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Before you start a business…

Facebook. Groupon. Twitter. Harry Potter. Is it your time to act? When you think of FaceBook and the twenty-something year-old that started it from college, does your heart start beating faster? That’s because at some point you were bitten by the bug…the Entrepreneurial Bug!

How and where did this happen? At some point you might have been reading Fast Company magazine, or reading The Wall Street Journal and something activated. Something that might have been dormant is now live and awake. The bug has now bitten you.

So what can you do about it? Take the plunge into business ownership. Take a chance on something worthwhile.

There are three basic mental preparations to consider before you go any further.

1. Be prepared to spend a great deal of time developing your idea
   Mark Zuckerberg did not come up with FaceBook overnight. Although you could say it was an overnight phenomenon. He spent countless days and weeks obsessing over the details and inner-workings of his technological leviathan. Not to mention, he did this while attending Harvard. Also, being a software design prodigy helps.
2. Learn about Risk Management
   This primarily concerns money, cash and assets. What’s this? How much are able to personally use, borrow and steal before you call it quits. Maybe “stealing” sounds harsh, but it is the type of mindset you need to be in to weather the storm. When you declare your business “open,” you will get adverse reactions. Some people will resent you. Some will support you…in spirit and words. But the people who have problems that need solving are the one you need to focus on. If you can solve someone’s problem and get paid for it, that’s called a business transaction. Do that several times and then repeat again. If this transaction does not occur, then decide how long and how much you can bear to lose until enough is enough. This may sound negative, but know that most new businesses fail, and some of the old one too.
3. You versus Them
   Does owning a business still seem like something you want to do…good. There’s a huge upside. You are now your own boss. You no longer have to appease, entertain and tolerate an endless march of bosses. It gets better. You now have a long line of potential enemies and associates from whom you will attempt to steal clients by offering your superior product or service. Study them. It gets better. The payoff comes in dollars. As the age old saying goes, “keep your friends close, and keep your enemies closer” because they could actually become allies in the future. Just look at the existing nations in the world and their history.

Most wealthy individuals own one (or several) businesses. Even CEOs and Presidents have there little things on the side. Besides, your chances of success are probably better via a business than the lottery. Seriously.

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