Entrepreneurial Itch. David Trahair

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СКАЧАТЬ By listening to, and reading books by, people who know how to sell

      I discuss selling and marketing in Chapter 4, so I won’t get into the details here, but think about it for a moment. You may be great at what you do. You may even be the best in your area. But how are you going to be successful, or even survive, if no one knows you exist?

      The simple truth is that you need to think about what sales skills you have. If you don’t have these skills, are you willing to work on them? If you are shy, are you willing to venture out and take some classes or attend networking training, such as Toastmasters? If the thought of selling scares you to death, you’ll need to consider how you will get over this huge obstacle. If you are motivated, you can surmount it to some degree by reading books written by people who know how to sell. However, if you truly believe you will never become proficient at selling, you may have to find an associate you can work with who does know how to sell.

      Leg 3: Finance and administration

      This area is a strong suit for me, as you might expect. It’s easy for me to keep accurate books, make sure bills and taxes are paid correctly, and file annual income tax returns as required. What about you?

      I can’t stress the importance of finance and administration enough. I’ll even spend all of Chapter 6 talking about how to keep financial records.

      Sadly, I have watched many businesses fail. One of the traits they shared was lousy financial records. They had receivables so old there was no chance they would ever collect any money. They owed back taxes and had been assessed late-filing penalties and interest charges by the government. They had received many “demand for payment” letters from suppliers and, in many cases, nasty letters from their banker asking when the line of credit was going to come down.

      The people running these businesses saw their dream of self-employment turn into a nightmare. Not only did their business fail, but they were often left in deep personal debt or bankruptcy as a result.

      Do yourself a favor: work on your bookkeeping and financial skills before attempting to start your own business. (I won’t get into this in too much detail in this book, but Self-Counsel Press has several great books on the subject by Angie Mohr, including Bookkeepers’ Boot Camp and Financial Management 101.) Alternatively, find a partner who has these skills, or accept the fact that you’ll have to pay for a bookkeeper and perhaps an accountant as well.

      I’ll give it to you straight:

      If you don’t focus on the financial and administrative aspects of your business from Day One, you’re pretty well doomed to fail from the start.

       * * *

      Your next decision is a big one. Keeping in mind the attributes you need to be a successful entrepreneur and the three fundamental things that will keep a company stable, what business are you going to start?

       Learning from an expert: Benjamin Franklin

      Benjamin Franklin was one of the most incredible people of all time. He was many things: an inventor, a philosopher, a scientist, a statesman, a musician, and an economist. He was also a small-business owner. In fact, he was one of the most amazing entrepreneurs of his day. His business, a printing shop, did so well that he was able to retire by early middle age to pursue his writing and other activities.

      But why was he so successful? Let’s look at his attributes.

      First of all, he was interested in the people around him and always strove to make improvements to their lives. This natural curiosity drove him to invent many products — the cast-iron Franklin stove so people could warm their houses with less wood, the lightning rod to protect buildings and ships from lightning damage, bifocals so people could see both near and far with the same glasses, and a simple odometer so he could figure out the shortest routes for mail delivery.

      He loved what he did. He enjoyed his printing business not only because it provided him with a good income, but also because it allowed him to distribute his writing and opinion pieces at a time when this was hard to do. This laid the groundwork for his future as one of America’s founding fathers and one of the greatest citizens of the country.

      He was not afraid of hard work. He attributes many positive things in his life to the reputation he earned as a diligent, hardworking man.

      He was obviously a great communicator. All you have to do is read some of his writings to be convinced of this.

      He had good skills and experience that he developed on his own. He himself attributes his business success to his love of reading and writing.

      He also realized how important physical fitness was. Swimming was his chosen activity as it strengthened his aerobic conditioning as well as his arm muscles. He shunned beer (that’s one strike against me!) and preferred water because he had seen the ruinous effects of too much strong beer on his compatriots.

      Benjamin Franklin also had his faults, which he talks about eloquently in his autobiography. If you are interested in the life story of one of the greatest small-business owners that ever lived, I strongly suggest you read his autobiography. (You can do so on the Internet by Googling “autobiography of Benjamin Franklin.”) He learned what he needed to know by reading — you can too.

      3

      What Do You Want to Do?

      Okay, you definitely want to take the leap and start your own small business. Now comes your first big decision: What type of business are you going to create?

      You could decide to provide consulting services on your own, out of a home office, or run a bed-and-breakfast or a home daycare. Some people have coined the term microbusiness to describe these types of ventures. They are examples of the simplest form of business, and if that is your long-term objective, that’s fine.

      On the other hand, perhaps you’d like to create a corporation that will eventually have annual revenue of millions of dollars and raise capital from the public for further expansion. That’s fine too; it will just take a lot more time and effort to reach your goal.

      There are myriad variations in between the microbusiness and the publicly traded corporation. Maybe you just envision a service business with one location and one employee (like mine is at this point). Or perhaps you’d rather set up a partnership with someone else, a partnership that strives for half a dozen employees. Maybe you’d like to have a store with several locations and dozens of employees.

      It doesn’t matter what type of business you want to build. The key is to realize that the stage you are at now, the planning stage, is crucial. Every hour of work you do now will go a long way to ensure you meet your goals.

      Remember, you are no longer an employee being told what to do at every turn. You will be the owner and will have to make all the important decisions, and the first key decision you’ll have to make is what business to start.

      “A Restaurant Sounds Good”

      I often hear people dreaming about starting their own restaurant, and I’m not sure why they do. I’ve got nothing against eating establishments — СКАЧАТЬ