Do you have what it takes to start a business?

Doing an Honest Self Appraisal
This needs to be your Chapter 1 – your starting point. Without understanding what it takes mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually to start and grow a business from scratch, your chances of success diminish greatly. I can honestly tell you that growing a small business, while financially and emotionally rewarding, is the hardest thing I have ever done.  And it will probably be the hardest thing you will ever do.

I have seen a lot of “Are you an entrepreneur?” evaluations in magazines and on the Internet.  I don’t put much stock in them, and here’s why: they can’t know the really deep and important parts of your character from a survey.  You can find some very good assessment tools to show what categories your personality fits into, how well you play with your coworkers and what kind of boss you might be.  But, only you know if you are willing to put in what it takes to make your business successful and make good money.  DO NOT take your attitude toward success lightly.  At a minimum, you need:

- Determination not to give up.
- Tenacity to fight for a deal when the polite and easy thing
would be to walk away.
- Assertiveness to be able to ask the tough questions that make you uncomfortable and put a lump in your throat.
- Boldness to make the tough decisions that will change other people’s lives.
- Attention to minute detail.  I know, everyone tells you to
delegate.  And you should, once you can afford to and
understand your own businesses systems.  Nobody will look
after your bottom line like you.  Remember this is a book
about starting without money (scratch).

The character traits above are the minimum that you either need to have, or are willing to develop.  Business is no place for the faint-of-heart.  You need thick skin.

By the way, I was discussing this eBook with two of my sons aged 22 and 25 before I released it.  They had never heard of the term, scratch, used for money.  For me, it was one of those, “I’m as old as my parents” moments.  They understood the Starting from Scratch part but thought that “without having any” meant without anything, not just without money.  It didn’t become apparent until we were discussing a name for the monthly updates.  I suggested, “Still itching for more Scratch?” and they looked at me like I was speaking Vulcan.  They asked why someone would itch for more nothing.   They pointed out that a scratch in pool is also bad.  This is an excellent example and one that you, and I can learn from.

Tip – Don’t assume the world understands your product just because you know it so well.  Whenever you come out with something new or write a new sales letter or brochure, make sure a few people read it first.  Don’t give them any hints and then ask them to tell you what they learned.  You may be surprised, like I was.  BTW – I am still looking for a good name for the updates.

Tip – Start your day reading inspirational materials and success stories about others in business.  We’ll discuss attitude in more detail because it really can mean the difference between success and failure – or between good and great.
One web site I like to start my day with is The Daily Motivator.

A Support System
Starting a business from scratch by yourself is tough enough.  That’s why you need to surround yourself with positive people that will stick with you through all the ups and downs. It can be family and/or friends.  I have been fortunate enough to have a tremendous wife and four great children who put their faith in me.  And it was their faith many times that kept me going.  When someone believes in you, you can accomplish a great deal.

Find your support system early on.  Aside from friends and family look to join Master Mind groups (read Napoleon Hill’s classic, Think and Grow Rich for advice on Master Mind groups), other groups of entrepreneurs, and user groups that have businesses similar to yours.

A key problem entrepreneurs have is CEO isolation.  It really can be lonely at the top.  A lot of decisions are made in a vacuum without input from others.  Joining a CEO group will cost you and is probably not your best choice early on.  But there are plenty of free support forums on the internet and I will be glad to answer as many questions as I can for you.

I was fortunate to have a wonderful mentor named Don Weber, who brought a ton of experience and reality-grounded advice to my company.  Try to find a mentor.  It helps if he or she has been through what you are tackling.  I also like Napoleon Hill’s idea in Think and Grow Rich:  He would talk to and knock around ideas with imaginary business leaders.  You have to play both sides, and you feel a bit weird, but it works.  At least this is a weird thing that can make you money.
Attitude Really Is Everything

I’ve spent the last few years reading everything I can about attitude.  10 million motivational speakers can’t all be wrong, can they?  Even if others tell me those speakers are phonies or just acting, I don’t listen.  I’ve often asked sales people, “When’s the best time to make a sale?”  Do you know the answer?  The answer is, right after you close the one before it.  When you close a sale, or succeed at anything, you’re on top of your game.  You feel great.  You’re proud, confident and not afraid to meet with or call anyone.  Why is that?  Who cares!  I chalk it up to just having the right attitude.  All that matters is that we know it happens.  The key is to notice when it happens, grab that feeling, and wear it all the time.

You need a good attitude to run a business.  To me, having a good attitude means:
• Smiling and saying things are great when maybe they aren’t, and believing it.
• Never losing sight of the goal.
• Never losing sight of who you are working for.  You need to know who that is.
It isn’t always you.
• Looking for the positive and accepting the realities.
• Not taking any of your setbacks out on someone else.
• Catching someone doing something well and letting them know about it right then.
• Fakin’ it ‘til you make it.

$tarting Over

I saw a segment on this evening’s national news entitled, $tarting Over.
It was about people who were forced to start their own business after being laid off. The segment featured a woman who, after returning from maternity leave, was informed that her division was closing and everyone was getting laid off.

While the manner in which she was going about starting a business was not exactly the way I suggest in, How To Start A Business From Scratch…Without Having Any, it did point out what many people have overlooked about starting a business.

A lot of people, who are concerned about starting a business in an economic downturn because the business climate is bad or we are in a recession, fail to realize they may not have any choice. And, unfortunately, many do not prepare themselves for a day where they need to rely on their own skills to bring home the bacon.

