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• You surely know that a small
• idea can lead to a great business success. The first movement is to think of an idea that would be suitable for the business market. After c
• oming up with the idea, the next step is to put that idea into acti
• on. Of course, this is a very difficult step and having the idea is only the start of the journ
• ey. After that you will have to face many obstacles before being able to carry on with y
• our business project. This is just the beginning of this process and there is a lot of questions you will have to answer before even start.

Some of the main aspects you have to concentrate on when you have business ideas are the abilities and gifts you can pour into the business. It is very important for you to be identified with your business project. Those ideas should be based on activities and actions you take pleasure in doing. For example, if we suppose that you dislike working in the open, landscaping business would not suit you. On the other hand, if you like working with children, setting up baby-sitting or tutoring business would be an excellent idea. In this case, without any doubt you business will be more successful because you will have put your mind, effort and also your heart on it.

• Another vital step is to analyze the needs of a specific product
• or service in your region before setting up your business. Do peopl
• e of your area need your product? Are there other business like the o
• ne you are planning to start? You should ask yourself whether or not y
• ou are the only one offering that service or product. If you are not, you
• will have to analyze the competence you will have to face. You have to
• think whether the service you are offering is one that customer would
• repeat, or if it is a one-time specialized service. Obviously, the forme
• r are more likely to succeed than the latter.

There are other aspects you have to take into account. These aspects are described below:

- One of them is that if the idea is unique, you will reign the market. But if there is much competition, it will be difficult to enter into the market.

- A second point would be if you can offer quality from the very beginning, otherwise, you won’t succeed.

- Finally, you have to think about your capital to start your own business. There are many business ideas that require little investment and bring great profit. Some demand research, such as daycare service, and others need a large amount of money to begin the business. So take this recommendation into account before investing all your money in a small business idea.

About the author:
Business information at http://www.finerbusiness.comwith the all time expert, Sintilia Miecevole is now available. You’ll have resources at your fingertips from franchises, finances, banking, brokers, the economy, accounting, degrees, grants, to businesses for sale. Be sure to visit http://www.finerbusiness.comfor the latest news on business.

If you are any kind of small business or home operated business, online presence is essential. Majority of web site visitors are from the English speaking population due to the high levels of internet penetration in that category, online presence for all small enterprises cannot be overemphasized. The research data in the US about online connectivity reveals the following facts which may help to understand the importance of the web presence for businesses especially the small enterprise. 

70 % of the US households have web connectivity. 

In 2004 worldwide online population was 801 million worldwide. 

Of these 36% used English as the language. Of this U.S. alone accounts for close to 200 million. 

The next major group was European languages with 38 % and major single language next to English was Chinese accounting for 14%. 

Home web users were generally affluent, literate, and belonged to the younger age profile. This means the web presence for any business is necessary if you want to succeed in promoting your products and services to a population who can afford them and also willing to buy them online. 

The household that did not own a computer or who were were not connected to the web, generally felt it is not useful or needed and cost too much. 

What this means for a small business owner is that they are better off promoting their products to people who were online. 

You small business success is undoubtedly linked to your online presence 

About the author:
R.G. Srinivasan is a managerial professional, Writer and Author. He writes a regular blog on management thoughts with interesting articles, resources, personal experiences and links useful for practicing managers at http://management-thoughts.blogspot.com

Copyright 2005 Attractioneering

Have you ever noticed how some businesses seem to do extremely well, and go from strength to strength, whilst the majority just seem to muddle along?

Since starting my own business I’ve met many small business owners and what I’ve noticed is that the vast majority of them seem to just about get by, but few reach the level of success that they’re actually capable of. Some of them end up failing altogether, some lurch from project to project, and some do OK, but never really achieve the success or lifestyle they envisioned when they started their business.

On the other hand, I know a handful of extremely successful service business owners, who are making high 6 and 7 figure incomes every year (and rising) - and yet they don’t work longer hours, their products and services are not magnitudes better than their competitors and they aren’t geniuses!

