Startups
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!
A great way to screw up your company is to get into the habit of blaming your suppliers, the market, your staff or your product for your failures.
I recently heard a story of a business that had set up a website. They sold various products and services focusing on helping people with psychological issues. The business owner was smart. The product solved a problem.
Unfortunately, the company was making almost no money. They’d hired someone to help them with their digital marketing and it wasn’t working.
Plenty of traffic was coming to the site, users were having a look around and then not buying a single thing. Who’s fault was this?
Well, according to the business owner it was the person running their digital marketing. As a result, they wasted approximately eight months marketing a website that couldn’t make any sales. The reason the business was failing according to the owner was because of the keywords that were being targeted in the marketing campaign. This is a horrible excuse.
The reason your business fails is because you’re blaming someone other than yourself. It’s the quickest way to bankruptcy. Don’t do that.
Your company is a reflection of you.
It took me a long time to figure out that a company is a reflection of its founder.
One of the businesses I had, had a toxic culture and a bunch of people that were rude to customers, arrogant and not nice people. That was a reflection of exactly who I was at the time.
The company was reflecting the flaws of my own life and what I refused to admit.
In the case of the business owner above, what was obvious is that they were good at telling lies to themselves. It was easy not to change as a business owner and insist that the change needed was nothing to do with their vision.
The issue of their company was not the digital marketing strategy but their lack of understanding around what their customer wanted.
The thought that their products were too complicated, not solving a real problem or priced incorrectly was an admission of guilt they wanted no part in. Hence the eventual demise of their company.
Take responsibility and it will change.
When you own the business, everything is your fault.
You have the power to solve any problem you choose. It starts with you being brave enough to admit that there’s a problem, and then secondly, being bold enough to insist it’s your fault and that you can change it.
The problems in your business can all be solved. That’s what it took me a very long time to understand. When I changed as a person and faced up to my hidden battle with mental illness that I didn’t want to talk about, the odds turned in my favor.
Had I have not taken responsibility for my mental illness, I would have never become a leader in a business or started another side hustle. I would have been crippled by the big, bad world that I thought I could control.
Control came from responsibility, and responsibility solved the major problem in my business: me.
Change is a must.
Not with your digital marketing strategy.
Not with hiring new people.
Not with developing a new product.
“Changing yourself is the *must* because YOU attract the problems and the solutions into your business”
You can’t find the solutions or stop the never-ending problems until you stop the cause of it all: you. You’re the problem with your business. The good news is that it’s entirely within your control to fix.
Change you.
Not the business.
If you want to increase your productivity and learn some more valuable life hacks, then join my private mailing list on timdenning.net
You’ve probably heard people use the term “unicorn” in a business context. This means a privately held start-up whose value has grown to at least one billion American dollars. Think Airbnb, Uber, and so forth. There is no doubt that some start-ups have been major financial successes. And many smaller-scale start-ups are doing great as well, working hard and turning a steady profit. But that begs the question of whether finances are the only way to measure the success of a start-up. As it turns out, they might not be. At least, not always and not on their own.
How to Evaluate Success
As anyone who’s been involved with start-ups knows, you need a fair amount of flexibility to do well in this environment. Take the division of labour for example – rather than strict roles, you’ll often see everyone do a bit of everything. The same principle extends to measuring success. It can be vague and mean different things to different people, and it can change over time.
But amongst all that vagueness, one thing has become clear. Predicting the success of a start-up is very difficult for external observers. As a matter of fact, it’s often impossible. Therefore, in order to evaluate how successful a start-up has truly been, we need to know the goals of its founder(s).
“Success means we go to sleep at night knowing that our talents and abilities were used in a way that served others.” – Marianne Williamson
The Numbers
When people think about business, it’s common to boil matters down to the finances. And it certainly is possible to use numbers to measure and predict the performance of a start-up business. Net worth, gross margin, customer acquisition cost – these can all be indicators of success. But, a start-up can post impressive numbers for a while, perhaps even attract large investors, and still shut down in the end. So does this make it a failure?
The answer to this depends. If the founders wanted to start a lasting business, then yes, they failed to meet their goal. However, that isn’t always the case. If they were looking for a short-term solution and came out with more money than they had coming in, a closed-down start-up needn’t be unsuccessful. It can actually be the opposite of that.
