Startups

7 Things To Remember If You Dream To Have Your Own Business

Published

11 years ago

Jul 4, 2015

7 Things To Remember If You Dream To Have Your Own Business

It is about 7:00 PM Sunday now, and you are getting a sick feeling about going to work tomorrow. You must get up early on Monday morning and get ready for the office. Now even the distraction of the idiot-box could not stop this anxious feeling.

A thought strikes that you may feign sickness tomorrow and take one day – just one smallish day off but the client meetings and responsibilities at your office will not let you do so. You want an extra day’s rest from the dog-eat-dog corporate world but you cannot do so.

This anxiety is simply because you are not able to tap your inner bliss and passion. You are not living up to your best potential. Rather than being in the moment you are living more in the past or future. When you live a fulfilled life you spread happy moments throughout each day.There is something to enjoy even on Mondays, your boss does not look any different on Monday! Does he? Maybe you are not pursuing what you always wanted to do!

Maybe you wanted to have your own business, or become an entrepreneur or open a restaurant near your favourite location. Maybe you wanted to be a writer? Think back, what dreams did you have growing up? I am sure it’s not the Dilbert’s cubicle you dreamt of! Maybe you always a wanted a business which allows you to visit Paris, London, Zurich, Spain, Portugal, whole Europe and live for an extended period of time there. Maybe you wanted to go to wild safaris in Africa, snorkel in Australian reefs or watch Monasteries in Japan.

“Know yourself and you will win all battles.” – Lao Tzu

Due to family pressure and social norms you had to school yourself for ‘a good job’. When I was in college I wanted to have a business, what business? I had no idea. I did start a sales business but could not stick with it. Why? Because parental and social pressure says you must have a ‘good job’. I got into a good job but I always wanted something more, something that gives me freedom and passion.

Think of this freedom like your relationship. Suppose your partner always taunts you for your clothes, what would you do? You will push back like “I don’t need your free advice; I am OK (which you are).” But if your partner bought you brand new Fashion-TV type clothes and marvels how good you look then chances are you will look into the mirror and think “hmm… now this is something I like.” Which will make the relationship grow strong.

The imperial corporate world is built differently by its ‘champions’ and ‘leaders’, because they mean only business. “Work hard and go home, keep your feelings with yourself.” Most importantly the current profile and enormous responsibility at your office are not translating your dreams into reality. The only hope of getting out of the rat-race in a job is winning the lottery.

I know you can’t just leave your job and get set for your dreams, unless you have a good chance of consistent stream of income. I know it is not that easy – but yeah with correct knowledge and drive we can fulfill our destiny.

Now working at a Fortune 500 Bank in Loans and Credits Department for six years I was always tempted to compare successful companies or businesses and their successful owners to losing companies and their losing owners. I have worked right from the front-line desk guys who consult prospects for loans (and their dreams); to the cabins where dreams of entrepreneurs are presented and sanctioned. I can tell you what I have learnt from many successful entrepreneurs and what I am observing to be working best.

Here are the 7 Lessons I have learned:

1. Interact and validate your business idea

If you want to open a restaurant, then go out and meet some successful restaurant owners. Winners are good at heart. You will be surprised by their readiness to teach an open young mind. They can tell you critical information about the suppliers, buyers, market condition and more.

If you wanted to be a real estate agent, then meet few agents in your locality. They will be able to provide you some insider knowledge that you must know to start. They may offer you commissions if you bring business to them, and this way you learn in the process.

You can contact on email or phone first and then take 15-20 minutes appointment. Before becoming a success coach I interacted with lots of people by email and Facebook. Some responded some didn’t, that’s OK. But I met some really nice souls this way and they motivated me to pursue my passion of becoming a success and life coach.

Another shortcut, take your banker out on lunch and ask them, how the industry is doing? Are the loans or other accounts doing well? If most of them are bad, it does not make any sense for you to enter, as many professionals are not making money in the industry.

2. Start taking baby steps towards what you want

Do some free work for people and you will discover some new knowledge in the field. You do not have to see the whole stair case to go up the stairs, just climb one step at a time.

Author, Mike Dooley observed that in his earlier business of selling T-shirts whenever he was out for marketing, even if he didn’t sell anything, someone at the office would receive an order. So make a definite plan and start taking action from today.

3. Winners are students throughout life

Brace yourself to learn entrepreneurship, marketing, communications, and networking. There are some things that you can outsource, but marketing, communications and maintaining relationships with your clients – you cannot and should not outsource that.

Learn as much as you possibly can about the industry you want to make a career in. A lot of people assume learning stops when you graduate High School or University. Little do they know that is when the learning actually begins.

