The idea of running your own business sounds promising to many, but in reality most people aren't equipped to start their own business. Before you start down the path to opening a business, you need to ask yourself a few tough questions to see if you have what it takes to enter the world of entrepreneurship.
Leadership: Are you a leader or a follower? Am you decisive or do you second guess your decisions? An entrepreneur needs a certain comfort in making decisions and living with the outcomes.
Adaptability: Can you roll with the punches and take on a wide variety of roles? An entrepreneur needs to be able to take on a wide range of new duties and multitask. Being able to adapt and learn new function is a necessary skill for the successful entrepreneur.
Enthusiasm: Are you excited about the product or services you are offering? You've got to have passion for the service or product in order to successfully launch. You are ultimately the walking billboard for your business and have to be able to sell it to potential clients.
Uncertainty: Can you handle the uncertainty of not receiving a paycheck every Friday or the sudden inflow of a flood of orders? The one thing that is certain with every startup, everything is completely uncertain. You need to be able to adapt and have a certain expectation that things aren't always going to go as planned.
Time Management: Can you manage time well and keep a home-work balance? For many new entrepreneurs, the tendency to work 24/7 can be overwhelming. A successful entrepreneur needs to maintain a balance for the benefit of their business and lifestyle.
Startup: Can I REALLY Start My Own Business?
To put it in the words of Bob the Builder, "Yes, you can!' Anyone can realistically start a business with an idea and some hard work. The U.S. Economy is not ruled by the big dogs. Almost 99% of all businesses are classified as small businesses. Those small businesses in turn employ 80% of the American population.
There is no special training or skills needed to run a business. All it truly takes is the a dream and the ability to roll up you sleeves and get down to business. You've got to be able to go outside of your own skill set to learn new things or be able to seek out the folks,that can help you execute on your concept.
It doesn't take the next great invention to launch a business either. Just about anyone can come up with an idea to leverage their skills, interests, or expertise. When it comes down to it, starting a business is as easy as coming up with Ethel idea, making it official,and sorting out how to pay for it. You can go sleek and simple on a shoestring budget or big and splashy with startup cash in the bank.
You can even do most of the work from the comfort of home. In fact, nearly 52% of all small businesses are home based according to the Small Business Administration. More and ,pew dreams are launched from the kitchen table, garage or home based offices than anywhere else.
Once you can get past the fear of starting up on your own, you will find it surprising how easy it is to launch your own small business!