So, looking at the figures isn’t enough, and there are different perspectives to consider. When they start planning their business venture, start-up founders may not have any particular numbers in mind when it comes to profit. Instead, they can judge their success according to some of the following criteria.
1. Happy Customers and Solving Problems
The story of a start-up often begins with a problem. The desire to help people overcome a specific issue can be the spark which ignites the creation of an entire business. And in the end, that may be all that matters to the founders.
This is closely connected to the happiness of the customers. If the resulting product or service has made people happy by helping them solve a problem, that is all that may be required for a start-up to be a success. Now, no business wants unsatisfied customers. But in cases like this, happy customers aren’t the way toward the ultimate goal – they are that goal.
In other words, some start-up founders don’t just use financial reports to measure how much they’ve achieved. To them, the one metric which stands above all others is the quantity of positive feedback they’ve received. The main area of focus is customers who use the start-up’s products or services to solve a problem they were having.
2. Impact
Every start-up founder likes doing well in terms of revenue. But for some of these entrepreneurs, the profit is merely a side effect of what they actually set out to do – impact the world in a positive manner. You can see an example of this line of thought with Elon Musk. He said that back in college, he had wanted to be a part of things that could end up changing the world. The continuation of this philosophy is evident in his electric cars (which aim to reduce pollution) and the SpaceX program (which strives to break down some of the barriers of space exploration).
In both cases, the furthering of mankind is the ultimate goal. Many other start-up founders feel the same, even if they have smaller goals in mind. To these people, there is no greater proof of success than if their company has had a positive impact on society or even a small segment of it. In their view, to make a difference is to succeed.
“The only limit to your impact is your imagination and commitment.” – Tony Robbins
3. Freedom
For some, starting up their own business is less about getting rich and more about gaining the freedom to conduct their business the way they want to. In this case, financial success is just a means to an end. The endgame is to be your own boss.
The fact is, some people don’t do well when they’re constantly receiving orders. They are simply hardwired to be free thinkers and they require an environment that allows them to do things in their own way.
Being in a position where you hold all the cards can be exhilarating. The knowledge that your decisions are final is very empowering, and many strive for such freedom. If a start-up can allow such people to go from being a regular employee to being in charge of making all the decisions, then it has already achieved all the success that it needs to.
4. Time for Friends and Family
As many people know all too well, a job can easily turn into the focal point of your daily life. Instead of being a way to support your lifestyle, your work dominates your time. And when that happens, the time you have to dedicate to your loved ones becomes scarce. Combating this is precisely what some have in mind when they decide to take the leap and start their own business.
Now, running your own company is no mean feat and it will require a lot of effort. But the beginning is the most time-consuming part of the process. Later on, it can be possible to create a system which leaves you with a lot more time on your hands. You can spend this time with your significant other, your children, or your friends. A start-up which gives you this opportunity is perhaps the greatest success of all.
A start-up is an extension of its founders and so are that company’s goals. Some entrepreneurs are in it for the profit, but not all of them. In the end, there is no single way to measure the success of a start-up. It all comes down to the specific aims of those who established it. But if the founders can end their day on a happy note, then the venture is a success even if it doesn’t fit some standard definition of the term.
I spend a lot of my time talking to business owners. They focus on their product, their marketing channels and trying to make more profit.
I met one such business owner who was in the plastic surgery business. Their product (boob jobs and nose jobs) was not working. Their website sucked and people clicked off as soon as they visited it.
People would call their office, get put on hold, listen to the on hold message and hang up.
This business didn’t seem all that special. I’ve talked to many businesses and didn’t think for a microsecond that a plastic surgery clinic could ever teach me anything valuable.
I’ve been to Hollywood on holidays and the issues of body image are all too apparent to me. Anyway, this post is not about body image.
I ended up losing this business as a customer — not that I would ever have sold anything to them if it were up to me. I sat down one afternoon and thought about why we no longer did business with them.
That’s when I realized it’s not about your product or your website. All the issues with this plastic surgery clinic and a lot of other businesses I’ve dealt with stem from one thing. Let me explain in more detail.
Your Google Reviews say you’re an piece of work.
I looked up their Google Reviews and their customers said they were assholes.
They spoke down to clients, they didn’t deliver their clients what they wanted, they argued with their staff in front of customers and they treated people like they were nothing more than a dollar sign.
