businessplandr.com

I want to start my own business.

Why do you want to own your own business?

I am tired of working for someone else, I know more  than my boss, He or She just sits around all day, I want more free time, I can make a ton of money, It won’t be that hard, I can write every thing off,.

Standard but Wrong Answers!!!!

I am tired of working for someone else. When you go in business it is always said you are working for yourself, that is true but in reality going in business you are working for everyone, you now have lots of bosses and they all want to tell you what to do. How have you prepared yourself to deal with the people that as an employee you never knew they existed or the problems they have. What books on relationships, and management have you read and understand? Have you worked in every part of the business you want to open before, is this a new venture and you are flying by the seat of your pants? (not always bad)

I know more than my boss does! That may be true and probably is.Why is your boss in the position he or she is in. What makes you think you know more than the boss? Is the boss making money in the business? How long has the boss been  the boss? What are you more skilled in than the boss? Does the boss have a written job discription so you can see all the things the boss does that you may not be aware of?

He or she just sits around all day. Have you job shadowed your boss. What time does the boss start their day and what time do they finish? Do they take work home with them? Are they on call? If your boss is also the owner does the boss always get a paycheck.

I want more free time, Lets go back to the question does the boss take work home with him or her? Your business is like a child do you just leave your child or is your childs welfare always on your mind? What happens if things go wrong and you have to work late or even all night or all weekend, are you willing to do it? It is said when you are in business for yourself you only have to work half a day so which 12 hours are you going to work.

I can make a ton of Money! When will you make a ton of money? The first day, week, month, year, decade? What are your overhead? Is every one in this business making a ton of money? (How do I get in?)

It won’t be hard! I think it was Henry Ford who said luck is dressed in overalls and works hard. Running a business can be fun even though it is hard. Do not kid yourself.

I can write everything off! This has to be my favorite one. I will leave you today with this you have to be bringing in money to be able to write off money. This one will be a post on its own.

The first question I ask is what business do you want to start?

Years ago when I was told of some of the business ideas I would say to myself are you kidding me that will never work.

 I always like to look for the good, I would take time and listen to what the business idea was and why it would be a good business, some times I would say to myself are you kidding me why didn’t I think of  that.

Today with the Internet and all the new products and services available when I hear some one wants to start their own business I don’t ask are you kidding me?

There are so many niches for people to start their own business.

It takes planing and preparation to be in business good ideas are great but you need something to back them up. What experience do you have? Have you ever worked in the type of business that you want to open? If you have worked in the business do you know what it takes to run it and are you prepared for what it takes to run a business?

 What is the success rate of the type of business you want to open?

Do you have rose colored glasses on thinking that the owner is making all kinds of money and does nothing?

 Do you think you will be rich with out hard work and that you will have nothing but free time?

These are a few more questions that need to be asked when planing on opening a business. You as a new entrepreneur need to be able to answer these questions its OK to be a little uncomfortable with your answers. As like any journey there are always the unknown the more you can prepare and be aware the better chance you have with you succeeding.

Exit Strategy

If you ever watched the movie Alice in Wonderland there is a part where Alice comes up to a tree and there is the Cheshire Cat .  Alice asks which road she should take and the Cheshire Cat asks,  ”Where do you want to go?”  Alice says, “I do not know.”  The Cheshire Cat says,” If you don’t know where you want to end up it really does not matter what road you take.”

Why would I bring that up with an exit strategy?

I believe that if you know where you want to end up it is easier to get to where you want to be. In business if  do not think of your exit strategy when you are first getting started when will you? Will you be in business for weeks months years before you think about it and plan?

To me the exit strategy is the setting of goals. When president Kennedy said we were going to the moon all scientists started working on how to get to the moon. One of the scientists said,” Let’s say we are on the moon, how did we get here, and how do we get home? From that point they figured out what was needed to to make it a reality. 

I want my clients on the moon so they can work backwards and see how they got there.

The exit strategy I am initially looking for from my clients is when it is time for you to leave the business how will you do it?

Is your strategy to stay connected with the business as a consultant?

 Do you want to sell the business?

 How much do you want it to be worth?

How long do you plan on being there?

 Will you pass it on to your children?

If you have partners do you have a buy out plan?

Is that Plan going to be funded? How?

If you have a partner and he or she dies are you able to work with the spouse? (Another topic for a post)

If you think of these questions and can answer them it makes designing a business pan so much easier.

I also talk to the  youth about exit strategys and what are their exit strategys to be able to stay out of trouble. We all need to be able to get out of trouble faster than we get in it.

To finish off remember the cartoon character Snagglepuss said,” Exit stage left?”

Exit, stage left. to get started.

Starting a Business

Over the years I have had several people come to me and ask me how to get in business.  

Of course the first question I ask them is what kind of business is it you interested in doing?

Why do you want to be in business for yourself?

Do you have a background in this type of business?

What kind of inventory and or machinery do you need to get started?

Are you going to have employees?

Are you going to do it full time or is it a part time business?

What hours are you willing to put in?

What makes you think that this type of business is going to make it?

Are you going to have any partners?

Do you have any investors in the business lined up?

Do you have the funding necessary to start the business?

Do you have the funding necessary to sustain you and your family while it gets started?

How much do you need for both?

When do you plan on opening the business?

Does your spouse support you in this?

Will your spouse be working in the business also?

Can I talk with him or her by themselves?

What is your back up plan? (I do not like this one but I do ask it.)

What types of insurance coverage do you need?

Do you need to be bonded?

Do you know where to go to get it?

Are there any special licenses that you need?

Are you going into business for yourself to have a job?

Will this business give you the life style you dream about?

Above are a number of questions that I ask when helping people get into business. I want them to think of all these things and more, I want their eyes to be wide open when going into business for themselves.

I always do a follow up appointment with them scheduled a week away and I give them a home work assignment, the assignment I give them is if they want to buy any more of my time they need to come back to me with their exit strategy in place.

My next blog will be going into what an exit strategy is and why it is the most important part of the initial business plan.

If you are reading this and you are thinking about doing your own business plan what is your exit strategy?

Until next time.

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