In Part 1 of this article, I ask the question: Have you had it with the daily grind? When I realized being a small business owner would be my next career, I set out on a path to ditch the job that gave me headaches on the way to work every day. I knew I was capable of doing so something more that would allow me to make a difference and where I would also make money. So, I used my spare time to start planning to become my own boss.
The skills needed to be successful in the midst of the new economy puts tremendous pressure on today’s entrepreneurs. But now is still a great time to start a small business. Your skills, network, discipline, niche focus, optimism and ability to be coachable will determine whether your new business is a success or failure. I have developed the Emerson Planning System with 6 things to consider when you are ready to become your own boss. Parts 1-3 were discussed in Part 1 of this article, here are parts 4 through 6 of the Emerson Planning System:
4. Are You Ready to Work From Home? To keep your startup expenses low you should consider working from home. Your spare bedroom, basement or kitchen table will do just fine as an office until you can afford professional office space. One of the key considerations in working from home is — can you handle it? It takes real discipline to work from home. Earlier this year, I wrote a blog post: Are You Fit to Work From Home? http://smallbiztrends.com/2010/03/are-you-fit-to-work-from-home.html It has a few tips for evaluating whether working from home could be for you.
5. Who’s Buying and Why? The most important questions about your business are: Who are your customers, and why will they buy from you? The new economy is all about niche marketing. You must niche to get rich. I suggest you develop a marketing plan before the business plan to make sure there is a viable market for your product or service. If you can’t answer these questions then you need to go back to the drawing board and come up with another business idea.
6. Your Business Plan is Your Roadmap for Success You must plan for success; it will not just happen to you. You need to write a business plan to run your business. It is very helpful to think through how you are going to get sales, what happens when a sale is made and how many sales you will generate each quarter and year. Don’t be one of those business owners who spends more time working on your logo than you spend working on your business plan. I suggest starting out with business plan software. Then, you should enroll in a business plan class at a SBDC Small Business Development Center or community college to finish the business plan. Typically, you need to interact with a human so you can ask questions to finish your business plan. You can also check out http://www.bplans.com for hundreds of sample business plans that you can review for free. You should use your business plan to run your business, in fact it should be reviewed and updated every 2-3 months to make sure your business is on the right track.
Melinda F. Emerson, known to many as SmallBizLady is one of America’s leading small business experts. As a seasoned entrepreneur, professional speaker, and small business coach, she develops audio, video and written content to fulfill her mission to end small business failure. As CEO of MFE Consulting LLC, Melinda educates entrepreneurs and Fortune 500 companies on subjects including small business start-up, business development and social media marketing. Forbes Magazine recently named her one of the Top 20 women for entrepreneurs to follow on Twitter. She hosts #SmallBizChat Wednesdays on Twitter 8-9pm ET for emerging entrepreneurs. She also publishes a resource blog www.succeedasyourownboss.com Melinda is also the author of the national bestseller Become Your Own Boss in 12 months; A Month-by-Month Guide to a Business That Works. (Adams Media 2010)
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