STARTING A NEW LIFE

We have finally come to the point at which starting a new life will require you to make some practical decisions.  The next few articles will talk about the opportunities that are open to you.  Some may not look like  anything you would ever want to do. That’s all right.  The purpose here is not for me to dictate what you will do but to instead give you enough information for you to be able to dig deeper if a concept looks doable to you.  I will try to discuss pros and cons of each approach.  But you will have to be the decision maker.   Before you make a final decision, you may want to consult your team of trusted advisers — your Board of Directors — that I talked about in Entrepreneurial Ideas — Vehicles to Success. But you probably don’t want to talk to your Board about your blueprint for starting a new life too early in the process.  Read all the next few articles and narrow your choices down to two or three and do some more research on those.  Then you can present your idea to others.  By doing it that way you will also be developing a little practical experience in putting together a business plan, which I will discuss in more depth in a future post.

RESOURCES FOR STARTING A NEW LIFE

The first item on your agenda will be to analyze what resources you have.  While lack of particular resources may not keep you from using a specific vehicle, it may slow you down.  However, if you are sold on a particular business approach but it seems to have major obstacles, you may still be able to overcome the obstacles.  It might take more time and more adjustments to your action plan and timeline on your goals, but you still may be able to do it.  So what do I mean by resources?  There are many resources.  Capital is one.  Labor is another.  But even though your people are a resource, resist the temptation of seeing them as only that.  They are human beings who have needs.  More about that in a later blog.  Inventory is a resource.  Your own expertise is a resource.  I would even call your own passion a resource but passion is difficult to quantify.  You just have to have it.

If you find that you do not yet have available all the resources that are required, you will need to find a way to get them.

IT TAKES MONEY

Capital is definitely a resource.  Yep.  That dirty word.  Money.  The old saying that it takes money to make money has some truth to it.  Obviously, if you are going to buy a franchise or an existing business, you will need money to do so.  And since it takes awhile for most businesses to get to profitability, you will need operating money to grow your business to that point.  If  you are going to invest in anything like real estate, stocks, etc., it will require capital.  Even if

All businesses require some finances.

you intend to start a business making a product in your home part time, it will take capital but you may be able to use savings and your income from a day job or your spouse’s income to finance the business.  No matter what business you start, it is likely to require money.  Some businesses  require more than others.  But before you throw up your hands and walk away, go back and re-read your dreams and your five year story.  I can wait…

Now that you are back, I am assuming you have re-inspired yourself.  Remember, this is not going to be easy — just worth it in the end.  Unless, of course, you find that you are not sufficiently committed to actually making your dreams come true.  If so, then you need to re-think your dreams and see if they are really your dreams or if the dreams you thought were yours  are actually someone else’s.  Or maybe you were afraid in the beginning to write down your real dreams and instead just made up a bunch of stuff.  A little soul searching might be good here.  The truth is that if you are really committed to a particular business plan that requires money and you don’t have any, you may have to get some financing from outside sources.  I will talk about financing in a later blog as well.  The other alternative is to find a cheaper vehicle or give up on your dreams.  I think you know I don’t recommend giving up on your dreams and I don’t think that is what you want to do, either.  Otherwise, you would not still be reading this blog.  But there are less expensive ways to achieve success.  Internet businesses and network marketing are two concepts that come to mind.

But if money is the problem, figure out whether you can borrow it or save it.  Can you make other sacrifices so that you can start your business?  Do you have savings?  Using personal credit cards to finance your business is a huge gamble and can be a disaster if the business does not succeed,  but  lots of businesses have been financed by credit card.  That method is usually not the best.   Borrowing from relatives sometimes can be done.  And as I will discuss in a later blog article there are lots of sources for outside money to finance a small business idea.  But if you have no track record in business or bad personal credit, it may be difficult to get financing from bank loans or other money resources and even if you do, you may have to put your house or other items of value up for collateral.  I don’t say any of this to be discouraging.  Business just has risks.  But it also can have immense rewards for those who are successful.  Many people never achieve their dreams because they have always wanted to play it safe.  If that is you, that is perfectly all right.  You just have to ask yourself whether you are satisfied with your life or whether you want more.  And if you want more, how strong is your desire to get it.  And how much will you risk to get it?  And as I mentioned earlier, there are lower cost businesses that are an alternative — internet businesses and network marketing businesses.  I will go over each type of business in more detail in the next few posts.