So what is the difference between the successful businesses and the struggling businesses?

In a word: Marketing

Whilst there can be other factors that affect the ability of a business or practice to be successful, such as the economy, trends, cashflow and product/service quality or innovation, the number one difference between successful high-flying businesses and their struggling counterparts is good marketing.

Here is the lament of one survey respondent which is typical of the angst felt by service business owners who know they do a good job, but who don’t understand why they don’t have a queue of clients at their door:

“We know our products and services are good - we get great feedback from those clients we’ve worked with - but we still have trouble getting potential customers to buy in. Our services offer real benefits to clients but we are not as successful as we should be when we see what other companies offer (not as much) and yet are still very successful.”

If you offer a quality service or product that produces great results for your customers or clients, and yet you’re still struggling to get all the clients that you want or need, or to charge the fees you deserve, you probably have a marketing problem.

What do highly successful business owners do that others do not?

The first thing that they do is to realise that their primary objective is to build their practice or client base. In the words of Michael Gerber (who wrote The E-myth) they “work ON their businesses, not IN their businesses”. What this involves is making the time to work on the business - in particular on marketing and product or service development, rather than spending all of their time handling clients, delivering services and dealing with administration.

They also look for areas where they can gain “leverage”. Simply put, this means gaining maximum return for every hour they work. Instead of trading hours for pounds or dollars, they find ways to do the work once and get paid for it many times. They find ways to market their services one to many, instead of one to one (thus reducing marketing and sales effort and time). They delegate those activities which take up a lot of time (but which don’t add much value in terms of moving the business forward) or which they are not skilled in such as admin, accounting, website maintenance and copywriting.

They also develop a success mindset, understand their strengths and weaknesses, take risks, innovate, hang out with other successful people and build a support network around themselves.

But above all, they learn how to market their businesses and create a marketing system that keeps a steady stream of prospects knocking at the door, without taking up all of their time!

About the author:
Jane Hendry helps professionals, consultants and coaches to create marketing systems that easily and consistently attract their ideal clients. To get your f*ree Attraction Marketing Starter Kit please visit http://www.attractioneers.com

When running a small business there can be several jobs and 
tasks to take care of. Obviously knowing where the money is 
coming from and going is essential to running your business. 
That’s why it is good to find out which small business 
accounting software is best for you to help you run a well 
organized and efficient small business. 

There are hundreds to thousands of small business accounting 
software out there to help you with reports and tools needed to 
use your financial data. Depending on the one you go with will 
depend on how much you’re going to pay for it. The more you 
pay, the more accessories and programs there will be that come 
with it. Some come with a billing and time module, various 
amounts of financial and management reports, and more. You can 
choose to get it in different editions from basic, online, pro, 
or premier for your computer. 

One small business accounting software that is recommended is 
the 2005 Peachtree Complete Accounting. This is a multi-user 
ready system that provides you with all the features needed. 
You’ll have features including in-depth inventory, job costing, 
time and billing, fixed assets and more. With all these great 
features the price of this runs between $165-$290 as it is sold 
by different merchants. You can shop for this product through 
the different merchants here: 

http://about.pricegrabber.com/search_getprod.php/masterid=2936006/search=Peachtree%20Complete 

Another feature that is offered with certain software is the 
capability to scale as your business grows. That is just one of 
the many features that the high end Microsoft Business Solutions 
Small Business Financials North America Edition offers. Also 
included in this program is the capability of keeping record of 
financial management, sales, purchasing, inventory, payroll, and 
reporting. This is software that will easily allow you to run 
an organized small business and keep track of the people in it 
and all of the numbers associated with running a small business. 

This software will give you everything that you’ll truly need. 
With this high end software is a hefty price as it runs between 
$995-4,500, so you’ll have to decide how big your small business 
is going to get. If you’re going to be running a large small 
business, then this will be worth it to help keep track of all 
the payrolls and inventory and more. On the website listed 
below, you’ll also see a free 60-day CD demo that you can try it 
out first to see if you like it. 

http://www.2020software.com/products/Microsoft_Business_Solutions_Small_Business_Financials_North_America_Edition.asp

There is plenty more software to choose from, but there’s a high 
end software and a cheaper software to check out. If you go to 
http://www.2020software.com/default.asp you’ll find a list of 
what this website claims the top 7 software out there. Included 
on this list is the Microsoft software I have briefly talked 
about just above. 

