So You Want To Be An Entrepreneur: How to decide if starting a business is really for you by Jon Gillespie-Brown

I’ve had this on my shelf for a while, mostly because I didn’t think it would apply to you or I.

It is primarily written for people who are in a job, thinking about venturing out as an entrepreneur.

However, it will also remind those of us already in business why we started in the first place! You’ll be reconnected with your passion.

It’s written as an 8-part mentoring session, so the language is very reassuring, but the harsh truth of running a business is laid out in plain language.

By the end of the book (or before) you’ll know if you’re cut out for this whole entrepreneurship thing or not. You’ll know if your idea is in line with your passion and aligns positively with all aspects of your life. Deep stuff, really. Important stuff.

You’ll have access to free resources, tips and worksheets.

My favorite feature are the powerfully inspirational quotes found throughout the book.

You even get to help other entrepreneurs when you purchase a copy (quoted from the SYWTBAE website):

“I plan to donate the proceeds from the sale of this book to an organization that I feel is making a meaningful difference, the Grameen Foundation.  Grameen Foundation is a US-based nonprofit that seeks to empower the world’s poorest people to lift themselves out of poverty with dignity through access to financial services and to information. Learn more at www.grameenfoundation.org”

Find out if you’re cut out to be an entrepreneur, or develop a sharper focus on the vision and future of your current business. Either way, you’ll come away thinking about yourself in ways you never have before.

Happy reading!

Loral Langemeier, leading woman expert in the space of “Making Money,” will be conducting free webinars during February and March.

I thought Tuesday’s webinar, Unleash the Entrepreneur Inside You!, may be of interest to you.

Here’s the description directly from her site:

“Most new businesses fail, not necessarily because there was anything wrong with the business idea, but because the knowledge of what to do and how to do it is transparently absent.” – Loral Langemeier

Entrepreneurship surrounds us, are you part of this source of wealth? Would you like to be? This webinar will provide anyone looking to start their own business — and current business owners — with exactly what’s needed to begin the process, and how others approached the opportunity to create their Cash Machine and became successful!

Free – Register Now

A little warning before clicking the above link: A video of Loral starts as soon as the page loads. I just wanted to give you the heads up so you don’t jump out of your seat!

I get calls and emails from entrepreneurs just about each week, asking me to help them understand where they are going wrong, or to warn them of what pitfalls to avoid. Here are the mistakes that top my list:

1. Spending too much money on how-to guides, courses and programs. Remember, the sales copy for these products is designed to make you feel like you don’t know enough or that you’ll never succeed without them. The worst thing you can do as a new professional is to get stuck in a rut or in analysis paralysis (“I’ll start marketing as soon as I learn how to do this,” or “I just need to research this a little more, then I’ll be ready.”). You’ll never get traction by just sitting there gathering information; you have to take action. So, it won’t be perfect at first, and that’s OK.

Don’t get me wrong, continuing your education and staying up to date on the latest trends in your industry is essential to your success as a service professional. If you’re like me and need the added support of someone to generate new ideas with or to hold you accountable, partner with a colleague, join a mastermind group or hire a coach.

2. Spreading yourself too thin and trying to do everything. The real trap of the information overload caused by mistake #1 is that you are eventually left feeling discouraged that nothing is working and overwhelmed by trying to do what everyone else says you should do. Here’s a test: when you hear about the latest and greatest marketing strategy (can you say, “Web 2.0″?), do you jump on the bandwagon because everyone else is doing it and because you’re afraid you’ll miss out?

If so, just stop already; keep things simple. Engage in self-promotion activities that you enjoy doing, that match your core values, and that come naturally to you. Stay true to your personality; use your gut. List those activities and do them consistently. Once you’re in the groove, try one new thing for a month and see how it goes. This approach may not sound exciting, but it works a heck of a lot better than trying to do everything at once. Save your energy, protect your sanity and keep yourself grounded.

3. Giving up too easily or too quickly. Many of my coaching clients have the unrealistic expectation that they will hit it big in their chosen industry after being in business for only a year or two. They’re disappointed when their income and client list aren’t at the level they imagined, and that building their business is taking so much work. They all want to be “overnight sensations,” when the truth is that it can take 3-5 years to establish a successful and profitable business. And that’s if you do it right.

