The Other New Years Resolution
The Other New Years Resolution
In addition to "This year I will lose weight!" and "This year I will stop smoking!" and the ever popular "This year I will stop watching reality TV!" one of the more common resolutions made by many folks this time of year is "This year I will start my own business!"
I call it "The American Dream Resolution," and like most New Year's resolutions it is a proclamation of intent that is often made, but seldom carried out (at least in an effective manner).
Before you jump off the ledge into the entrepreneurial abyss in 2004, here's a little test to help you decide if this truly is a resolution you are qualified to make or if you should just stick to "This year I will lose weight..."
Give yourself 10 points for each "Yes" answer and a big ZERO for each "No."
1. Can you delegate without micromanaging? Running a business requires the performance of dozens of simultaneous tasks and it's foolish to try to handle them all yourself. You must surround yourself with partners and employees whom you can trust to perform these tasks as you would yourself. If you can't dish out responsibility without worrying over the result, add a zero to your score.
2. Are you self motivated and disciplined? If you do not have the wherewithal to bounce out of bed each day without your spouse drenching you with cold water, chances are you don't have the self motivation or discipline required to be an entrepreneur. Business demands that you take action based solely on your own volition. You have to motivate yourself to pick up the phone and make sales calls. You have to motivate yourself to get in the car and visit customers. You have to do a hundred things every day that will not get done unless you make yourself do them.
3. Are you afraid of a little hard work? Starting a business is easy, right? WRONG! If you think working for someone else is hard work, try starting your own business. You will be required to give every ounce of blood, sweat, and tears you can muster. You will have to work long hours and be on call 24/7, at least in the beginning. If the mere thought of hard work makes you tired, congratulations, here's your zero.
4. Are your personal relationships strong enough to withstand starting a business? The first question I ask anyone who tells me they want to start a business is: "What does your spouse think?" When you start a business you may have to spend more time away from the family than you like. The business may also put a strain on you financially. You will have enough obstacles in your way without having to worry if you have the support of your family and those closest to you
5. Can you sell? This is a triple zero question since every business requires customers and in the beginning it will be up to you to get those customers. This means selling yourself and selling your products. Even though customers are the lifeblood of every business, you'd be surprised at how many entrepreneurs HATE this aspect of doing business. Do you cringe at the thought of cold calling i.e., walking into a business and asking to speak to the owner? Can you pick up the phone, call a prospect, and ask for an appointment without breaking into a cold sweat? If you are not comfortable selling, you will have a very hard time in business. Zero, zero, zero.
6. Do you give up easily? One of my favorite sayings about business is: "If it was easy, everybody would do it." Starting a business is hard work and the odds for failure are against you in the first few years. If you want to ride herd on your own business, you must be willing to fall off your horse a few times without giving up. If you can't dust off your pants and climb back on, here's your zero.
7. Can you handle rejection? If your feelings are easily hurt, keep your day job because business is not for you. Many days in business, rejection waits around every corner and you must be able to handle rejection without letting it beat you down. You will experience rejection from customers, business partners, bankers, and investors, just to name a few.
8. Do you interact well with others? Being a business owner means that you will have daily interaction with a variety of folks, from your own employees to vendors to customers to investors. You must have the ability to effectively manage people without offending them; the ability to accept good advice from mentors and politely discount the bad; the ability to overlook mistakes or quietly rectify them; and the one I have trouble with: the ability to tolerate incompetence without losing your cool (but that's fodder for another column).
9. Do you have financial backing? The number one cause of business failure is a lack of money. Before you start your business you should have enough capital to see you through the first year or until the business can sustain itself. A good financial plan will include a number that ends in a few commas and a considerable number of zeroes.
10. Do you have experience in the type of business you plan to start? We've talked about this before. If you can't locate your car's engine you have no business buying a Lube-N-Go franchise. The most successful business owners have prior experience in the industry in which they have set up shop.
BONUS QUESTION. Have you ever started a business before? Prior business ownership is not a prerequisite, but it can't hurt. Many successful entrepreneurs have the skeletons of past businesses hidden in their closet. Business is a lot like marriage: you learn a lot of things on the first one that may come in handy the second time around. You can see why I didn't go into marriage counseling…
Give yourself 10 points for every "Yes" answer and zero points for every "No." If the "Yes" answers outweigh the "No's," you just might have what it takes to back up your New Years resolution to start your own business.
If your answers lean heavily to the "No" side, you might be better off working for someone else.
And that brings about another New Years Resolution that goes something like this: "This year I will get along with my boss…"
Here's to your success.
The Other New Years Resolution - To learn more about this author, visit Tim Knox's Website.
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Since this is my first column of 2004, I thought we'd spend a few minutes talking about those well-intentioned, though seldom kept promises we call New Year's Resolutions.
In addition to "This year I will lose weight!" and "This year I will stop smoking!" and the ever popular "This year I will stop watching reality TV!" one of the more common resolutions made by many folks this time of year is "This year I will start my own business!"