This list is going to consist of the more expensive software out 
there. All of the software on the list is priced at above 
$1,000 with some of them reaching the $100,000 mark. While it 
is pricey, it will install very easily, be very secure over the 
internet and computer, and offer all kinds of features you 
wouldn’t even consider such as a built-in report writer to help 
deliver the content in the format you need. 

Now you know the general price range for accounting software and 
the features you’ll get for what you pay for. In order to get a 
good quality software for your small business it’s going to be 
pricey, but it will help keep your business organized and in 
tact. So don’t be afraid to drop some money on software that 
will help expand your business in the long run. 

About the author:
Small business grants and small business resources to help you start and run your own business. Small business training, information, articles, loans and more. 
http://www.sites-plus.com

Business if tough in today’s world! Most small businesses go bankrupt or are closed abruptly in the first five years. Over the course of the next five years many of the remainders also “pack up” shop and lock their doors. Why do so many businesses fail? 

The reasons lie in three main spheres. Those spheres of influence can be labeled personal, customer, and operations. 

The Personal Sphere deals with the owner’s personal motivation to start a business. For example, if an owner wants to start their own business, but isn’t willing to make the sacrifices necessary to make it thrive, then they are at a disadvantage when compared to other motivated businesspeople. When a business starts for the first time often it doesn’t have a lot of money. Owners are required to sacrifice time, money, and happiness to succeed. If you can’t do that, it is unlikely that such a business will flourish. Many times owners thought they could handle the hardship but once the novelty of “being your own boss” wears off they close the door. 

The Customer Sphere is one of the most important components of your business. Without customers you do not have sales, without sales you do not have money and without money you do not have a business. Many factors go into generating a good customer base. In the beginning you must have a cost effective marketing strategy that targets your intended buyers. This can be done by developing a psychological profile of your customer and then advertising in those places that they frequent. Because it is more expensive to get a new customer than it is to keep one you must make sure they are satisfied with your business and product. Keep in touch with them by sending them a follow-up letter with a survey. 

The Operations Sphere is only second to the Customer Sphere. In operations you must have an appropriate method of reducing costs, keeping track of paperwork, and maintaining improvement. Operations can also take into effect the tax paperwork, accounting, scheduling of workers, benefits or any non-producing functions. 

If all of these three components are well thought out and are appropriately designed you will increases your chances of survival. Failure to understand the integral details of your business and what it takes to succeed may mean failure in the long run. If you are having difficulty putting all the pieces together then consider a small business consultant. 

About the author:
Murad Ali is the published author of “A Call to Greatness: Reforming the Muslim World” and “An American Mecca: A New Muslim Homeland” available at most large bookstore websites. He is also the editor of the Muslim Times and a doctoral student. For more articles like this one please visit http://www.muradenterprises.org

Depreciation is defined as a portion of the cost that reflects the use of a fixed asset during an accounting period. A fixed asset is an item that has a useful life of over one year. An accounting period is usually a month, quarter, six months or one year. Let’s say you bought a desk for your office on January 1, for $1000 and it was determined that the desk had a useful life of seven years. Using a one year accounting period and the “straight-line” method of depreciation, the portion of the cost to be depreciated would be one-seventh of $1000, or $142.86. 

Most non-accountants roll their eyes and shudder when the topic of “depreciation” comes up. This is where the line in the sand is drawn. Depreciation is far too complicated to try and figure out, or so it seems to many. But is it really? Surely the definition of depreciation mentioned above is not that difficult to comprehend. If you look closely you will see that there are five pieces of information you must have in order to determine the amount of depreciation you can deduct in one year. They are: 

-The nature of the item purchased (the desk). 

