What attracted you to becoming an entrepreneur? If you’re like most of us, you wanted to have control of your time, your money, and ultimately your life by doing something that you’re passionate about and truly enjoy doing. Although entrepreneurship has many great benefits, it takes work and time to build a business that many people aren’t properly prepared for. Here are five tips to help you properly prepare yourself and your business for success.

1. Be realistic about what it takes to be an entrepreneur. Many people have the misconception that when they own their own business they will have time and money to do what they want when they want and when they find that it takes more time and effort building their own business than what they were spending at their full-time job, they quit. Owning a business comes with a trade-off. In the early stages of your business, you will put in a lot of work and many hours. If you have a viable business and you build it correctly, you can grow it to a level that allows you to have time freedom and the money you desire.

2. Make sure you have the proper licensing and permits. Even if you are a one-person show you should have a business license. Be familiar with the various business structures (Sole-Proprietorship, LLC or S-Corporation are designed for small businesses) and decide which works best for you. I recommend speaking with a trusted CPA and/or Business Attorney to help choose the best fit.

3. Study and get to know your market. Do some research to find out if the product or service you have to sell is something people will want or need to buy. Many people make the mistake of starting a business based off of what they want rather than what the market wants and then wonder why their business isn’t growing. Remember, it’s not about you it’s about your prospective customers. If you do your research before you jump into the market you will save yourself a lot of frustration and headache AND a lot of money.

4. Have a written plan. Take some time to map out your goals, estimate the costs of running your business, the strategies you will use to build it, and how you will keep yourself in the game through the difficulties that will arise. Having a plan will provide you with direction to keep you focused on your goals and help you overcome both the expected and unexpected challenges.

5. Treat your business like a business and not a hobby. When you are in business for yourself and you have no boss to be accountable to, it’s really easy to become distracted, especially if you live in a place like Seattle where it rains a lot and it’s a nice sunny day and you want to take your boat out. Keep in mind, when you aren’t working, you aren’t getting paid (at least not in the early stages of your business).

about

Catherine M. White

Catherine M. White, founder of Accelerated Results 365, is an author, speaker and innovator. She works with high performance clients to strategically develop effective business processes for continued high level success using her signature system, P.O.W.E.R.R., designed specifically for visionaries, and entrepreneurs. This program leads to authoritative breakthroughs by creating innovative tools that enable businesses to catapult past the competition.

The Success of Your Business Begins with You

How do you know if you are moving in the right direction to reach the level of success you desire in your business? In order to be successful, you must first define what success means to you. This comes from your ‘why’? Why are you doing what you do? What keeps you moving forward when things get tough; when you don’t make that sale you were counting on; when you aren’t sure you have enough money to cover your bills; when you question if you were crazy for starting your own business?

What does success mean to you?

To everyone, success is different. It is up to you to determine what success means for you individually – no one else can decide that for you. To one person success may be defined by the amount of money earned; to another, it may have to do with the time spent with family or the number of lives that are changes.

So many people look at success with the idea that it should come easily and when it doesn’t they get frustrated, upset and give up. They then tell themselves stories like they aren’t cut out for it, they don’t have the right luck, they weren’t destined for success, they weren’t meant to be wealthy, and so on…and when they see others with success they become envious and sometimes even spiteful. You have access to success; you have the ability to do great things with your life.  Success begins with a desire and a will followed by action. It is your individual responsibility to take action and take the steps necessary to create your success.

Here are four questions to ask yourself to determine whether or not you are on the right path to reach your desired success:  

What are your daily activities?

The choices you make every day, every hour, every minute, impact the results you receive. Do you plan ahead? Do you have a routine for continual growth? How do you begin and end your day? Do you envision the outcome? Your actions will either move you toward or away from building the business you dream of.  

What is your internal dialogue saying to you?

Be consciously aware of the verbiage that plays within your mind. Does your self talk tell you can do it or that you can’t? Do you mentally beat up yourself when things don’t work out or when you don’t complete your goals? Do you tell yourself you are a failure? What you say to yourself will either grow your business or destruct it.

Do you see the opportunities around you?

It’s easy to become closed off and focused on what you want and how you want something to happen. What you want and what really happens often do not correlate. Are you open to letting things unfold and develop in a way that you never thought of? Do you keep your mind open to inviting the possibility of new opportunities? Chance are, you will find when things work out different than what you anticipated, it turns out much better than you planned.

What is your Failure Exit plan?

No matter what stage you are at in your business, you will face moments when you ­­­feel like a failure and you want to quit. What is your plan for exiting that feeling of failure and turning it around into hope and confidence? How will you keep yourself pushing forward? Do you have a process you follow to keep you focused? Do you have a close friend or colleague who will encourage you when you feel discouraged? Develop your plan now, before are ready to quit.  

You have what it takes to create the success you dream of. Now is the time to access your power to make it happen!

about

Catherine M. White

Catherine M. White, founder of Accelerated Results 365, is an author, speaker and innovator. She works with high performance clients to strategically develop effective business processes for continued high level success using her signature system, P.O.W.E.R.R., designed specifically for visionaries, and entrepreneurs. This program leads to authoritative breakthroughs by creating innovative tools that enable businesses to catapult past the competition.