Yes, you. Why not you? You've achieved a lot in life, you've got tons of experience, you're smart and your driven.
What does it take to start your own business. Just your dream, your drive and your time. Money? Not necessary for many businesses. Expertise? Nope, many entrepreneurs aren't experts. You have all the ingredients you need right now.
How do you start? I believe you first have to have a dream about what your business will do for you. How will your business (when it's completed) change your life? What are you looking for? More money, more freedom, more contribution to others? Great! What do you see yourself doing? Traveling, working in an office, physical activities, working by yourself or with others? These are questions you want to think about and answer for yourself.
Now it time to get into more details about your business. Ask yourself these questions:
Do I want to sell a product or provide a service?
Do I want to work 5 hours/week or 55 hours/week?
Do I want to make something, teach something, buy then sell something?
Do I want to work by myself, have employees, have a partner?
What do I know about and am passionate about?
What skills, talents and abilities do I currently have? What areas do I need to develop or have other people handle for me?
Cool, you're starting to get a clearer picture. To help you with the next step, download the free report - 120 Businesses Anyone Can Start. This list will stimulate your thinking and help you identify the product or service you want to sell.
Now identify your resources.
Time
Money
Relationships
Physical space
Knowledge
Connections
What are the ways you can use these resources to best help you start and run your business.
Okay, here's where the rubber meets the road. DO YOUR HOMEWORK! Study everything you can about this field and learn from people who have done the same or similar things successfully in the past. Get and read books, listen to audio programs and podcasts, go to similar businesses and see how they operate. Check out web sites of these businesses. In a relatively short time, you can become an expert in this field. But remember, knowledge is one thing and applying it is another.
In a future blog, I'll go over the 16 point checklist you MUST go through before you make the next big step.