The reasons to start your own business are as varied as the options for what your business will be. You may have a need to be and work independent, have a desire to turn a hobby into your profession, or the love of a challenge of making it on your own. Other reasons are in response to external factors such as being laid off, frustration with their current workplace or other employees, or a need to create a better work-life balance.

It is important for you to realize that what you decide today will effect your business months and years from now. When you make a decision what are the short-term or immediate effects of doing so? When you make that same decision what are the long term effects on your business? An Entrepreneur must be someone who thinks beyond the present and can make decisions and plans that will keep your business vibrant for years.

The statistics for starting a small business are not a positive figure. Only approximately 30 percent of business start-ups survive more than five years. The overnight success stories have been replaced by the hardworking, determined, visionary who dedicates long hours and endless energy to his or her business. This is the realistic picture of today's Entrepreneur.

The failure resume is an introspective exercise that helps develop an optimistic attitude towards failure. While successful entrepreneurs manage risks well, all entrepreneurs need the ability to accept failure. Highlight your personal failures and what you learned from them. Alternative ways of accomplishing what you failed at is a powerful way to generate new venture ideas.

To avoid becoming a casualty of the small business 'flash in the pan', it's critical to be able to set goals. Without goals there are no benchmarks for you to achieve and no roadmap for you to follow. To set achievable goals you need information about your customers, industry, regulations, etc.

The best way to set goals is to gather information and compile it in to a working document. This is called a marketing plan. A marketing plan will be the road map you use on a daily basis to achieve each goal.

A large consideration when starting a business will be how flexible you can be. The world never stays the same and as a business owner, you will need to adjust your plans and goals as appropriate.

Typical characteristic of a person who would be successful as an Entrepreneur:

Reward orientation: Desire to achieve, work hard, and take responsibility, but also with a commensurate desire to be rewarded handsomely for their efforts; rewards can be in forms other than money, such as recognition and respect.

Owning a business has become the twenty-first century version of the great American dream. Do you have what it takes to start a business and run it successfully. Answer these questions to help you decide.

1.) There will be long hours and sacrifices needed to be made along the way. Are you willing to work through those to get your business up and running?
2.) Can you be responsible to make all the decisions for your business and bear the responsibility for wrong ones made along the way?
3.) Are you a self starter who can do what is needed, when it is needed, without any input from others?
4.) Can you be the owner, salesperson, marketer, and PR person all at one time, and do it well?
5.) Are you willing to learn from your mistakes? (You will make plenty of them.)
It is wise not to give up your regular job when you start your own business. Wait until you have your goals and plan in place and regular work or clients onboard. Get money coming in before you quit your job.

Do not be disillusioned by the thought of everything involved in starting your own business. Being an Entrepreneur will give you the independence and the chance to be in control of your work/life balance.

The job description for being an Entrepreneur is in your mind. It requires creativity, being able to set goals, and a willingness to work very hard to accomplish those goals.  

Toni Grundstrom's expertise is in Marketing. Working for a professional association, government entity, and small business as a Telecommuter took self discipline to succeed. I now advocates for, inform and educates people who telecommute, work at home, or own a home based business so they, too, will succeed. They are Professionals Working At Home.

This article may be distributed freely on your website, as long as
this entire article, including links and this resource box are unchanged.

---