If You Fail to Plan...

As the old saying goes, "If you fail to plan, plan to fail." Or something like that :-)

This is never more truer than when your start your business.

One of the most crucial steps to a successful business is planning. Nobody goes into business with the goal to fail; yet many business go belly-up within the 1st year of opening.

What could they be doing wrong? Could it be that they failed to have a realistic plan?

So, before jumping in, you need to count the cost of starting your business. You need to research thoroughly your dream or idea - and how to make it come true.

Whether you decide you want to open a retail store, a carpet-cleaning service, or a website selling baskets - you need to make a plan... and write it down.

So, what do you need in your plan?

First it would be good to examine your talents and abilities.

Doing what comes natural is a lot easier than starting to learn something from scratch. Not that you will know everything about your business from the start. (You will learn a lot as you go along). However, you will already have come a long way if you have an existing talent or ability that you can build a business around.

So right now - you need to get a piece of paper and begin to write down a few ideas.

Write down things you know about, things you like, things you've done, and things you'd like to learn. Start from your remembrances as a child and continue right up to whatever age you are right now.

I'll give you an example of what I would write (if it were me):

I have worked as:

1. A telephone operator
2. A secretary/stenographer
3. An insurance underwriter/salesperson
4. A house/office cleaner
5. A bookkeeper
6. A school bus driver
7. A safety instructor/coordinator

Over the years I've taught myself:

1. How to sew, knit, stitching
2. Play musical instruments
3. Computer - upgrading, repairing, maintenance
   
4. Internet marketing
5. How to design web pages
   

I could go on and on - and this doesn't even touch what I like to do such as hobbies!

So, enough about me...

This is about you - and starting up your own idea for a business.

The first step is to start with a plan...

After you've done that, I'll tell you the next step in a "not so far in the future" post.