There are conduits to your personal success available and I believe you are the kind of person who will continue to strive until you make it.   The strength of your desire to succeed will determine whether you continue to read and do the work and planning required.

LEARN WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Maybe you just do not have the expertise in the product or service you want to offer.  If that is the case, you will need to find training for yourself if it exists or partner with people who do

You may have to learn more before opening your business.

know about it.  If you have never started a business, you may need training in how to start and run a business.  I will give you some here.  But you can also take some business courses at your local college or online.  Just don’t procrastinate too long before taking the plunge into your new life as an entrepreneur because you want to know everything before you start.  The simple fact is that you will never know everything you need to know.  You are embarking on an adventure that is full of surprises.  Many of the surprises will be positive and wonderful.  But there will be challenges.  Studying and developing problem solving skills will be some of the most important preparation you can do.

PEOPLE ARE YOUR BEST RESOURCE

Depending on the type of business, you may need other people to actually participate in the business with you.  Don’t be afraid to reach out to family and friends.  Paul Orfalea built the largest chain of business services stores in the country, Kinko’s Copies, with family and friends as his partners.  There are some ground rules that I won’t get into yet, but it can certainly be done.

STARTING A NEW LIFE TAKES PASSION

Passion is something you just have to have.   Before you consider what direction to go in opening a business, it will be useful to determine what your passions are.  You may have a hobby about which  you have a lot of expertise. It might be able to be developed as a business. 

Get passionate.

You are probably already passionate about that.  Or you may have other passions.  Children, travel, maybe a cause that you have been involved in, something that is on your dream list — there are lots of places to look for your passions. Or you can just find a business that has a service or product that you can become passionate about.  Josh Shipp talks about turning your passion into profitability in his article here.  He talks about starting a business but also about  getting a job in a related field.  And that might be a good idea in some cases.  You can bring in money while learning how to do the business.  Ivana Taylor makes suggestions in her article about how to actually find your passion.   But regardless of whether you use Ivana Taylor’s method or something else, just figure out what it is that you can get excited about.  If there isn’t anything you get excited about, I may not be able to help you.  You have to love something.  After all, life is an adventure and so is business.

Why is passion so important?  Because there will be days when you want to give up.  And on those days your “why” (the reason you are starting a business) and your passion for the business you started are the two things that will keep you going.

THE NEXT STEP IN STARTING A NEW LIFE

There may be other resources you are lacking.  You have to decide if they are crucial enough to your success that you need to acquire them before you can start your business or if you can get them as you go along.

The most important skill you can learn is how to think out of the box.  And unfortunately, no one else can give you that.  You have to be free thinking enough and have enough courage and enough willingness to ask questions and listen to other people — your advisers, your partners and fellow adventurers, your co-workers (and I include employees in that category because I don’t believe they should work for you but instead work with you), your vendors, your customers — listen to everyone — and then be willing to try new ideas from others or invent new ideas of your own.

Keep reading and you may be able to decide soon if you are ready to take the plunge or if you need more preparation.  Just see starting your own business as a great adventure, as is life, and have fun.  Above all, have fun.  After all, you are actually pursuing your dreams — your new life.  Not someone else’s, but yours.  What can be more exciting than that?

I WOULD LIKE TO HEAR FROM YOU!

Let me know about your past successes or failures and whether what you have gotten from this blog so far has changed your thinking in any way or set you on a new path.  If you enjoyed “Starting a New Life — Resources and Passion”,  I would like to know.  Please  leave a comment.  I would like to hear from you.  And if you leave your name and email address at the top right corner of this page, I will also send you a notification anytime I update the blog.