All I had to do was read their Google reviews to see that the problem wasn’t their product or their website.
Your clients tell you every day that you suck.
I asked the plastic surgery what their clients said.
Many of their clients told them that their services sucked and they would prefer to go to places like Thailand where they could get a better product at a much lower price.
The business owner made the mistake of thinking it was their product that was the problem and that a new website will tell clients a different message.
That wasn’t it.
You abuse your staff and they consistently leave.
I spoke with many staff that worked for this business.
Every single one of them hated the company and were not afraid to say what they thought of the business owner.
The business owner would sit outside on a nice sunny day and look across the street at all the yachts and the people boarding them.
They’d sit there and think that every lead they got was going to take them one step closer to owning their very own yacht.
“If only I could deliver more boob jobs, maybe I could have one of those,” they thought quietly to themselves hoping that no one else could hear how ridiculous this sounded.
I can remember multiple times being on the phone to the business owner and having one of their staff burst into tears halfway through the call.
The first time it happened I didn’t think much. After the third time, I got the message. During the short time I dealt with this business, people consistently left. If you made it to the six-month mark, you were some sort of hero and would probably be given a free surgery to say thank you for your work and make you feel worse about your own body at the same time.
It was free noses and boobs in return for daily abuse.
The problem still wasn’t the website all the product.
You don’t solve real problems; you solve your own problem.
A good business solves a problem.
That problem typically affects human beings and solving it is how you make money in business. Solving problems can start out with a problem that affects you, but at some point, you’ve got to start solving that same problem for other people/businesses.
This owner of this plastic surgery clinic was only trying to solve their own problem which was making more money to buy fancy items like yachts.
Only solving your own problem is not just selfish but bad business.
Good business is solving a big problem or lots of small problems for entire strangers who you don’t know thus doing something valuable for the human race.
Solving only your problem will make you poor.
The problem still wasn’t their website or product.
Creating more problems.
Everything this business owner sold created more problems.
They’d film videos to purposely make people feel like their body wasn’t perfect.
They’d write articles suggesting that everyone needs botox to feel young.
They’d take photos of men and women who were supposed to be perfect so that young people would dream of looking like them.
Not only was their business not solving a real problem; it was also creating more problems every day that it existed.
If your business creates more problems than it solves, you’re in real trouble.You need to take a long hard look at the business and become obsessed with doing everything you can to change it — and do so damn fast to limit the whirlwind of problems you’re creating behind you.
The heart of the problem.
It’s the business owner.
The business I mentioned will fail. That part is certain. The problem with the business is not the website or the product.
The problem is the business has no heart because the business owner has no heart.
You cannot focus on your own selfish desires, create really bad problems in the world, treat other human beings like garbage and expect to go buy a yacht and live happily ever after. It just doesn’t happen like that.
Whether you are a plastic surgery clinic like the one I described or a solo entrepreneur, the problem with your business is you.
Fix the problem of YOU. You can’t get away with being horrible forever.
Being horrible is bad business.
Being respectful, kind and valuable is the final answer to the problem with your business.
If you want to increase your productivity and learn some more valuable life hacks, then join my private mailing list on timdenning.net
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satish
Aug 12, 2015 at 12:00 pm
Hi,
when I first start reading your article I was shocked because it seems like I am reading my story from starting.
All the condition , situation you have mentioned is totally right.
Your article give me boost to take one step forward to fulfill my dreams.
Thanks.
Mohinish Nirwal
Aug 13, 2015 at 2:35 am
I am glad Satish you are moving forward with your dreams..
Thanks.
Britney
Jul 12, 2015 at 9:42 pm
Great post! Thank you for sharing. I applaud your courage to pursue your true passions. My favorite points are #3 and #5. Being a 2014 college graduate, I quickly learned that life learning never stops. As you stated, a person must stay humble to continue to learn and grow. I wish you much continued success!!
Mohinish Nirwal
Jul 13, 2015 at 1:38 am
thanks Britney,
I appreciate your attitude.
thanks
Mohinish
Tony Kates
Jul 8, 2015 at 1:49 pm
I agree with every item on the list especially #3 “Winners are students throughout life”. The only way to win is to learn and the bigger lessons are learned when we failed which means you have to go out there, keep on trying, keep developing yourself and learn from everything.