4. Take a course in communication and marketing

If you did not take the course on communications at your college then take one now. You will be amazed to know how to communicate from your clients’ perspective, what do they want and critical non-verbal communications and body-language.

Most of the companies start with these types of courses during probation so maybe you have already done that. If not then make some arrangements this weekend. It can make or break your chances of success.

5. Do not become cocky at your new business

I have made costly mistakes of loaning to cocky people, assuming it is a sort of self-confidence. Cockiness can get you a few dates at the Pub but not long-term repeat clients. Nobody cares how hot your business idea may be.

Venture Capitalists, unlike bankers, are ruthless to break through cockiness and decide if the idea is viable or not. Take care of your clients like your own brothers and sisters and they will take care of your business and expand it.

6. Maintain savings for at least two years before you leave your job

Generally speaking new businesses often take somewhere around one to one-and-half years to break-even. You may break into profit even earlier also but it makes sense to have at least two years worth of savings with you.

If it is hard for you maybe due to the high credit card debt in our society then you must first pay off the debt as soon as possible before you even think of leaving your job and becoming an entrepreneur full-time.

“Only the educated are free.” – Epictetus

7. Take your business as a part time hobby first

Now before you go full-time in your business. You must have family responsibilities and rent to be paid. So instead of going all out with that restaurant plan, why not follow another plan and open a food-truck first, this way you accelerate your learning. Or if you want to become an author, complete your novel in free time and try to get it published.

Famous fiction Author, Stephen King, did not leave his teaching job long before he started earning enough from his published books. Thereafter, he churned out over fifty popular fiction books.

You must test the waters first and take an overall view for what it takes to launch a business. You will find water is deep indeed, but like Mr. Darby and his uncle of the famed story ‘Three Feet from Gold’ said, you must persist before you see the success you always wanted. Do remember to have fun throughout the journey.

You can visit my website here. I can show you how to live a more fulfilled life!

Thank you for reading my article! Please leave comments below!

Up Next

5 Lifestyle Business Myths Debunked

Don't Miss

4 Critical Steps For Creating A Profitable Online Business

Mohinish Nirwal

Mohinish Nirwal is an upcoming underdog Success and life coach. His upcoming blog www.BoostBliss.com is a platform to interact with evolving souls who want to live a fulfilled life with more freedom.

22 Comments

Startups

How an LLC Can Help Shield Your Personal Assets

Published

12 hours ago

Aug 1, 2026

Addicted2Success Editor

Image Credit: Addicted2success

You are a freelance designer, and your client sued you over a trademark mistake. If you believe that your personal savings are safe, then you may be wrong. You are operating as a default sole proprietor. You and your business are the exact same person. As a result, your personal bank account, your car, and even your home are legally up for grabs.

However, if you start an LLC, you can build a legal shield between your business liabilities and your personal life. These days, you can easily form an LLC online.

How Does This Legal Shield Work

When you start an LLC, your business gets a distinct legal identity. Now, your LLC can open its own bank accounts, sign contracts, take out loans, buy equipment, and be held responsible for its own actions. You are not liable. This boundary between you and your business is called the “corporate veil.”

Visualizing the Separation

Inside the Shield (Business Assets)

Everything your company owns is included in this shield. If your business faces a debt collector or a lawsuit, only your business assets are at risk, such as:

Money in the business bank account
Inventory and raw materials
Office equipment, computers, and company vehicles
Business intellectual property

Outside the Shield (Your Personal Assets)

You don’t have to worry about your personal assets, such as:

Your personal checking and savings accounts
Your home and personal real estate
Your family vehicles
Your retirement funds (401k, IRA) and personal investments

What LLC Protection Covers

Business Debts and Contracts

When your LLC signs a commercial lease, hires a contractor, or buys inventory on credit, these are the obligations of the LLC. Your creditors will come after the assets of the LLC if your business can’t pay.

Lawsuits

If your business is sued over a contract dispute, faulty service, or an operational issue, lawsuits will be filed against your business. All your personal assets are safe.

What LLC Protection Does Not Cover

Personal Torts

The term “tort” refers to an act that causes harm or injury to someone else. The LLC shields you from the mistakes of your employees and general business liabilities. However, it never protects you from your own personal actions. For example, if you personally commit fraud, you can be sued personally.

Personal Guarantees

Vendors often hesitate to lend money to new, growing businesses. Such businesses don’t have long credit histories. Lenders often require you to sign a personal guarantee.

How Owners Accidentally Destroy Their Protection

The legal shield provided by forming an LLC only works when you run your business properly. The corporate veil can be pierced when a court decides that your LLC is not legitimate and strips away your protection in a lawsuit. This usually happens when you make one of the following three mistakes.

