Action is key

Grabbing opportunities with open arms is often easier to talk about than to actually do. Most people find themselves dreaming about being rich but never actually doing anything about it. A combination of procrastination and ‘what if’ syndrome can cripple your creative spirit and might mean your idea will never become a reality.

Socrates said “Action equals knowledge’. He was one of the greatest philosophers of our time. What he meant was that it is through action that we achieve results. For example, you could think about learning a foreign language for months, imagining the holidays you will take and the people you will communicate with. You can dream forever but accomplish nothing unless you actually make the effort to start taking lessons.

Much like the martial arts approach, the idea is to take action immediately and avoid over analyzing the situation.

Do you want to start your own business but are afraid of what kinds of things can go wrong? What if your initial investment doesn’t pay off? There are millions of things that could go wrong, but likewise there are many things that can go right! Fear can be paralyzing. When thinking about starting a business, particularly if you keep waiting for the right time. There will never be a perfect time. It’s now or never when it comes to starting your own business.

Beat back fear

Overcoming your fear is a step by step proccess.
Do you have a clear idea of what kind of business you want to start? A clear plan will help keep your worries at bay.
Do you have access to the resources you will need? This includes the necessary start up cash as well as anything else you will need.
Do you have access to clients or do you know enough about marketing basics to ensure you will have enough interest in what you are offering?

Just like anything else – taking action is the most important part. Make an itemized list of what you feel needs to be done in order for you to start that business you always dreamed of.

Prioritizing your list will help too. Don’t wait for all your ducks to be in a proverbial row before you begin but make sure you have all the basics covered. Don’t wait for that ‘perfect someday’. Make an imperfect start.

Don’t over think everything. Sometimes the best approach is to just jump into the deep end. And don’t wait to start discovering your own entrepreneurial spirit. Take action today!

Hardworking self-starter

The question was asked of me some time ago, what personality traits I thought were important for entrepreneurial success? My immediate reply was a spontaneous one about passion, dedication and hard work. Later that week and after considering the question a little deeper, I decided to elaborate a little more.

The result was this self-examining article pertaining to what it takes to achieve entrepreneurial success, which is by no means definitive, but you can lay odds that if you don’t possess most of what’s contained in these paragraphs, your chances of business success will be greatly diminished.

You must be self motivated, and if you don’t 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 do a hundred things every day that will not get done unless you make yourself do them.

Another requirement is hard work. You can’t be afraid of hard work because 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 and then some. 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, it maybe advisable that you just keep your cushy day job.

Experience and resilience

If you can’t locate your car’s engine you have no business buying an oil change franchise. The most successful business owners have prior experience in the industry in which they have set up shop. Consider working in an industry at least part time for a year before jumping in with both feet.

And you must be able to climb back on the horse. I always say: “If business was easy, everybody would be doing 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 and get back on a few times without giving up.

Support and humor

You need the support of your family. 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, and 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. In fact you’re going to be met with challenges big and small so you will have to develop a sense of humor to replace any thick skinned-ness in your make-up.

If your feelings are easily hurt, keep your non-threatening day job because business is not for you. Many days in business, rejection awaits you around every corner and you must be able to handle rejection without taking it personally.

Interaction and delegation

You must interact well with others in order to be a successful entrepreneur. Interaction is a requirement in most business pursuits and an entrepreneurship is most certainly a business, so interacting with a variety of people, 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 (at least not on the outside).

And while we’re at it, let’s not forget money, the lack of which is perhaps the number one cause of business failure, so the deeper your pockets the better. Before you start your business you should have access to enough capital to see you through until the business can sustain itself and replace your previous income.

This is a skill that you’ll have time to develop as it may not be required until your entrepreneurship becomes relatively successful and you have hired on some help. That skill is the ability to delegate. Running a business requires the performance of dozens of simultaneous tasks and it’s foolish to try to handle them all yourself. You must learn to put your trust in others. If you can’t dish out responsibility without worrying over the result, your business growth will be limited.

prior business experience

Previous business ownership is a plus but it is not a prerequisite. Of course you would have an advantage over budding entrepreneurs who lack such experience so it can’t hurt. Many successful entrepreneurs have the skeletons of past businesses rattling around in their closet.

Think of it this way – Business is a lot like marriage: you learn a lot from the first one that may come in handy the second or third time around. With that kind of advice you can see why I didn’t go into marriage counseling. But, according to the old adage…Grab the Bull by the horn and dig in to make your business a success!