If you are an entrepreneur or have a dream to start your own business, you can find plenty of information about doing just that. Many of them talk about a one-page business plan, or just focus on the logistics of forming a business entity. They break it down to 7 or 10 steps. You can pay a lot of money to have someone write a business plan for you. We read stories about a guy down on his luck who started a business with his last $500, sold the business to Google and is now retired sipping margaritas on the beach. That surely has happened. Just not very often.
You may hear:
Be Your Own Boss
Work 4 Hours a Day for $100,000
Write a Business Plan in One Day
Set Your Own Hours
It all sounds too good to be true. It is. It is natural to want to find the shortest route. However, the shortest route is not always the best one.
“Truth is like poetry and most people hate poetry”
-From the movie The Big Short
The TRUTH is starting a business will probably be the hardest thing you will ever do. It will require more than hard work. It will require you to step out of your comfort zone more often than not. You will be required to learn and do things that are totally new to you. It will require risk. It will require sacrifice.
The TRUTH is your business is a 24-7 enterprise. I don’t mean you will be working 24 hours-7 days a week. But you will be thinking about the business 24-7. You may have the freedom to attend your son’s soccer game on a Thursday afternoon, but you will probably be burning the midnight oil to make up for it.
The TRUTH is it will cost money to start a business. There are no 100% bank loans. Any bank loan will be based on 3 things: a financially viable business plan, your credit score and ability to pay back the loan. It will take money to get the business off the ground.
The TRUTH is the business you have been envisioning for months or years will look different in action.
The TRUTH is you will doubt yourself through the process. You will question your abilities.
The TRUTH is if you design and execute a financially viable business model that matches your desired lifestyle, have enough capital and a product or service that enough customers are willing to pay for-you will wonder why you waited so long. You will work harder and enjoy it more than anything you have done before. You have an opportunity to make a difference for yourself and others.
