Something to Ponder

by James Fowler
http://www.mywebsource1.com/

I grew up in what is now known as the Rust Belt of America. The corpses of long-forgotten factories lie in ruins along streets that can no longer be maintained. Yet, somewhere amongst the ghosts of the Industrial Revolution, small business thrives. Time is almost reversing and people are making their livelihoods in local shops and home offices where they promote their skills rather than follow direction from big business management.

But, how do we get an entrepreneurial spirit? It isn’t like we were given this roadmap to look outside the box and do things on our own. Actually, it has been just the opposite. We are taught that there is structure in everything and it is our job to follow that structure. It is trained within our makeup to follow the establishment.

When you are young, we are told to listen to our parents. Meals are a set schedule, we are given orders to clean our rooms and take out the garbage, we go to bed at a certain time, and do what we are told by the management, i.e. our parents.

Next, we go to school and it is more of the establishment. The teacher puts you in a class, sits you in an assigned seat, and you study what the teacher instructs you to learn. In actuality, it isn’t even learning, it is memorization and regurgitation. If you do wrong, you are punished. If you do something right, you are rewarded with a foil star.

Finally, we graduate from high school and/or college, we go out to find a job and we are expected to be leaders – but we’ve never been trained to think on our own. We are still looking for direction.

So how does a person become a leader? How do these small business owners get the nerve to stand up against what we’ve all been trained to embrace?

Question: What made you decide to go into business for yourself?

Confessions of a Small Business Owner

by James Fowler
www.mywebsource1.com

It has been over six months now since I quit my job and started my own business. Like most people who want to be entrepreneurs, I think I’ve always had a need to own my own business. Having the freedom of being your own boss is an incredible feeling, but it is accompanied by terror that makes most people hesitate.

I remember the day I came home and told my wife that I finally made the move and that the next Friday would be my last day of work. She freaked out! I assured her that there was nothing to worry about. I had some customers and we had money saved up. I needed her to trust me to do this.

A friend of mine – an accountant - has always wanted to be his own boss. We would talk for hours about starting a business and being successful. His excuse was that he never could settle on the right business no matter how much he wanted it. Personally, I think he is overcome by the fear of making that fateful step.

That step is really the turning point of success or failure. If you no longer have a safety net (i.e. a regular paying job) to fall back upon, you must succeed. Therein, lies the key and the conundrum. You have to give up your security to gain your freedom.

While I was planning this radical change, I spoke to others who owned businesses. I asked them about the growing terror I was feeling. Is it normal to not be sure of yourself? “Every day”, was their almost unanimous reply. When you are out there without a backup and it is sink or swim, you are going to have feelings of fear.

Now I am not asking you to go and give up your job to be a businessperson, but here are some of the steps I learned while making my fateful journey.

Insurance
Everybody needs it, whether you are healthy or not. In my case, I have some health issues and having insurance is imperative. The week I got married, I switched my health insurance over to my wife’s company. Other options could include finding alternative coverage. There are plans in which you pay into an account and draw from that money as you need it. Look into programs that cover small businesses and micro-businesses.

Equipment and Supplies
I own a web design and marketing firm. My equipment is basically a computer, printer, and backup hard drives. I also needed software, business supplies (business cards, brochures, etc…) and peripherals, such as a camera and scanner. Whatever you need, get it before you make the step of quitting your job.

Money
We all need it and in this economy it is hard to get a loan. Most banks will ask for two years of your income taxes to give you a loan. This means, for the first two years after you start your business, you will find it difficult to get a loan. So, you will need cash. When looking to make the leap to self-employment, make sure you have a decent cushion of money to hold you over. Another suggestion is to give yourself a salary. This way, you will make a certain amount of money per month and avoid the bank loan dilemma.

A Plan
This, of course, is the biggest need when starting your own business. Have a business plan. You will need one in any endeavor you are going to start. Most professionals will tell you that businesses have a better chance of succeeding if you have a written plan. Keep the plan flexible. It is going to change. It has to change if you are going to succeed.

Don’t Be Afraid To Fail
A young reporter once asked Thomas Edison if he felt like a failure when he tried over 9000 times to make the electric light bulb, without success. Edison replied “no” because he learned over 9000 ways how to NOT make a light bulb. The point is, your business may not be a success. Most people who make it don’t do it on their first try. It takes experimentation and utter failure to gain the wisdom to succeed. Don’t give up!


January 6, 2009 I will have been in business for myself for six months. I gave up my position as a Director of Marketing for a shoe company in June to become one of America’s thousands of small business owners.

My first day on the job, I panicked.

