Starting a business takes courage!  No, not just courage, shear guts and determination!  It isn’t for the weak, wimpy, or the guy that is going to “try”.  If you’re not “all in”, then you’re not in at all!  Since 1999, I’ve started about a dozen different business ventures.  From EBay selling to real estate, it seems I’ve always been on the lookout for a great business to start!  Some have been great successes while others have left me limping home with my tail between my legs.

No matter how much advice I give you or how many books you’ll read, you will face adversity, pain and trials.  You’ll shed blood, sweat, and tears.  You’ll feel betrayed, beat up, and will often wonder why you can’t just be happy with a regular job like most people!

Hold On!  Starting and Owning a Business is Wonderful!

The point I want to share with you is that though it isn’t easy, it is worth it!  Is anything in life easy that is worth something?  Of course not!  I was twenty five when I started my first real brick and mortar business with employees.  I was indeed a dumb kid!  I read book after book, but it didn’t change how green I was.  Today, I want to share with you three key areas that you need to focus on if indeed you will survive and thrive as you start your successful small business.

1. Systems & Clarity for your New Business

You’ll be tempted to say, “Systems?  Who needs systems?  I’m just a one man shop.”

While you might be a small company right now, eventually, if you’re good at what you do, you’ll grow.  It is important that you have your systems in place and clarity on how you’ll run your business.  A system is simply how you’ll run your business when you get started.  Even when I started my consulting company and it was just my here, I had to put together systems before I started.  For example, I had to know how I’d bill my clients, how I’d update them on the work, how I’d receive payments, what phone system I’d use, what software, ETC.

I sat down one day and laid out everything I would use and figured out the cost, learning curve, and made sure that each system would work.  I then began to write processes for how I would do things. Continue Reading…