Don't Start Your Own Business!

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A walk in the park?

“Don't let life discourage you; everyone who got where he is had to begin where he was.” —Richard L. Evans 

True. You DO have to start somewhere, right? And; you're going places! Keep up the good work. Now, while I believe in the quote, I’m also focused on reality. 

It’s certainly not my intention to scare you, however, being an entrepreneur isn't a walk in the park and hopefully your attention was captured with the title of this blog. Here’s my gut wrenching top-of-mind list, some (but not all) of it, based on my own experiences.

Don't start your own business IF…

• You don't have a passion for the product or service you’ll be offering. Your business is an expression of you. It needs to have heart; yours! 
• You are not prepared to have a sinking feeling in your stomach from time to time. Slosh down some Mylanta and keep moving.
• You are afraid of the word failure. Sometimes a step backwards needs to happen in order to move forward. And, if you think failing is an ending you’re wrong. It's a fresh beginning.
• You want to avoid thinking about quitting from time to time. Get over it and don’t quit. No matter what.
• You don’t genuinely care about other people. You’ll have clients/buyers, suppliers, and employees to interact with (depending on what your business is perhaps one or two of these). They’ll feel that lack of caring energy and go elsewhere.
• You think you’re too “old”. One of my favorite song lines from the progressive rock band Gentle Giant is: “Now is the day, tomorrow comes without an End…Mark time follow the sun - you're only as old as you're young.” Yep!                                                                                      
• You expect support from everyone. Some of your “friends” will run in the other direction when you even mention your business in conversation. 

• You think it is all about making money. You’ll sink faster than the Titantic with that attitude. It's about sharing your passion so that others can enjoy it too.
• You are willing to give up making any money, let alone profit, for “a while” (months or years)!
• You think that you don’t have to put any dollars into it. One of my favorite expressions is “You have to spend money to make money” because it’s true.
• You think that everything will flow smoothly. Does anything in life actually move in a straight line?
• You don’t have an ultimate objective. You need to be reaching for something in order to there otherwise you'll come up empty.
• You’re going to get uptight about every little thing that goes wrong.  Whoopee doo. Let it go.
• You’re not willing to learn new things; lots of them. You CAN teach an old dog new tricks!
• You are prepared to cry. Boo hoo. Let it out!
• Working around the clock isn’t your cup of tea.
• You are willing to give up a vacation or two. This doesn’t mean to not take vacations! You may just have to cut back a bit. And, DO take some breaks and clear the mind whether it's five minutes or five hours. 
• You don’t want to be a bonafied, 100% success. Because you will be if that’s what you truly want.

WE are the champions. Freddie Mercury sang those words back in 1977 (see below). Since then the song has become an anthem of sorts and it certainly applies here! If you need any assistance "championing" your marketing endeavors, you’re welcome to visit our website, or say hello on Twitter, Facebook, or Google+.