I call it "The American Dream Resolution," and like most New Year's resolutions it is a proclamation of intent that is often made, but seldom carried out (at least in an effective manner).
Before you jump off the ledge into the entrepreneurial abyss in 2004, here's a little test to help you decide if this truly is a resolution you are qualified to make or if you should just stick to "This year I will lose weight..."
Give yourself 10 points for each "Yes" answer and a big ZERO for each "No."
1. Can you delegate without micromanaging? Running a business requires the performance of dozens of simultaneous tasks and it's foolish to try to handle them all yourself. You must surround yourself with partners and employees whom you can trust to perform these tasks as you would yourself. If you can't dish out responsibility without worrying over the result, add a zero to your score.
2. Are you self motivated and disciplined? If you do not have the wherewithal to bounce out of bed each day without your spouse drenching you with cold water, chances are you don't have the self motivation or discipline required to be an entrepreneur. Business demands that you take action based solely on your own volition. You have to motivate yourself to pick up the phone and make sales calls. You have to motivate yourself to get in the car and visit customers. You have to do a hundred things every day that will not get done unless you make yourself do them.
3. Are you afraid of a little hard work? Starting a business is easy, right? WRONG! If you think working for someone else is hard work, try starting your own business. You will be required to give every ounce of blood, sweat, and tears you can muster. You will have to work long hours and be on call 24/7, at least in the beginning. If the mere thought of hard work makes you tired, congratulations, here's your zero.
4. Are your personal relationships strong enough to withstand starting a business? The first question I ask anyone who tells me they want to start a business is: "What does your spouse think?" When you start a business you may have to spend more time away from the family than you like. The business may also put a strain on you financially. You will have enough obstacles in your way without having to worry if you have the support of your family and those closest to you
5. Can you sell? This is a triple zero question since every business requires customers and in the beginning it will be up to you to get those customers. This means selling yourself and selling your products. Even though customers are the lifeblood of every business, you'd be surprised at how many entrepreneurs HATE this aspect of doing business. Do you cringe at the thought of cold calling i.e., walking into a business and asking to speak to the owner? Can you pick up the phone, call a prospect, and ask for an appointment without breaking into a cold sweat? If you are not comfortable selling, you will have a very hard time in business. Zero, zero, zero.
6. Do you give up easily? One of my favorite sayings about business is: "If it was easy, everybody would do it." Starting a business is hard work and the odds for failure are against you in the first few years. If you want to ride herd on your own business, you must be willing to fall off your horse a few times without giving up. If you can't dust off your pants and climb back on, here's your zero.
7. Can you handle rejection? If your feelings are easily hurt, keep your day job because business is not for you. Many days in business, rejection waits around every corner and you must be able to handle rejection without letting it beat you down. You will experience rejection from customers, business partners, bankers, and investors, just to name a few.
8. Do you interact well with others? Being a business owner means that you will have daily interaction with a variety of folks, from your own employees to vendors to customers to investors. You must have the ability to effectively manage people without offending them; the ability to accept good advice from mentors and politely discount the bad; the ability to overlook mistakes or quietly rectify them; and the one I have trouble with: the ability to tolerate incompetence without losing your cool (but that's fodder for another column).
9. Do you have financial backing? The number one cause of business failure is a lack of money. Before you start your business you should have enough capital to see you through the first year or until the business can sustain itself. A good financial plan will include a number that ends in a few commas and a considerable number of zeroes.
10. Do you have experience in the type of business you plan to start? We've talked about this before. If you can't locate your car's engine you have no business buying a Lube-N-Go franchise. The most successful business owners have prior experience in the industry in which they have set up shop.
BONUS QUESTION. Have you ever started a business before? Prior business ownership is not a prerequisite, but it can't hurt. Many successful entrepreneurs have the skeletons of past businesses hidden in their closet. Business is a lot like marriage: you learn a lot of things on the first one that may come in handy the second time around. You can see why I didn't go into marriage counseling…
Give yourself 10 points for every "Yes" answer and zero points for every "No." If the "Yes" answers outweigh the "No's," you just might have what it takes to back up your New Years resolution to start your own business.
If your answers lean heavily to the "No" side, you might be better off working for someone else.
And that brings about another New Years Resolution that goes something like this: "This year I will get along with my boss…"
Here's to your success.