The solution is to set realistic expectations, to set short-term goals with a plan to reach them and to take one step at a time. Keep your day job, if you must, to alleviate the financial pressure. Stay focused on a target market, niche or specialty. You’ll find it much more pleasant to consistently reach small milestones, as opposed to setting a goal so lofty that you’re destined for disappointment from the start.

While most of us have made one or all of these mistakes at some point during our entrepreneurial journey, those who survived are the ones who:

• Took immediate action, no matter how inexperienced,
• Concentrated on a few effective marketing strategies and did them consistently and
• Set realistic goals and expectations.

You can do these three things, too, and join the ranks of these successful entrepreneurs.

© 2008 Cristina Favreau. All rights reserved.

ABOUT CRISTINA
Cristina Favreau specializes in teaching independent service professionals who struggle with marketing, so they get more visibility, build their credibility and increase their self-confidence. Get her complimentary “12 Mistakes To Avoid in Your 30-Second Intro” ecourse at http://www.cristinafavreau.com/index.htm

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR NEWSLETTER OR WEB SITE? You’re welcome to “reprint” this article online as long as it remains complete and unaltered, including the “ABOUT CRISTINA” info above. Please send a copy of your reprint to web (at) cristinafavreau (dot) com.

I’m a major sucker for reality shows like CBC-TV’s Dragons’ Den, a show where entrepreneurs pitch a panel of five potential investors, for a stake in their company. I guess I like to live vicariously through the Dragons’ who get to tell awesome entrepreneurs how great their idea is, and tear into the ones that just don’t get it (I’m more like Arlene, though, not a hard-ass like Kevin).

Plus, I love hearing each business’ pitch. Most of of them are absolutely horrendous (you’ll often hear me say “What in the heck were these guys thinking?“).

For example, a presentation this week, where the company, Bandthology, Inc., was asking for one-hundred-fifty-thousand dollars for a twenty percent share.

The problem was their business and offer was all over the map. Their pitch started something like “We’re a company specializing in music games and live entertainment for corporate and live events.”

OK, let’s just stop right here… (are you ready for it?) How can you say you SPECIALIZE in something, then sprinkle the word ‘and‘ all over your pitch??? If you SPECIALIZE in something, that means you’re really good at ONE thing…

Moving on…

As the presentation went downhill on, the Dragons’ failed to grasp what they were selling, exactly. They were talking about a music-themed board game, a digital version of the game (in development) for mobile DJ’s and other forms of events, a live show… and I can’t remember the rest…

That’s the point, isn’t it? If, at the end of a presentation, I (the pitchee) still can’t tell what in the heck you’re selling, how can you expect me to take action? Much less hand over hundreds of thousands of dollars of my money to finance your company.

Robert Herjavec summed up what everyone in the room (and watching) was thinking:

I’m completely confused. I hear you talking about a board game, a live show, I hear you talking about intent of a software product, then you’re talking about a DJ. Like, I’m really confused. This is all over the map.

But, Arlene Dickinson said it best:

Why aren’t you focused on doing one of those things extremely well before you go into other markets? Because, really, I think by diversifying so quickly and being underfinanced to do it, you end up doing a lot and doing nothing very well.

Sound familiar???

I’ve said it hundreds of times before: If you want to make your mark in this great big entrepreneurial world, you’ve GOT to stick to ONE thing — the one thing you’re really good at, the one thing no one else does as good as you, the one thing you want to be remembered by.

What’s your thing?

It’s all about the work. Nothing is going to fall into your lap. If you want to be a lawyer, see yourself as a lawyer, go to the library and start learning the law. If you want to be a rapper, start rapping and get out there. Live your life as if you already are where you want to go. — Russell Simmons, Chairman and CEO Rush Communications

What you do speaks so loud that I cannot hear what you say. — Ralph Waldo Emerson

Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds. The mediocre mind is incapable of understanding the man who refuses to bow blindly to conventional prejudices and chooses instead to express his opinions courageously and honestly. — Albert Einstein

Here’s a quickie post to share with you a great article I found in The New York Times: If You’re Open to Growth, You Tend to Grow.

Risk comes from not knowing what you’re doing. — Warren Buffet

It’s OK to not know what you’re doing, as long as you understand the consequences. To me, taking a risk means the opportunity to learn something new!

If money is your hope for independence you will never have it. The only real security that a man will have in this world is a reserve of knowledge, experience, and ability. — Henry Ford