Article Surfing Archive

So, you've decided to go into business for yourself to capture your part of the 'American Dream'. Now that that's all settled where the heck do we go from here?

Many people wake up each day because an alarm clock is beckoning them to their same old day in day out J-O-B (Just over Broke). They work the same hours, are in debt past their eyeballs, and all appear to have that 'deer in headlights' look.

The real tragedy is that these average people, you, and me, your neighbor, can have so much more but settle for so much less. Somewhere along the line, we lost our vision; we lost our hope and settled for the cards life was dealing us. Wait a minute! Who says so?

The only thing that stands in the away of your achieving the American Dream is YOU!

Think about that for a minute because it's a powerful statement. Who is harder on you than you? When you stumble and fall, who will be there to pick you up? It had better be you because if you can't depend upon yourself, you're in BIG trouble.

Many people I've known have worked the same jobs for 40 years, retired and then died within the first 5 years of retirement. Pretty bleak future isn't it? There's got be more than this in life so don't let opportunities pass you buy. As children, we all had fantasies, we had ideas, and we had VISION! What chased them out of you?

I ask you, why work for someone else, making them rich, or have a boss who's literally making you ill because he's a manager wanna be that doesn't realize being a dictator is no longer acceptable, or have someone else take credit for your ideas because they lack the vision to have their own ' why do it?

It has never been easier than right now to start your own business but like anything else you need to think it through. What kind of business do you want? Where are your customers going to come from, how about customer service issues ' are you ready to deal with people as the owner of a company? Don't fall into the old trap of saying 'I'm not going to be anything like my boss or the company I work for' This is like saying you're not going to be anything like your parents and then one day you realize that silently you did!

Define your vision. Let me say that again ' DEFINE your VISION. Everyone's got a dream, what's yours? You are now asking yourself the prime number one question in life ' What do you want to be when you grow up? Personally, I don't like Oysters but, why not make the world yours? You will only be limited by your imagination.

Let's get serious for a moment. Now that you've defined your vision, write it down and expand upon it by considering the following;

• Why do you want to go into business for yourself?
• Do you have or can you get a sustainable customer base?
• What are your start up costs going to be? *While relatively cheap to start up, all costs need to be considered.
• Mentally, how we doing? Owning your own Company versus working for someone else is the difference between night and day and so are some of the people you will be dealing with. We will touch on this further.
• Have you listed what you see your strong points as being? Your weak points?
• Are you prepared to step out of your 'comfort' zone to make this work?

My friends, the list is endless but you get the idea. Earlier, I alluded to how you're doing mentally and now I would like to amplify that statement. Regardless of how well you're equipped, no one can do it all. There are literally thousands of books to help you understand ecommerce, owning your own business, self help and improvement and the list goes on and on.

Essentially what I'm asking is for you to think about what you intend to do for you. The very thought of that sends some people into a panic because they've never given it much thought before. If you don't find a diversion outside of your office environment you'll grow stiff and those creative juices we're trying to supercharge will just fizzle and your business along with it.

What do you like to do for fun? Take a walk, ride a bike, see friends ' DO NOT cut yourself off from the world! For me, I perform Tai Chi and believe you me, it helps!

Afterwards, I feel refreshed, rejuvenated and ready to take on the world once again but more importantly it preserves my VISION!

The worst thing you can do is to loose your identity in your business. Keep it you but keep it separate. Remember, we're looking to fulfill a dream and create a lifestyle for ourselves free of the burdens we're so desperately moving away from.