Post by account_disabled on Apr 29, 2024 23:14:00 GMT -5
By Gini Dietrich Starting a BusinessSo you’re thinking about starting a business? It sure sounds fun, doesn’t it? You get to decide how much money you’ll make. You can take off as much time as you like. No one will tell you what to do. You get to make all the decisions. You won’t have to report to anyone. You’ll be in charge of your own destiny. You can finally do things the way you think they should be done. Yes to all of those things…and more. But there are many things people don’t tell you, such as: if the business doesn’t make any money, neither do you. Even though you don’t have a “boss,” you work for your employees and your customers. Particularly in the early years, if you take time off, the business doesn’t make money (and neither do you). And making decisions all day long is rough. Still, I wouldn’t trade it for anything and often tell other entrepreneurs that making the decision to go out on your own is the hardest part. Once you do that, the rest is downhill.
Well, downhill if you consider the following 20 things. Advice You Won’t Get About Starting a Business We all think we want to manage people. It has the perception of hitting the pinnacle of your career when you FINALLY get to manage people. My mom always advised: hire a bad cop; the person who will be the bad guy while you focus on being the leader, the motivator, the cheerleader. If you are in a service Hotel Email List business, there will be many people who want you to with them…but a majority who can’t (or won’t) afford you. Choose very wisely who you spend your time with. When you’re starting a business and it begins to sustain itself, you no longer will do what you started the business to do: your craft and, probably, your love and passion. Find ways that growing a business will excite you and make you passionate. As a business leader, your job will turn into setting the strategy, constantly communicating the vision, managing the culture, protecting the brand, training, developing, coaching, and mentoring your team, making rain, and networking every day. If you can’t get excited about that—and about your job changing—find something else to do.
There is no such thing as work/life balance. Your life is the business and your business is your life. Give up on that notion so you don’t drive yourself crazy. Entrepreneurs think they are kings of the hill and set unrealistic goals…because they truly believe they can achieve them. Most companies can grow 200 percent or more when they’re starting out, but plateau between 15-20 percent per year when the business matures. Be realistic about what you can achieve. Start with the end in mind:what is your succession plan? (I need to take my own advice.) Find an organization where you can get professional development. You can join Vistage or Entrepreneurs’ Organization or, if you’re in PR, Solo PR Pro. Or, hire yourself a coach. This will force you to take time at least monthly to sharpen your axe and work on the business, instead of in it. Read as many business books as you can handle. You’ll find you’re really energized by them. You’re going to spend more time than you like, or could imagine, on financials. Even if you hire someone to do them for you, you still need a really good understanding of them, what they mean, and how they can change.