-The date the item was placed in service (Jan 1). 

-The cost of the item ($1000). 

-The useful life of the item (seven years). 

-The method of depreciation to be used (straight-line) 

The first three are easy to figure out, the second two are also easy but require a little research. How do you figure out the useful life of an item? Let me regress for a moment. There is “book depreciation” which is based on the real useful life of an item, and there is the IRS version of what constitutes the useful life of an item. A business that is concerned with accurately allocating its costs so that it can get a true picture of net profit will use book depreciation on its financial statements. 

However, for tax purposes the business is required to use the IRS method. The IRS may have shorter or longer useful lives for fixed assets causing a higher or lower depreciation write-off. The higher the write-off, the less tax a business pays. The long and short of it is that you end up having to create a book financial statement and a tax financial statement. So, most small businesses that aren’t concerned with a precise measurement of their net profit use the IRS method on their books. This means that all you have to do is look in IRS Publication 946 to find the useful life of a particular item. 

The last piece of information you need is found by determining the method of depreciation to use. Most often it will be one of two methods: the “straight-line” method or an accelerated method called the “double-declining balance” method. Let’s briefly discuss these two methods: 

Straight-line 

This is the simple method mentioned in the definition above. Just take the cost of the item, divide it by the useful life and you’ve got the answer. Yes, you will have to adjust the depreciation for the first year you placed the item in service and for the last year when you removed the item from service. For instance, if your depreciation for one year was $150 and you placed the item in service on April 1 then divide $150 by 12 (months) and multiply $12.50 by 9 (months) to get $112.50. If you removed the item on February 28 then your deduction will only be $25.00 (2 x $12.50). 

Double-declining balance 

The idea behind this method is that when an item is purchased new, you will use up more of it in the earlier years of its life, therefore, justifying a higher depreciation deduction in the earlier years. With this method, simply divide the cost of the item by the useful life years as in the straight-line method. Then, multiply that result by 2 (double) in the first year. The second year, take the cost of the item and subtract the accumulated depreciation. Next, divide that result by the useful life and multiply that result by 2, and so on for each remaining year. 

But, wait! You don’t have to do this. The IRS provides tables that have the percentages worked out for each year of the two different methods. Not only that, they have set up special first year “conventions” that assume you purchased your depreciable fixed assets on June 30. This is called the one-half year convention. The idea behind this is that you may have bought some items earlier than June 30 and some after that date. So, to make it easy to figure out, they assume the higher and lower depreciation amounts will all average out. 

Actually, the IRS doesn’t even call it depreciation anymore. They call it “cost recovery”. Let’s face it. This is a political tool. Congress giveth and taketh away. They have been playing with this system for years. If they want to stimulate growth in business they will shorten the useful life of assets so businesses can attain a higher write-off. If they are not in the mood, they will extend the useful life of an item. A good example is the 39 years set for the useful life of commercial property. This means that if you lease a building for your business and make improvements, those improvements have to be depreciated over 39 years. Now congress is working on a bill to drop that down to 15 years for leasehold improvements. 

Before December 31, 1986 we had ACRS or Accelerated Cost Recovery System. Currently, we have MACRS or Modified Accelerated Cost Recovery System. Every time congress tweaks the rules they give it a different name. 

Keep in mind there are different schedules for different properties. For instance, residential real property is depreciated over twenty-seven and one-half years and non-residential real property is depreciated over thirty-nine years. In addition, if more than forty percent of your total fixed asset purchases occurred in the last quarter of the year, then, you must use a mid-quarter convention. This convention assumes that your purchases made in the last quarter of the year were made on November 15. This prevents you from buying a big expensive piece of equipment on December 31 and treating it as though it were purchased on June 30 and gaining a larger depreciation expense. 

Understanding how basic depreciation works can be valuable to the small business owner because it helps to know the tax implications when planning for capital equipment purchases. 