The Other New Years Resolution - To learn more about this author, visit Tim Knox'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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Stephanie RobeyStephanie Robey is President and CoFounder of Pivot Positive, LLC - an Internet marketing business focused on helping people start work at home ventures. Previously, she was employed at The Search Agency with over 20 years experience in graphic design and 10 years experience in online marketing. She was responsible for launching the Conversion Path Optimization (CPO) unit where she and her team have conducted hundreds of optimization tests for online companies across multiple verticals. She is a successful entrepreneur having started and sold 2 companies and remains on the board of directors of the third, PhotoSpin.com Stephanie began her career in the direct marketing realm creating and producing direct mail for many of the major cable television companies and directly attributes her understanding of Internet marketing to those early offline experiences. Stephanie is a graduate of San Diego State University with a BFA in Graphic Arts and also holds an Executive MBA from the Graziadio School of Business and Management at Pepperdine University. Read Steph's Blog Meet Steph and Dave Sign up for our Free 7-Day BootCamp: Self Employed & Rich - Visit Stephanie Robey's Website |
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Casey GollanCasey Gollan, Business Coaching & Mentoring Programs. Add $1 Million to $10 Million in the next 1 to 3 years. Since 1996 Casey has to added hundreds of millions of dollars to businesses. Watch a free video see client results Business Coaching website. - Visit Casey Gollan's Website |
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Joe DagerJoe Dager is President of Business901, a progressive coaching company providing no-nonsense direction in areas such as Lean Six Sigma Marketing and organized referral marketing. What others say: In the past 20 years, Joe and I have collaborated on many difficult issues. Joe’s ability to combine his expertise with “out of the box” thinking is unsurpassed. He has always delivered quickly, cost effectively and with ingenuity. A brilliant mind that is always a pleasure to work with.” - James R. If you want to learn more about Business901, start a conversation with us. We can be found @ Web/Blog: Business901.com Web/Blog: FundingYourNonprofit.com LinkedIn Profile Follow me on Twitter - Visit Joe Dager's Website |
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John PowerJohn Power, founder of Biltmore Franchise Consulting, has extensive experience developing and marketing franchises and business opportunities. He has been in and around franchising for over twenty years. From 1980 through 1990 he conceptualized, organized, and developed the American Video Association. He grew AVA to 2,000 national members, before selling the company it 1990. It was later merged into another home video marketing company. From 2000 to 2005 he worked as a contract marketing and human resources consultant to several local and national companies. In 2005 Mr. Power began working as a franchise development consultant on a full-time basis. Since that time he has helped more than three dozen companies initiate and develop their franchising program. He notes that there are many companies interested in developing a franchise program, and who need his specialized assistance. Mr. Power is a “hands-on” franchise consultant. He said, “I am the ‘nuts and bolts’ person who tends to the details for my clients.” Mr. Power holds a B.S. degree with a major in Marketing. See: www.biltmorefranchise.com You may contact Mr. Power at: jpower@biltmorefranchise.co - Visit John Power's Website |
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Dianne CramptonDianne Crampton is an executive leadership coach, team culture consultant, author and president of TIGERS Success Series, Inc. Dianne has been helping CEO's and Executives connect their employees to their core values and goals for over 20 years using the trademarked TIGERS team culture process, which stands for trust, interdependence, genuineness, empathy, risk and success. To download a free white paper on behaviors that build strong teams and behaviors that will predictably tear them down go here. Dianne's contribution to the 2010 Pfeiffer Consulting Journal (an imprint of John Wiley and Sons Publishers) entitled TIGERS Hearted Teams is available in November 2009. Her new book TIGERS Among Us: 5 Winning Business Team Cultures And Why, Three Creeks Publishing will release in March 2010. To receive publishing discounts, subscribe to the free TigerTracks Newsletter here. - Visit Dianne Crampton's Website |
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Staging DivaDebra Gould, aka The Staging Diva®, is President of Six Elements Inc., an internationally recognized home staging company. Inspired by many requests from aspiring home stagers wanting to start similar businesses, Gould created the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program. Gould has trained over 1000 Staging Diva Graduates worldwide to start staging businesses. Buying decorating and selling six of her own homes in four years lead to an interest in real estate staging which she turned into a career with the launch of sixelements.com in 2002. Since then she has staged hundreds of homes in addition to teaching home staging training. Gould is the author of several home staging resources including a series of popular ebooks made up of a Design Guide, Color Guide and Portfolio Guide. For more information about Debra Gould visit stagingdiva.com. - Visit Staging Diva's Website |
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Jay Kubassek(Jay's Full Bio: EvanCarmichael.com/jaykubassek) In five years, Canadian-born entrepreneur Jay Kubassek went from selling mufflers at a Midas franchise to revolutionizing Internet marketing with the 2004 launch of CarbonCopyPRO, a online marketing education company, now worth over $20 million with customers in over 160 countries.
As an independent film producer, his upstart film fund Aliquot Films is currently producing a films with Spike Lee and Abel Fererra (starring Ethan Hawke and Dennis Hopper.)
Jay's entrepreneurial spirit is irrepressible. He’s the owner of five companies, a professional speaker and trainer, international real estate developer/investor, extreme sport enthusiast and emerging philanthropist. Jay resides in NYC with his wife Jamie, son Milo and dog Cooper. Visit Jay's official website: www.JayKubassek.com - Visit Jay Kubassek's Website |
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