Commingling Funds

Many small business owners often mix their personal money with their business money. You are commingling funds when you use your business debit card to buy your personal groceries or you deposit a client’s payment directly into your personal checking account. The legal wall crumbles when you don’t treat your business and personal finances as completely separate.

Missing an Operating Agreement

An operating agreement is the legal document that outlines:

How your LLC is run
Who owns what percentage
How profits are handled

If the creditor’s lawyer finds out that an operating agreement is missing, they may argue that your LLC is just a shell.

Falling Out of “Good Standing”

When you start an LLC, you must file annual reports and pay franchise taxes to keep it active. The state will place your business in “Administrative Dissolution” or bad standing if you miss any of these deadlines. You could lose your limited liability protection if you operate a business under an inactive or dissolved LLC.

Startups

Move Fast without Breaking People: Product Safety Lessons for Ambitious Startups

Published

3 weeks ago

Jul 15, 2026

Addicted2Success Editor

Image Credit: Addicted2success

Fast growth can hide product risks until customers get hurt, especially when safety comes late in development. A software bug can be patched, but a chair, charger, or smart device can cause a burn, fall, cut, or crash.

For founders moving from a prototype to mass sales, the cases handled by Michael Kelly Injury Lawyers in Boston show why launch goals should not push testing, warnings, and foreseeable risks aside. A product claim can involve the design, how a unit was made, user instructions, or several firms in the supply chain.

Why Minimum Viable Should Never Mean Minimally Safe

A minimum viable product should test whether people want an idea, not how much danger they will accept. Teams can delay colors or premium finishes, but not guards, safe heat limits, sound wiring, or clear instructions.

Set Safety Rules Before the Build

The product brief should define who will use the item, where, and what could happen during setup, cleaning, storage, wear, or mistakes. It should also consider what a child, guest, tired worker, or first-time buyer might do.

Shared rules help teams move faster. Designers know which guards must remain. Engineers know which parts cannot fail. Suppliers know what cannot change without review.

Test How People Really Use It

A neat demo is not the real world. Users place products on wet counters, soft rugs, or rough ground. They skip a guide, use the wrong cable, or handle an item in unexpected ways.

Testing should cover misuse without predicting every extreme act. When a risk can be reduced through a guard, lock, stop switch, or clear signal, that design change is often greater than a warning alone.

How Design and Manufacturing Risks Differ

Some risks are built into the design. Others arise when production fails to match the approved plan. Teams need to identify the source before choosing a correction.

Design Problems Start with the Plan

A design problem can affect every unit. A base may tip, a blade may sit too close to a hand, a control may activate too easily, or a battery space may trap heat.

Final inspection cannot repair a flawed plan. The team may need a new shape, shield, limit, material, or control, followed by testing before more units ship.

Manufacturing Problems Break the Plan

A manufacturing problem occurs when a unit or batch does not match the approved design. A fastener may be missing, a weld may be weak, a wire may be damaged, or the wrong component may enter production.

Good records help define the scope. The team should know who made each part, which batch used it, what checks occurred, and where units went. Fast trace work can keep one fault from becoming a wider crisis.

When Customer Feedback Signals More Than Dissatisfaction

Support teams hear about delays, difficult setups, strange sounds, and refunds. Most reports are routine. Yet heat, smoke, sparks, breakage, sharp edges, sudden movement, falls, or failed guards require review.

Treat Complaints as Safety Data

One report may lack key facts, but similar reports can reveal a pattern. Staff should record the model, batch, date, use, photographs, and outcome, then alert someone who can pause sales or order testing.

Teams should not blame unusual use before asking whether another reasonable buyer could make the same choice. A support ticket can be the first sign of a hazard that lab testing missed.

Preserve the Product and the Record

After an injury, the product can help explain what failed. A repair, disposal, or undocumented test can remove evidence. The same applies to old labels, manuals, test files, customer messages, and design notes.

Startups should keep relevant items safely, record who examines them, and preserve earlier versions of instructions and warnings. This history can show what changed and why.

Why Warnings Must Reflect Real Use

A warning works only when a user notices it at the right time. Dense text at the back of a manual may not help during setup. The message should name the hazard, explain the harm, and state what reduces the risk.

Placement matters too. A charging risk belongs near the port. A weight limit belongs where weight is added. Even so, warnings should not replace a safer design when the hazard can reasonably be removed.

How Founders Can Preserve Speed without Cutting Safeguards

A delayed launch, redesign, or recall can feel like defeat. In practice, early action can prevent harm, protect trust, and give the team better facts for the next version. The strongest startups move quickly because their systems protect people.

When a product injures someone, legal guidance can help preserve the item, collect design and manufacturing records, identify responsible companies, and examine whether a defect or unsafe choice caused the harm.