3 Huge Steps On How To Leap From The Security Of A Job To A Home Business
Filed Under Starting A Business |
1. Goals-
“My philosophy of life is that if we make up our mind what we are going to make of our lives, then work hard toward that goal, we never lose - somehow we win out.”
-Ronald Reagan- President of the United States of America
First of all decide right now that you have completed your goals. Now it is just your chance to enjoy the ride. People get what they want, it might not come in the form that they expected it to be, but they get it if they work hard at it long enough. Many people speak of the Law Of Attraction and find it so “attractive”. The reason why is for the first time in many people’s lives they are finally deciding what they truly want.
The explanation of why people fail with a business opportunity is because they really don’t know what their business goals are or even the right questions to ask. They don’t write them down and go over the exact order of how those goals should satisfactorily look. People are lazy in their lives because it begins with being lazy in their minds. It kills their spirit and they settle for mediocrity. Doesn’t it then make sense why starting a business is so scary? People fear what they don’t know and many don’t understand themselves and their true desires. So as consolation they settle for a life filled with a routine of filling out papers, performing simple tasks, and talking about Monday Night Football, Age of Love for the women, around the water cooler.
If you really established your short term and long term goals then you would find fear in your current situation. We have these sobering epiphanies for only a moment and then go back to our addictions of dependancy on other people’s businesses. A job is very honorable and you can still create financial and time independence to some extent along with a good education, but most people work to build someone elses dreams, not theirs. It is scary if you think about how many hours you spend serving someone else’s passions. For many it is at least of third of your living life. It seems like the only thing you secure is less time for you and your family.
So the action you must take right now is to sit down and write your goals. Do it. Put a pen to paper and discover yourself right now. Realize what it will take to accomplish these dreams. Start performing the inital steps to find out how much that car will cost or how much free time you need each week to start that dance class, or spend more time with your kids before they become adults.
These goals will evolve as you continue to discover what is going to create true passion in your life. Create exotic lofty goals. You will be more enamored to complete it and honestly they are easier then the average goal. Everyone goes after average, you on the other hand will have less competition trying to achieve greatness.
2. Create Security-
“Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goals.”
-Sydney Smith- English writer and clergyman
There will never be a right time to start a business. Face it that you will probably have to start of with some level of debt. There are plenty of great success stories that descend to a nadir before they climb to an apex. Be excited to know that it is a part of the ride. Every business owner has some degree of trial that looms over their head. The only question for you is whether your patience will last long enough so that your passion excedes your fear.
Realize that you will probably not have enough in the bank and you might need to borrow from a venture capitalist , get a loan, or credit card. Be willing to admit that you are going to make mistakes and maybe climb a ladder placed against the wrong wall. Everyone has to learn their craft. What you need to be willing to do is live modestly in your business until you understand your correct recipe for success. Don’t purchase a lot of pointless furniture, high tech gadgets, and a huge office if you don’t need to. Your value that you provide to customers is what is the most important at the start and really is always your primary focus.
Many businesses fail because they think they know what they need and spend a lot of money in the wrong direction. They have learned their lesson but the money is gone now. The businesses that succeed are willing to produce products that would probably cater to a lower financial demographic initially until they are able to perfect their systems and products. Then you can gradually build into the powerhouse that you want to. I say this with caution because you will have to find there is a fine line between a proper price and what is your perfect customer and that might mean higher prices.
During this rollercoaster process you are going to think about crawling back to your old job like a prodigal son with your boss and co-workers saying, “I told you so, welcome back to mediocrity.” Let’s face it, there is no security with jobs any more. There is downsizing, layoffs, pensions don’t exist, retirement plans are subpar with inflation, insurance and funds are depleting because they are nowhere to be found, government funds are shrinking for baby boomers, and the number of greeters at Wal Mart are growing at an exponential rate. Society is just starting to figure out that a college degree, 40 years dedicated to some other guy’s business, and pension with a gold watch is silly! Stop allowing yourself to be brainwashed that they will take care of you like parents. It won’t happen. Even if you love your job, create your own business to support you when the winds and the rain come, because they will.
Whatever you figure out each day, meticulously write it down in a personal journal to correct your mistakes. Also, start a thorough business plan that is very similar as what you might put together for your personal goals, but with your business in mind as though it is a real person. This will also evolve with a solid mission statement and you need to be willing to take input from employees or partners and allow for them to help create a strong feel for your business’ direction. It is as much their responsibility as it is yours. Remember now that you have people dedicating their life to helping discover your dreams.
3. Delegate-
“The best executive is the one who has sense enough to pick good men to do what he wants done, and self-restraint enough to keep from meddling with them while they do it.”