Mohinish Nirwal
Jul 9, 2015 at 2:32 am
hello Tony,
You are spot on. Winners are always on learning curve. And it usually not one subject.. Your thoughts?
Thanks
Mohinish
Heather
Jul 7, 2015 at 2:58 pm
Hi Mohinish,
Great post – lots to think about. I’ve run my own small consultancy for nearly 7 years now and can definitely say that #3 – continuing to be a student – has been key in helping me to build the business and adapt to different challenges and opportunities that have come my way.
I couldn’t start small and build – I had to just make the leap – because my freelance business was in direct competition to what I did as an employee. And I certainly didn’t have 2 years savings as a cushion – although I did have around 6 months. Now I’m in the process of starting a new business, so it is slightly ‘back to the drawing board’. I came across your post at good time!
Thanks,
Heather
Mohinish Nirwal
Jul 8, 2015 at 2:09 am
well good luck for you new endeavor Heather.
Thanks
Mohinish
David
Jul 6, 2015 at 5:19 pm
Great post thanks!
bestessaysforsale.net
Jul 6, 2015 at 12:37 pm
I read this article and must admit it is really great! Thank you for your job!
Radzone
Jul 6, 2015 at 12:35 pm
Your post was a great one to look at first thing on a Monday morning. It helps keep the dreams alive. Only one point that I “might” take exception with – it’s the point of having a 2-year cushion since most endeavours take about that long to get going. It’s true it might take that long, but having a fallback plan may allow some to cruise through the plan because there isn’t a sense of emergency. As Hernán Cortés said in 1519 – “Burn the Boats!”. I say go for it.
Mohinish Nirwal
Jul 8, 2015 at 2:13 am
Yeah I agree with that Radzone, but sometimes when people have to put food on the table they need to have savings. Secure the food part and unleash yourself in other. You can have passive sources of income also.
Best wishes
Mohinish
Esther
Jul 6, 2015 at 8:03 am
Hi Nirwal,
Thank you so much for this great post!
I mostly hear about validation with your future prospects. But it is so true what you write, learning from those who are already successful in what you want to do can be priceless.
But not everybody dears to reach out to experts. Which brings me to the point that having the right mindset is crucial throughout the 7 points you described.
What do you think?
Cheers,
Esther
Mohinish Nirwal
Jul 8, 2015 at 2:16 am
Yeah whenever we reach out of our comfort zone our palms are sweaty. But with right mindset and courage an entrepreneur moves forward.
Thanks
Mohinish
Dr.Manu
Jul 6, 2015 at 7:00 am
Great post and practical approach…Thank you
willy braun
Jul 6, 2015 at 6:33 am
Great post
Love reading the articles
I have a question.
What if you already started a business love it too but you didn’t take the these steps and now you find out that the water is way deeper then expected and it’s really hard to keep going. Is it possible to still come up from under it and become successful?
And what would be most important steps to take?
Mohinish Nirwal
Jul 8, 2015 at 2:37 pm
hi, sorry for late reply.
It will be very difficult to specify any action steps without taking a detailed look at your business. However I must add that before you entirely give up – bring in some expert and let him take a look. or if there are other people in your industry who are successful then you can reach out to them. But don’t take adverse decision without exploring all options.
Thanks
Mohinish
Heitem Ak
Jul 5, 2015 at 4:17 pm
Great Post!
“You do not have to see the whole stair case to go up the stairs, just climb one step at a time.”
Sometimes you can try to jump an additional step or two, but if you do it too often, you’re asking for trouble!
Heitem Ak
KC Stafford
Jul 5, 2015 at 3:22 pm
Great post with good information! Thanks for sharing.
Lisa
Jul 5, 2015 at 12:51 pm
Excellent post. I think I will be adding #4 Take a Marketing Course to my list of action items very soon…
Anthony Metivier
Jul 5, 2015 at 7:43 am
Wow – great post. These are powerful tips that go beyond the usual.
Validation is a huge one that I think so many people miss. The question is: How do you validate in baby steps if you’ve only got limited time to get just one part of it off your plate?
Mohinish Nirwal
Jul 8, 2015 at 2:40 pm
Hi Anthony,
sorry for late reply.
If you are not able to take out time for validation part then you can outsource or delegate it. Let your assistant collect all the data but you must do the analysis of it on your own. I hope it helps you.
Thanks
Mohinish