About the author:
John W. Day, MBA is the author of two courses in accounting basics for non-accountants. Visit his website at http://www.reallifeaccounting.comto download for FREE his 3 e-books pertaining to small business accounting and his monthly newsletter on accounting issues. Ask John questions directly on his Accounting for Non-Accountants blog .

You have permission to publish this article free of charge, as long as the resource box is included with the article. If you do run my article, a courtesy reply to sean@bizmanualz.com would be greatly appreciated. This article is 909 words long including the resource box. Thanks for your interest. 

Part Two of Cash to Cash Cycle Series 

Part One: http://www.bizmanualz.com/articles/01-05-05_inventory_procedures.html/?ART78 

Next Week: Sales 

We’ve already found $250,000…so let’s find another $250,000… 

Laying the Foundation 

Last week, we raised the question: what would your business do with $1,000,000? To lay the foundation we introduced inventory as the first of four areas that will lead toward our million dollar goal. And you saw exactly how to achieve the first $250,000 in cash savings by avoiding delays with an increase in velocity, as well as an increase in discipline and competency. But how exactly? With time – as you saw with inventory and as you’ll see this week. 

Tackling Accounting Procedures 

Let’s continue that crucial theme of time with another major source on your balance sheet – specifically, accounts receivable (A/R). If you have $500,000 or more in accounts receivable then STOP! We have found it again. 

Reducing Average Days Collection 

Why? Because if we focus on reducing your average days collection by 50%, then your accounts receivable balance will fall to $250,000 and the result will be an extra $250,000 in your bank account. And just like that, we’re halfway to our $1,000,000 goal. 

So now, let’s see how this actually works in a real-life business scenario. 

Accounting Procedures Service Business Example 

A service organization with $700,000 in average A/R balances needed assistance. So we examined their A/R function to understand and quantify the workflow and workload issues. Then we designed and implemented a process to improve the A/R performance. 

The metrics we developed reduced their “over 60” accounts receivables by 85% and their overall A/R balance by 50% within 90 days of implementing the new procedures. With these new processes and reports, the company now tracks Average Days Collection and past due rather than just Days Sales Outstanding (DSO) as the measure of their collection effectiveness. 

The result: an extra $350,000 in cash. And, again, we explicitly see the crucial role of time and how an increase in velocity and discipline directly yields an increase in efficiency and cash savings. So how can you use time to your advantage? 

Methods to Design the New Accounting Process 

Decrease collection cycle. Examine customer accounts that go beyond your terms. Do not wait until twice the net terms to take action. 

Tighten credit policy. Examine credit process for slippage. Do you have a credit approval process? Do you perform credit checks? What standards are used to extend credit? 

Reduce credit terms. Change the credit terms you offer your customers. If you offer terms of net 45, reduce it to net 30. You might offer a discount of 1% if paid within 10 days else net due in 30 days. This is equivalent to 18 % annual interest and most businesses will take those terms. 

Shorten the invoice process. Bill your customers immediately. This is a big one. Many service organizations wait until the end of the month to tally billable hours and determine customer charges. Do not wait until the end of the month. This could reduce your day’s receivable by as much as 15 days right there. Email or fax your invoices to save another day or two (e.g. QuickBooks accounting software contains this feature). 

Reduce billing errors. Most customers delay payments because of invoice errors. Customers won’t recognize the invoice until it is corrected and may not even notify you, the vendor, of the error until you call for collection. Again, avoiding this delay in error and time will amount to cash savings. 

Train Accounts Receivables personnel. Make sure that all personnel involved are training to understand the performance metrics for their jobs. For example, a company will manage $500,000 in monthly A/R balances (that’s $6 Million a year!) using an A/R clerk who makes $30,000. But then the supervisor uses nothing more than On-The-Job (OJT) training for the clerk. Then the CFO thinks that he or she (the CFO) is really managing the money. But, in reality, that’s not the case; the clerk is managing the money day-to-day. So shouldn’t the A/R clerk receive enough training to manage such a significant amount? After all, it only takes a 6% change in A/R in one month to equal the A/R clerk’s entire annual salary. Isn’t the A/R savings worth a little extra time in training? 