I didn’t know what to do first! I had spent the past 15 years going to work, having a clearly defined schedule to accomplish, and do my job. For the first time, I was solely responsible for my success and failure. My mouth was dry, my heart was racing, I was scared!

I’ll be honest: I did all right in June. In the month of July, I didn’t make a dime. My preparedness was put to the test. But August was all right, September became even better and October and November were amazing! I’ve never looked back.

Owning a business isn’t for everyone, but for me – I can’t think of a better way to live my life.

Commandments of a Startup

The Commandments of the StartUp

This isn't mine, but from a usergroup I belong to on Facebook. It is helpful if you are starting your own business and want to know what other people are going through. It was put together by a group of people who have been there. Done that. If you are starting out on your own, this is good to read. Some of this is aimed directly at us computer geeks, but some of it can be helpful if you are just thinking about opening up a corner store.

Here are the "Commandments of a Startup":

1. Your idea isn't new. Pick an idea; at least 50 other people have thought of it. Get over your stunning brilliance and realize that execution matters more.

2. Stealth startups suck. You're not working on the Manhattan Project, Einstein. Get something out as quickly as possible and promote the hell out of it.

3. If you don't have scaling problems, you're not growing fast enough.

4. If you're successful, people will try to take advantage of you. Hope that you're in that position, and hope that you're smart enough to not fall for it.

5. People will tell you they know more than you do. If that's really the case, you shouldn't be doing your startup.

6. Your competition will inflate their numbers. Take any startup traffic number and slash it in half. At least.

7. Perfection is the enemy of good enough. Leonardo could paint the Mona Lisa only once. You, Bob Ross, can push a bug release every 5 minutes because you were at least smart enough to do a web app.

8. The size of your startup is not a reflection of your manhood. More employees does not make you more of a man (or woman as the case may be).

9. You don't need business development people. If you're successful, companies will come to you. The deals will still be distractions and not worth doing, but at least you're not spending any effort trying to get them.

10. You have to be wrong in the head to start a company. But we have all the fun.

11. Starting a company will teach you what it's like to be a manic depressive. They, at least, can take medication.

12. Your startup isn't succeeding? You have two options: go home with your tail between your legs or do something about it. What's it going to be?

13. If you don't pay attention to your competition, they will turn out to be geniuses and will crush you. If you do pay attention to them, they will turn out to be idiots and you will have wasted your time. Which would you prefer?

14. Startups are not a democracy. Want a democracy? Go run for class president, Bueller.

15. You're doing a web app, right? This isn't the 1980s. Your crummy, half-assed web app will still be more successful than your competitor's most polished software application.

16. You will have at least one catastrophe every three months.

17. Outsource effectively, or be effectively outsourced.

18. Do you thrive on stress and ambiguity? You'd better.

19. The best way to get outside funding is to be successful already. Stupid but true. But you, cheapskate, don't need money, right?

20. People will think your idea sucks. They're even probably right. The only way to prove them wrong is to succeed.

21. A startup will require your complete attention and devotion. Thought your first love in High School was clingy? You can't take out a restraining order on your startup.

22. Being an entrepreneur requires a healthy amount of ignorance. Note I did not say stupidity.

23. Your software sucks. So what. Everyone else's does also, and re-architecting is the kiss of death for a startup. Startups are no place for architecture astronauts.

24. You do have a public API (application programming interface), right?

25. Abject Terror. Overwhelming Joy. Monstrous Greed. Embrace and harness these emotions you must.

Losing the Safety Net...

Today was my last day at work. For those of you that do not know, I have been Director of Marketing for Acor Orthopaedic for the past seven years. We parted on good terms and I wish them nothing but the best. Even still, saying goodbye to my friends was bittersweet. I met a lot of great people there over the years. I keep in contact with some of them and some of my past co-workers have become clients. Today, I walked in and was surprised by a table full of food and drinks. My co-workers had thrown me a surprise going away party, which was great of them. I will miss them, but it is time to move on.

Today is also the first day that I become a full-time entrepreneur. I have been working on my business – www.mywebsource1.com – for almost two years now. We do internet marketing and web design for small businesses, local governments, and non-profits. I have four people working for me and now I have cut loose my safety net. Part of me is elated. The other part is scared to death. From everything I have read and from every business owner I have questioned, this is how I should feel and there is something wrong if I do not.

So, I am taking the weekend off to gather my thoughts (as if I haven’t been thinking about this) and Monday morning I am getting up at my regular time, getting ready for work, putting my shoes on and making my twelve foot commute to my home office. Think of the gasoline I am saving?

I am happy about my decision. I am happy that everything has occurred the way it did at Acor. I didn’t want to end it with a hassle and it went smoothly. That is the way things should be.