, transition and exit strategy. She holds the designation of Certified Franchise Executive from the International Franchise Association, Certified Business Intermediary from the International Business Brokers Association and Board Certified Broker from the Texas Association of Business Brokers. Anne is active in professional organizations, networking groups and volunteers for non-profit entities. As owner/operator of four successful businesses, Anne has proven people skills and enjoys helping clients find the right "fit" in business ownership. Visit www.FranchiseOpportunitySpecialist.com for more information about me and my company. - Visit Anne Barr's Website |
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Jeff FosterWebBizIdeas.com is a Minneapolis website design company founded to help people start an internet business by providing them with website, business, and internet resources that help foster the growth of successful online businesses and develop innovative Internet business ideas. We specialize in internet consulting & internet marketing. - Visit Jeff Foster's Website |
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David AchesonDavid Acheson is the founder of DCJA Consultancy. DCJA Consultancy is a management consultancy business specialising in B2B sales consultancy. They offer bespoke and packaged sales consultancy including Sales Optimisation Review, Interim Sales Management, Sales & Marketing Review, 1:1 Sales & Management Staff Analysis, Management Training, Solution Sales Training, Creation of New Pay Plan, KPI's, run Customer Feedback Campaigns, assist with Recruitment, Coaching, Appraisals and set up Strategic Marketing Campaigns. David spent his early career in accountancy and then moved into sales in 1982, working in Office Equipment, IT, Advertising, Training, Outsourcing and Consultancy. He has held many Senior Positions in SMBs and Global Organisations including Head of Sales Operations & Head of Business Development. His knowledge, skills and great experience of the Sales Industry has led to David making keynote speeches and running educational sessions to key businesses through organisations including The Chamber of Commerce and Business Link. - Visit David Acheson's Website |
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Leanne Hoagland-SmithAre your sales where you want them to be? Will you be one of the few who achieves sales or business success or one of the many who have failed to change? Are you tired of being told you are like everyone else? Then you may find my first book on sales of interest. Be the Red Jacket in the Sea of Gray Suits, The Keys to Unlocking Sales available at Amazon or at http://www.processspecialist.com/red-jacket.htm. This book is a reflection of my no-nonsense approach to improving sales to overall business results. If you are truly committed to making sustainable changes, then I can help you secure a positive return on your investment because I focus on executable solutions not telling you the problems you already know you have. From training to corporate (group) coaching to executive one on one coaching, my approach is to assess, create awareness, build a goal driven action plan and then execute. The bottom line question is "Not do you or your employees know it, but do you or they want to do it?" Please call for a free strategy session at 219.759.5601. - Visit Leanne Hoagland-Smith's Website |
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Cheryl MatthynssensCheryl is a life skills coach, licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor and a 20 year entrepreneur. Cheryl's dedication to achieving a life of balance led to her expanding her teaching from the simple managing of life's daily challenges to adding financial well being as well. A direct marketer with DrinkACT, she is gaining ground in the online community with her concepts of making sure business owners, entreprenuers and employees have well rounded life styles. She opened up a small affiliate site - The Balance Guide- to help others find resources for mental and emotional well being. Visit Cheryl's blog to see more of the diversity beyond business she has began offering online at www.thebalanceguide.blogspot.com - Visit Cheryl Matthynssens's Website |
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