Maximize the Accounting Process. With the Accounts Receivable department you should use each element of the process to gain the most benefit for your business. And with time-saving procedures set in place, you will let your efficiency work for you. 

Grabbing Your Policy Goal 

With well-defined processes and procedures in place, you will increase efficiency by reducing your Average Days Collection. And of course a reduction in Average Days Collection means your Accounts Receivable balance will also fall, creating more cash in cash on hand. And just like that we’re halfway to our $1,000,000 goal. All you have to do is grab it. 

Next week, we will look at finding still another $250,000 in the Sales function – which will give us $750,000 toward our goal of 1 Million in cash savings. So, again, not only do you aim to reap the rewards of extra savings to your bottom line, but also see more cash in the bank - $1,000,000 cash to be exact. 

About the author:
Chris Anderson is currently the managing director of Bizmanualz, Inc. and co-author of policies and procedures manuals, producing the layout, process design and implementation to increase performance. 
To learn how to increase your business performance, visit: http://www.bizmanualz.com?src=ART79

Whatever your reason for going out on your own, you must keep your reason in the forefront of your mind. If you forget your reason for starting your own home business, you will not be working for yourself for long. 
Self-motivation is the key to success when you start a home-based business. You need to possess the ability to push yourself ahead. Your drive and determination will be reinforced with every new sale. 
Remember — your own business is a lot like a real job. Some people go to work to play, some go to socialize, and others — most often those who are paid in a commission or tip environment — go to work to work and to make money. When you work for yourself, your salary is directly proportional to your productivity. 
In every home business, there are certain processes that we do over and again, please factor in the most important element concerning the cost of your promotions. 
What element is that? Your time! 
Value your time at a certain dollar amount, and figure in your time into the cost of your promotional accounting. Because too many promoters lose sight of this concept and spend 20 hours to generate one sale while using free advertising. 
The level of success that you will achieve greatly depends on the time and effort you are willing to plow into your new home business. Your organization, planning and marketing skills, will all be put into practice when you embark on your liberating journey. 
Most people have a misconception about having to spend lots of money in order to advertise their home business. When you start out, you honestly will not have much money available for advertising, and if you do, you should still spend it wisely. 
It is important to understand what you expect to gain from your advertising 
In order to make good decisions concerning how to spend your advertising budget, you must first have a good understanding of the different types of advertising and promotion available and what can be expected to be achieved by each. 
However you choose to spend your advertising dollars, you should always track the results of your promotional efforts. No business can survive the long run without some form of consistent advertising. 

Sandi Razman author of this article is offering Free Email newsletter tips, ideas and opportunities for home bused business. Get more details and signup at:http://www.aidsproblems.comfor reciprocal linkshttp://www.aidsproblems.com/links/index.html

From an employee’s perspective, management often conducts itself in ways that make no sense. When the economy is slow, jobs are few and far in between or people are fearful, staff will tolerate management behaviors and policies that are nonsensical (in their eyes) or they judge are harmful. 

But when staff gets together for lunch and they start critiquing management, these are the Top 10 Reasons Why Staff Quit. 

10. “My boss is arrogant and believes his own press clippings.” As a result, staff feels taken advantage of.. 

9. “My manager micromanages rather than trusting staff to perform.” Staff hates the boss and looks for ways to resist being over controlled. 

8. “My manager is crushing my drive and desire.” Hired because they were smart and energetic, the manager is afraid that she will not be seen as the shining light (the reason for success) and crushes the very qualities that made the new employee attractive to hire (and desirous of joining). 

7. “My boss guesses what is needed without resorting to data or facts.” Maybe he has the facts, but they sure aren’t being communicated leaving the impression of “It’s my way or the highway.” There are a lot of new roads being built in this country and staff will leave rather than be abused. 

6. “I’m treated like a child.” Look, there are often generational differences between how managers and employees work. Younger workers may have “know-it-all” attitudes and unfamiliar techniques using technology to accomplish tasks. Staff feels misunderstood and resent their boss. 

