Small Business Cents

There are so many things to consider when starting a business that it can often get scary. Many people will never get past the idea stage because they allow this fear to freeze them in place. Many others will leap before looking and fall flat on their faces. How do you know when to be cautious and when to push forward?

There is no one answer that fits every business idea. What works in Podunk,Arkansas may not work in Los Angelas so my suggestion would be to really pay attention to your research about what sells well where you intend to place your business. What does that area need? While proper research will not remove all risk associated with opening a small business of any type, it can reduce risk drastically.

You must also be realistic with your expectations at the start. Owning your own business can be the hardest yet most rewarding thing you ever undertake as long as you are not expecting overnight wealth. Work first on developing a good reputation in your community by delivering a quality product at a fair price. Slow and steady wins the race.

Cashflow is key! You must be prepared at the start of your business to have to struggle. This preperation can come simply by paying very close attention to what you are spending each month on business expenses as well as what profit you are seeing return to the business. Reinvestment of funds to help the business grow can often be the difference in whether or not a business becomes more than just a job you have created for yourself. If you pay attention to the math you may be able to sidestep small obstacles before they become huge problems.

Each businessmans goal should be to expand and grow their business to the point of it becoming an asset capable of supplying the owner with passive income. It's not always easy nor is it as hard as some would have you believe. A little self discipline can go a long way.

At the end of the day, your businesses success or failure, like any relationship, depend on nothing more that what you did that day to protect and nurture it's growth.

I Have a Business License...Now What?

This post is meant for people that have taken the first step already and started their own business but are not sure what to do next. In many cases the answer is as simple as look at what your competition is doing. If you have a successful competitor then don't waste time trying to reinvent the wheel, instead copy the way they do business because you can bet they didn't get to be successful by not knowing something. Microsoft has been using this method for their products for years and look where they are at now.

Remember as someone once said "Lesser Artists Borrow, Great Ones Steal." The same can be said for business marketing ideas.

Building Your Exit Strategy

When most people start a business they are full of hopes and dreams of watching it grow. They may have taken the time to create a business plan devoid of all faults except one. Few people think far enough ahead to plan an exit strategy. That is the point I am at right now. It was never my intention to work in my business forever yet I, like so many others have failed to plan a proper exit strategy.

My choices are simple really, I can contact a business broker and place my business up for sale which isn't even an option in my eyes. It would be too much like having a child, teaching it to walk, talk, run, ride a bike, and then just when it learned how to coast down the big hill...giving it up for adoption.

My next choice and the most likely to occur is to hire someone to manage my business while I accept the fact that it has grown large enough to try on big boy pants. This is equivalent to hiring a baby sitter. Just as you wouldn't trust just anyone to watch your child, taking a step back and allowing someone else control over your business can be just as big a challenge.

Still, I know that the time has come. Faster than I had hoped, but it is here. In a way it is sad yet in another it is a tremendous feeling of pride in what I have built. Three years ago I had $500 and a dream, now that dream is a reality capable of financing future dreams and yes there are future dreams.

I have so many other projects I want to do that I know I will never get a chance to do them all, at least not in the way this business was built, with me at the helm and overseeing everything from start to finish. I started knowing absolutely nothing about building or running a business and yet I am still here and my business is still thriving. I took a lot of hits along the way, each teaching me something new and I will use this knowledge in future endeavors.

I am proof that you can do anything you set your mind to, the only limits are those you place upon yourself!

Happy 4th of July

To Everyone that subscribes to my blog, I have to apologize for the lack of recent posts. June is actually a very busy month for my business and I have been too swamped making sure things got done to post. It is now July, hope everyone had a great July 4th holiday and I can assure you all that new posts are coming soon.

I CAN!

I was watching this kid on T.V today that has no legs and yet here he is winning medals for swimming. He also runs daily on his prosthetic legs and that got me thinking. How many of us fail to achieve our true potential by simply uttering the words "I Can't"?

What I want each of my readers to do is to remove the words "I Can't" from their vocabulary and instead substitute the question "How can I...?"

This works for most anything. How can I lose weight? How can I become debt free? How can I learn another language? You get the point.

By asking that one simple question, your mind will be forced to think of your goal as an actual possibility and will begin to provide you with the answers or at the very least a general idea as to where to find the answers that will lead you to your goal.

The next thing I want my readers to do is this. Once you have your answer, take out a piece of paper and clearly trace out all the steps that will take you from where you are now to where you want to be. What do you need to do to achieve your goal?

Next, and this is the hard part, take a step in the direction of your goal. It can be a small step but all journeys start with a first step. Your journey to fulfilling your goal is the same. This is not the time for excuses, you can no longer say "I Can't". Your path is clearly marked by you, all you have to do is start.