Why Own Your Own Business?
Advantages Of Being In Business For Yourself
When I ask people why they want to start their own business I receive responses like these:
> I want to be my own boss
> I’m tired of wasting my time in rush hour traffic
> I’m sick and tired of office politics
> I’m tired of slaving away to make someone else rich
> My family really needs two incomes
> I want to make a little extra money so my family can enjoy a few luxuries
> I want to do something I know I’m good at doing
> I want something that I would enjoy doing day after day
> I’m tired of taking orders from someone who doesn’t know as much as I do about my job
Disadvantages Of Being In Business For Yourself
If I were to mention some of the disadvantages of being in business for yourself, such as:
> The buck stops at your feet
> You’ll be working long hours 6 or 7 days a week
> It will probably be a long grind (2 years?) before you can turn a profit
> You’ll be filling out forms and more forms for the government
> You’ll have to be nice to nasty people who just want to take advantage of you
> It will probably be very tough on your family for awhile
… would that dissuade you from taking the leap?
What It Takes To Be A Successful Entrepreneur
Probably the three most important traits of most successful entrepreneurs are patience, self-confidence and tenacity. Most have carefully planned their futures, are creative (sometimes to a fault) and have one or more exceptional skills. Not only are they not afraid of hard work, they seem to relish it.
No, they’re not ‘gods’. Nor are they perfect human beings. The above character traits can be adopted by anyone with enough desire to be successful. To be successful in your own business absolutely requires you to believe in yourself to the point that it drives you to success. And, believe me, it is well worth it!
Your Chances of Success
There are many measures of successful small business start-ups ranging from how many employees the business has contributing to its success to how much return on the investment the entrepreneur has received. My measure is based upon the sense of success the entrepreneur feels after the first two years. After all those long hours and, sometimes, seemingly unbearable loads, do you feel that you have been successful?
For many years the U.S. Department of Commerce has been keeping statistics on the number of failures versus the number of start-ups during finite time periods. These statistics are almost always misleading. How many of those would-be entrepreneurs that fail really gave it their all: really sincerely tried to be successful. Undoubtedly, many didn’t and wrote their own failed paths. If you are asking what your chances of success are, you, too, are probably doomed to failure. If you really believe in yourself and you have the tenacity to drive yourself to success, you WILL undoubtedly be SUCCESSFUL!