Even if you think you have a sound and secure job, take the steps now to prepare yourself. Your house may never burn down or get hit by a tornado but you need home insurance. Consider this “Career Insurance.” At a minimum you will learn a lot about yourself, business and maybe decide to take the plunge regardless. Take the time now to do your homework so you will not be under pressure to rush through the process if you have to.

At least start by asking yourself what you are passionate about.

Close your eyes and ask yourself this question: If money were not an issue, and I could do any job I wanted, but I had to work, what would I do? There is a good chance this is what you are passionate about. When you are passionate about something, time and work do not matter. The price you pay in practicing and honing your skill is a labor of love, and time flies by.

You may say, “I am not passionate about anything.” I don’t buy it. You just might not want to admit out loud or to yourself because it just sounds like a hobby or an interest you have. That’s your source for your best ideas. When you have a strong interest in an area, you know it. You read the magazines and journals dedicated to that interest, and you could talk for hours about it. That’s passion. It will provide energy and motivation for your business.

I am not saying you have to be passionate to start a business. But it helps. You are going to spend a lot of your waking (and dreaming) hours in your business. It will much more enjoyable if those hours are spent doing something you like. And if you’re good at what you are passionate about, you are way ahead of the game.

There are a lot of other factors to consider when starting a business from scratch, but your passion will guide you through the tough choices.

At the conclusion of the TV news piece I was glad to see it was pointed out that Microsoft, Johnson and Johnson, Compaq, HP, and other successful companies were started during a recession. And they all started with one person’s passion.

You have a business and the recession is upon you. Oh, crap.

Business has been good, so you’ve hired a few more people, expanded into larger facilities and even started giving perks to the employees. All of a sudden things start to slow down. You watch the news but don’t see a mention of anything slowing down. You start to panic – what am I doing wrong? Everything was working great. I just expanded!

Don’t ever forget you are a small business. Small businesses play in different sand boxes than big businesses. (And they very rarely play well together.) As the economy starts to slow big business notices it very slightly, and you catch a cold. As the economy goes into a major downturn, big business catches the cold and you have pneumonia. Bad news in the economy will always hit small businesses first. The irony is that the majority of the people in the world are employed by small businesses.

I always stress as a small business you need to remain flexible, not only when starting a business, but even as your business grows. It’s very tempting and ego-gratifying to expand. But, you are better off being a little late to get in on a growth spurt than be saddled with payroll, leases, etc. that continue to be due each month, even when there are no sales. Your vendors don’t really care about your sales. They care about theirs.

As of this writing, the U.S. and global economy is very, very slow. It doesn’t matter if you call it a recession or not. You aren’t getting the sales you need. Before I give you a few tips on how to deal with it let me make one point I learned a long time ago from a really smart economist: The economy goes in cycles. It always has and probably always will. It has been as consistent as the tides going in and out, since we began keeping track of the economy. So, regardless of how bad it is right now, it will change. It always has and it always will. Your goal is to survive until it does.

Tips:

Cut early and cut deep – Let’s start with the most difficult issue first. As much as you love having your staff you cannot let your generosity put you out of business. This doesn’t help your family or theirs. Maybe you can hire them back when things get better. Adjust your staff level as if the downturn were to last for at least six months. Listen to me when I tell you this – I learned this lesson the hard way.

Review ALL your expenses – Make sure what you are spending is a necessity and not a nice-to-have. Free soda in the break room is a nice-to-have.

Stick with marketing programs that work – and ditch the other ones. I do agree that you need to keep a direct response program in place. But, go back and find one or two that delivered the best results and stick with those. Also, go to those vendors whose marketing programs you do use and explain what you’re doing. See if they’ll work with you on price, terms, added-value, etc. Chances are they are slow too and will be willing to work with you to keep your business.

Offer promotions – It’s time to give a little to get new customers and keep the customers you have. If you can give something two-for-one or offer a, sign up for one year and get one year free, do it. If you have extras that really don’t cost you anything, now’s the time to bundle them into your product.

Keep your employees informed – You aren’t the only watching the news. Your employees watch it and worry just as much as you. They probably worry more because they have no say whether you keep them or not; whether they get a raise or not. Their future and the future of their families can rest in your hands. Be as honest and as forthcoming as you can without scaring the pants off them. They will appreciate it, they will be more productive and it’s the right thing to do.

I ran into a friend of mine recently whose home remodeling business went from $100 million a year in sales to $30 million, in 18 months. You might say that’s still a lot of money. It is, unless your expenses are $35 million. He said something interesting to me. He said, “I can’t downsize quick enough.” He had invested in large facilities and equipment that came with contractual leases. He still needed to make the monthly payments on those leases regardless of his sales volume. He’s learning the flexibility lesson the hard way. Don’t you.

My new eBook is out!

My new eBook, “How To Start A Business From Scratch…Without Having Any”, is out.
It contains:
- Videos
- Downloads
- Resources
- Tips
- And really humorous stories.

You can check it out at

www.sales-getter.com

Your Choice

Some people tell you if you to go into your own business just for the money (scratch), it’s unrewarding. I disagree. If that is your only motivation, and you handle yourself ethically, I say, go for it. If making money in your own business turns you on, and that is all you want out of your business, I have no problem with it – as long as it does not hurt someone along the way. It’s your business! And it’s your first real decision. I actually think going into business just for the money is a fine decision. Money moves your world. You can do more of what you want with money and you can help a lot more people if you have money. Plus, if you’re going to spend eight to 16 hours of your waking day working, you better be well compensated.

That being said, it does indeed feel good to know that you have helped someone, or a large group of people, with something you helped them get. I like that feeling too.