Starting a business is a challenge like no other – bringing unimaginable rewards, but also unimaginable frustration! Before taking that step and saying “good-bye” to your day job and getting a second mortgage on the house to pursue your dream, ask yourself if you fall into one of these categories:
Tech Master – Being good at what you do as a profession does not necessarily make you good at being an entrepreneur. There is a lot more to running a successful business than doing the technical skill or trade.
If your sole purpose for starting a business is to create a job for yourself, think again. Starting a business as a solo professional means taking on all aspects of the business operations – from the financial reporting to tech support.
Money Maker – Starting a business just to make money is a bad idea. Not only sets the wrong tone for your new enterprise, focusing on money above all else tends to lead entrepreneurs to seek get rich quick schemes.
Success requires a passion for what you are doing and a heartfelt love for everyone your business touches – from your customers to your employees. This passion is what will get you through those times when the business isn’t making money.
Caring Giver – As much as it isn’t just about making money, caring too much tends to tip the balance too far the other way. Givers tend to do just that: give everything away, often at the expense of their ability to even stay in business.
You need to strike a balance between passion and profit. Even though the focus isn’t on making money, you shouldn’t feel guilty about charging money for what you are giving to your customers or clients.
Idea Chaser – Coming up with BIG IDEAS is just the beginning of starting a business. If you can’t implement them, you are doomed for failure. Success in business is 1% idea, 99% action.
Idea chasers tend to daydream their days away, talking a big game and doing very little to move the business forward. Easily distracted by new shiny objects, these daydreamers often neglecting to finish one idea before moving onto the next.
Wantrapreneur – Playing entrepreneur isn’t the same as being an entrepreneur. Wantrapreneurs tend to thrive on attending networking events, and talking about their future successes more than they enjoy putting in the work to get there.
These wantrapreneurs often lack the discipline needed to move the business forward. Instead of toughing it out to get the job done, they would prefer to play entrepreneur – going out for business lunches on the company expense account.