5. “Manager promotes someone from a different function who does understand the job and how to be successful.” Staff does not believe they can learn from this person, judges her to be an anchor around their department and resents that they were passed over for promotion.

4. “My boss is extremely critical.” The only way they interpret their boss is pleased is in the absence of nit picking. 

3. “I get ideas lobbed at me with little clarity and I have to figure out what is really wanted.” Staff is caught between a rock and a hard place and doesn’t know the target of the task or have a clear idea of what needs to get done. 

2. “I don’t have sufficient resources to get the job done.” Fitting 10 pounds of stuff into a five pound bag is pretty tough. Imagine you’re the ten pounds and have to get squeezed in there! Staff often believes they have inadequate resources to get a job done. 

And the number one reason your staff wants to quit: 

“My company is grossly underpaying me.” Show me the money! Staff can read job ads online and learn what their real value is. As much as they may love you and their work, eventually people realize they need to pay their bills and start to think of leaving. 

Your staff, the ones you are mistreating or taking for granted are your competition’s staffing solution (just as theirs is for you). Rather than taking their continued employment for granted, motivate them, excite them, coach and encourage them and they will go do anything for you (at almost any price). 

Jeff Altman 
Concepts in Staffing 
jeffaltman@cisny.com 

© 2004 all rights reserved. 

About the author:
Jeff Altman, Managing Director with Concepts in Staffing, a New York search firm, has successfully assisted many corporations identify management leaders and staff in technology, accounting, finance, sales, marketing and other disciplines since 1971. He is also a certified leader of the ManKind Project, a not for profit organization that assists men with life issues, and a practicing psychotherapist. 

For additional job hunting or hiring tips, go to http://www.newyorkmetrotechnologyjobs.com

If you would like Jeff and his firm to assist you with hiring staff, or if you would like help with a strategic job change, send an email to him at jeffaltman@cisny.com (If you’re looking for a new position, include your resume).

So you had that fantastic business idea, the one that’s going to be wildly successful and make you a fortune - even better, you actually did something about it and started your own business. Good for you! Not everyone gets that far. Most people sit and day dream about what they might do if only …. 

“The world is full of dreamers, there aren’t enough who will move ahead and begin to take concrete steps to actualize their vision” - W. Clement Stone 

But you got over the biggest hurdle, that first step and you actually created something. 

Well done - you did more than most. Now you have the day to day details of running your business so how do you keep going? 

There are several things to look at here: 

1. What are you good at and what do you enjoy doing? Make two lists - one of the jobs you like and one of the jobs you don’t do very well. Take the second list and have a look at what you might outsource or automate. Do you love doing those accounts or would your time be better spent in forward planning while your accountant does the sums? Must you personally reply to every enquiry or could you create a FAQ which you can post on your website and refer people to by autoresponder? In the early stages of your business you might find you don’t have the money to pay someone to do the jobs you hate. Could you swap skills to get the help you need? 

2. Why are you doing this? You need to be motivated to start a business and keep it going. The best way to do this is to know what the effort is for. What really moves you to get up in the morning and do what you need to do even when you don’t really feel like it? Write your reasons down. Find pictures of that house, or that holiday and put them where you can see them. 

3. How do you deal with those bumps in the road? Not everything you do will be perfect - sometimes things you’ve tried will be a disaster - it’s the way you react to problems that matters. If you curl up in a ball and give up at the first sign of failure you’d better not be in business. It’s all about attitude. 

4. Have a plan and stick to it as far as possible but be prepared to be flexible and open minded. Sometimes the most unexpected opportunities come and you need to be ready to seize them. - as Joe Vitale says ‘Money likes speed’. 

5. Get a mentor - learn from someone who has done it. Someone to bounce ideas off and who can encourage you when things get tough is invaluable. 

And most importantly, never let anyone put you down and never be afraid of failure: 

“It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement; and who, at worst, if he fails at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat” - Theodore Roosevelt. 

Don’t ever forget that! 

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