As a business counselor for more than ten years, I know that a lot of people dream of starting their own businesses. Their reasons are often different. Some simply want to escape jobs that are going no where. Others are desperate to get away from bosses or jobs that tend to defeat them rather than trying to build them up. Still others believe it is their only chance at real success.
Sometimes people would come into my office with definite business ideas, while others were seeking assistance to determine what type of business they should explore. Some arrived with great business management skills while others had little or none at all. Some were open to suggestions and ideas, while others were opposed to any form of guidance. All of them, however, had one thing in common - a dream.
On an April, 2007 Oprah television show, Oprah brought in guests who had managed to turn their dream ideas into successful businesses. She featured true American success stories like:
Diane Warren, one of most highly successful song writers of this generation;
Liz Lange who built an empire on “wearable” maternity wear; and
Jonathan Adler from Bravo TV's “Top Design” who abandoned a good paying job to pursue his passion for making pottery, which is now features in many trendy boutiques and stores nationwide.
All of these guests had one thing in common - - family and friends that actually tried to discourage them along their journey and a burning desire to succeed no matter the odds.
Using Russell Simon's and Chris Morrow's book Do You, as the back drop, the television show talked about how individuals who are interested in following their own pathways should rely heavily on their inner “passion.” I wholeheartedly concur!
I used to see about 75-100 people per week who were seeking to start their own small business. Most of them came in to my office believing that they had wonderful ideas. Some were for businesses that they merely “thought” would work, for one reason or another. Others were eager to start businesses for which they had an innate passion. Can you guess which group tended to be most successful? You would be correct if you guessed the group that had a true passion for their business idea.
Like Diane Warren, Liz Lange, and Jonathan Adler, these people yearned to build something that would, in essence, be an extension of who they were as individuals. That is a definitive secret to successful business development and the whole concept behind the Do You book.
Unfortunately, few new business ideas are truly unique. Whether a person is looking to start a new restaurant, a floral or gift shop, design a clothing line, or whatever the case may be, chances are that someone, somewhere has already done it. Therefore, the key to succeeding at the same - - or higher level - - than those people, is individual passion, creativity, and pure raw desire.
Contrary to popular belief, opening a business is not likely to make your life easier. In fact, the opposite is true. It is likely that your life will become far more complicated. While it may be true that you no longer have a boss to please, you will still have to please someone; in this instance, your customers. And with a little luck, there were be hundreds of them to please.
A lot of people don't equate pleasing bosses as being the same as pleasing customers. They would be wrong! In a job, you as the employee must do things in a certain way and at a certain level in order to ensure that you get paid. As a business owner you must do the same thing, because if you don't perform at the level and quality the customer wants, he or she will no longer do business with you and you will no longer get paid. So, in reality, it is not all that different.
Another misconception that a lot of people have is that business owners will automatically make more money than they did in their old jobs. That may not be true at all. Most small businesses take several years before they begin to show a profit. In fact, a lot of lenders won't even consider making loans to individuals who do not have another revenue source in addition to their small business. They depend upon the business owner making timely loan payments, which may not be possible directly from the new business alone until it begins to make a certain amount of profit.
Other people go into business for themselves thinking that they can work fewer hours. Nothing could be further from the truth. In reality, small business owners put in a minimum of 10 to 12 hour days and typically work seven days a week.
