I've been a business owner for quite a few years now and I'd like to share with you a few truths that I have faced or experienced over the years relating to starting my own business.
Business can be quite competitive and we all know that. Unfortunately, some people dream about opening a great business but they are not realistic about the area they choose to do business in. What I mean is that many people will decide to open a business even before doing their research about the current similar businesses in the same area. You need to figure out the supply and demand in the specific area you are planning to do business. For example, if you are thinking of opening up a service of some kind such as a plumbing service or framing shop in a certain town, take a good look in all the existing businesses in that field and find out how busy they are.
If you do your homework, you can eventually find something that you are interested in and that you are good at, but most importantly, something that does not have an enormous amount of competition. Smart business owners find a niche market that has little competition in their area and they go for it.
For example, don't be the fourth pet shop owner in a small town when the industry of pet shops is clearly saturated. Or if you are a health care professional and you are looking to open a speech therapy centre, look at the existing private practices and find out if they have a waiting list. Get an idea of how busy they are. If you find that every speech therapy centre is so busy that there is a two week long waiting list, voila! It is then highly probable, that there is room for one more speech therapy centre.
Use your commons sense. Dream big but don't be so dreamy that you lose all your logic. Be realistic!
The other major factor that you will likely encounter when you are thinking of opening a business or even when you've just opened a business, is a surprisingly large amount of negativity. Cynical or jealous relative, friends or acquaintances will often discourage you either deliberately or without even knowing they are doing it. Comments like "I wouldn't get into this business because it is too hard to compete against the big guys" or "Why do you want to take such a risk and worry so much in the future? Just get a job in your field and be comfortable knowing that you will always make a decent living" are so common!
These comments can kill the confidence of many new business owners. You have to remember that the people saying the negative comments often lack so much themselves. They have little confidence, they've never done anything remotely successful, they are unhappy, they are followers, they are controlled by others... the list could go on!
It is imperative that you have a high level of confidence based on your intelligence, knowledge, past experience, research into the area you will be doing business in and your own character and abilities.
Successful business people are not lazy, they are creative, they are not scared of rejection or criticism, they have vision, they have a proven track record in terms of completing successful projects, they are people people, they have faith in themselves and even in a higher power, and they are not afraid to fail. Truly, they may envision the possibility of failing and it doesn't paralyze them. They simply regard the possibility of failure as a mere possibility that would not be the end of the world.
Another important thing to consider is the amount of money that needs to be invested. You need to take a risk in any business but the important thing is that it has to be a calculated risk. Without taking a risk, you really cannot succeed. Based on your abilities, market research and a logical amount of investment relative to the type of business you will be doing, you should be able to take the leap and confidently move forward!
Remember... not everyone is meant to be a business owner.
Another very important truth is that most people don't get rich overnight. If you are ready to open a business, be ready to spend long, hard hours at it and be ready to do this for quite a long period. The critical point here is that you really need to tell yourself how long you are willing to put in the hard work. In some businesses, this means two to three years and then your life normalizes to a degree. In other businesses, this could mean 5 to 10 years and for some people, this is simply too long.
The other idea relating to this, is the fact that you may not do only the fun things involved in your business until much later on in the plan. For example, you may have to do the chores of taking out the garbage, cleaning the bathrooms in your business location, or anything that you never really envisioned yourself doing. Guess what? Business can be tough and it is not all rosy, especially when you start out. Nothing is easy and you have to be ready to do the "not so fun" parts of a job for a period of time. Opening a business will definitely humble you if you are not already humble.
Things take time and you need to have a lot of patience. As long as your business is growing steadily, that is all you need to satisfy you.
There are so many other aspects of building a successful business so at this point I'll end with one important thing - integrity. Don't lose your integrity. From the moment you open your business, be your best. Stick to your word, respect people, do the best you can based on your abilities, be kind and polite and help others along the way. If you maintain a high level of integrity, and you keep all of the other things mentioned in mind, then you will guarantee yourself a rewarding, successful business where you will help a lot of people, make new friends and feel very good about yourself.
There is so much more to share about opening a business. Stay tuned!
p.s. I'm always learning myself - it never ends. Business is so exciting at every point in the game!
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