One of the purposes of this blog is to help other people
build their own dream business. Probably the biggest thing stopping most people
from going into business themselves is fear. It's so hard to take the first
step. We convince ourselves we lack the time, money, or skills to go it on our
own.
For those that do take the big step, many find themselves
trapped in a business they do not enjoy. More often than not, people quit their
business within the first year. Either they find they are miserable doing it or
they just aren’t finding the money and satisfaction they thought they would. I
know about all of this. I have started several businesses and I have learned
many of these lessons the hard way.
In the past two months I have written a few articles I think
would really help anyone considering starting their own business. I am calling
these my “Finding your Aim Core Principals” because they address what I think are the key stopping
points for business owners. You will see
links in each of the six topics to other articles I wrote.
Let me know if you think of anything else. I
would love to publish anyone else’s experiences with starting a new business or
sideline.
·
It's never too late! Think you are too old to start a business? Feel like everyone else is already ahead of you? Don’t let
that stop you. So many of my clients have told me about their second careers
and late starts. Lots of people begin late in life and make a huge success with
their passion. You might be 34, 54, or 74; it's not too late! Countless people
have started out late in life after failed attempts at other dreams. There is
still time!
·
Make open spaces in your life – You may want to
start a business but you feel you don’t have the room in your life. Make the room! You will never be able to turn your work into your passion unless you
create the time to pursue new ideas. This means leaving time in your schedule
for nothing to happen. Sounds
easy, but I know how hard this can be. It's so easy to fill every moment.
Sometimes, it seems like a requirement. But your life will suffer! You won’t
find happiness filling every minute. Create open spaces for new things to happen.
·
Don’t make money your goal! You will never succeed just worrying about money. Instead, focus on your abilities and your own happiness. When you
are doing what you love, it won’t seem like a job. Test every idea with the
lottery test - How do you know if
what you want to do will make you happy? Ask yourself if you would still do it
if you won the lottery. If the answer is still yes, then do it!
·
Allow yourself to try and try again - You may have lots and lots of great
ideas for starting a new business. That’s wonderful! But starting a business
can be so time consuming! Don’t fall into this trap. Start as small as you can.
Feel free to start a test business or micro business. Leave a chance for all of your ideas. The worst mistake you
can make is to start too large only to find out you hate running the business
you created.
·
Ignore the noise – Don’t let the newspaper or
television or your friends talk you out of your idea. The worst mistake you can
make with your dreams is to allow the media to talk you out of them. Remember,
television is all about selling ad time to companies that make money on you
being a lazy consumer of things. The media doesn’t want you shutting it off and
using your resources to find your dreams. The TV wants you to feel unable to do
things on your own. Sometimes even the people around you can be the same way.
If you find your true purpose, what does that say about them? Shut it all off. Ignore them. You can’t
be original listening to them. Instead, listen to yourself and your heart.
·
Spend time on yourself first! Each day, spend
some time pursuing your own dreams. Too many people believe they are too busy
to ‘waste their time’ on dreams. Those are the same people who live with
regrets when they are older. Take the first step now. Even if it's just a little
baby step, do it! It’s the only way you will ever change your life. Thinking
about it is not the same as doing it. You're too busy? You have more time than you think! We all do! It's all in how you use it. Turn off your TV and computer
and free yourself from all the time suckers. We all have only so much time on
this planet – don’t waste it! You have more than enough hours in the day to
find your passions. But not if you waste it!
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