-Theodore Roosevelt- Author, Soldier, Explorer and President of the United States of America
From my experience one of the easiest ways for any novice entrepreneur to face burn out is that they decide to work in their business and not on their business as many business experts suggest. It is so simple to take on all of the responsibilities of your business. You will wear a lot of titles when you began, considerable to a Boy Scout with pound of merit badges. This is natural at the beginning because you are going to have to experiment and work out the kinks in your business systems, but work hard to relieve yoursel of anything, but administrative duties. Experts have broken up small business opporutnity leaders into three categories that I personally describe as: Paris Hilton, Richard Simmons, and Bobby Fisher.
Paris Hilton-
This business is known for being good at one thing and having that well known skill, but then as it tries to branch out into other areas…well it’s trouble. The owner is amazing at the specific craft that he or she does and decides, “I know this as well as anyone else. I should just start my own company and control my own hours.” Then as this new bubbly owner realizes all of the other tasks that are involved in the process such as customer service, accounting, legal issues, and delivery to just name a few examples, he becomes overwhelmed.
He tries to take on all of these tasks that he knows nothing about and figures that if he does know how to do it right then no one else could learn how to do it just as well. So now he is working an additional 20 hours a week and he is becoming less effective at what he knows how to do well because he is spending so much time administrating, managing, and working in his business. He has no way out other than to return to his job and toss away his dreams. This leaves a bad taste in the mouth of this aspiring entrepreneur and now any thought of starting a home based business is a nightmare.
Richard Simmons-
This is the rah-rah business owner that has all of the excitement and can promise the world, but then can’t deliver on a single promise. This owner initially radiates with glitz and then he quickly turns to mass meltdown after 20 Rudy speeches and failed expectations for everyone involved. This owner probably starts 10 businesses in 3 years and is somehow able to quit 25 in just as much time (hyperbole…maybe). He inspires everyone at the meetings and is willing to offer a vision of prosperity and pat the guy on the back, but after the inspiration then the real problems come.
There are no solid systems in place, no job description, no formal procedures, no manuals, the products aren’t that great because the research and development doesn’t exist, and really it is hard to hand out the paychecks. This business is smoke and mirrors. It won’t be long before the business dies on it’s own and so does the trust of the people involved. It destroys relationships and prevents many from ever steping foot into a business opportunity again.
Bobby Fisher-
The ultimate chess player. He knows his pieces and how they work. He knows what to do in case of any circumstance because he has thoroughly prepared for it with the other leaders of the company. He has surrounded himself with a lot of flexible and powerful pieces. His chess board has a dozen kings on it, while really he is the pond standing back and letting his kings do all the proper work.
He doesn’t get in the way of himself, his systems, and the work of his skilled employees. He values their opinions and has open ears to what they have to offer. At the same time he is not wasting his life away in pointless meetings, but instead focusing on making sure that everyone is trained and knows their tasks in the system and how valuable they are. He is empowering his employees to act on their own and to make crucial decisions. Their jobs become so much more valuable to them and they are willing to buy into the direction of the leaders.
Next he outsources a lot of his responsibilities such as customer service, accounting, shipping, legal and many other areas. He finds virtual assistants from companies in India, contracts with companies like Elance, and is able to bring on interns from local colleges. He is willing to leverage other people’s time and possibly more money for a better quality of life. He can start moving away from the trap that many owners fall into and now he can finally spend more time on his own life and dreams. It isn’t about having the biggest business, but the smarter business.
Summary-
So simply find out why you really want to start a business and what this business will do for you. The business should never be the end, but the means to that end. I hope all of you have many more noble desires other than just starting a business. Otherwise, what would life be worth living for?
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6 Responses to “3 Huge Steps On How To Leap From The Security Of A Job To A Home Business”
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Nicely done! I was one of the ones who requested this topic and you did a super job with it.
I especially appreciated the distinction about “working in their business and not on their business”… great food for thought.
Very nice article! Your comments about the importance of actually recording goals is so true. I’ve found that process to be so rewarding in my own life.
As Jeri mentioned, your comments about working in the business versus on the business is very interesting. As I work towards my goals, I will be sure to keep this in mind!
Hi! You’re blog is really wonderful. It inspires people who has that great desire to start a business, including me of course. And somehow this post enlightened the way towards my goal.congratulations!
Delegating inefficient tasks and establishing the total costs of outsourcing completed tasks as opposed to the hourly cost of outsourcing is covered in Tim Ferriss’s ‘The 4 Hour Working Week’.
A very interesting read that also looks at empowering employees AND yourself as an employer.
Elance, Brickwork and Our Man in India are other outsourcing companies that are under his microscope.
Well worth a read.
Hey really your tips are quite interesting. It inspires people who has that great desire to start a business, including me.
Great article, anyone that has a desire to start a business should read this.