Everyone knows that you won’t ever become wealthy by working for someone else. In fact, what you are doing is making someone else wealthy. This is why successful business owners continue to pay you more and more:
they want to keep you happy, because you are probably earning them ten times what they are paying you.
If you’ve ever had the desire to start your own business, you have probably already thought of what you needed to do in order to become successful. Things like a business plan, market analysis, and investment capital are all minor details, and are second to the most important parts of becoming a successful entrepreneur.
What are those parts?
- Drive and ambition. A cliché, maybe, but I cannot stress enough how important this is. As an entrepreneur, you will encounter challenges and tests all of the time. Your wits, endurance, and capability will be tried again and again, and only after thousands of hours of your time may it finally begin to slow down. Stay focused on your goals, and drive yourself to accomplish them. Your success will be a product of your actions, regardless of what your motivations or even what your products are. Never doubt your ability to succeed.
- Creativity. Hundreds of people have become successful introducing their own spin on established ideas. If you think that you can do something better than someone else, put it to the test and try it yourself. The worse that can happen is that you will fail, and even then, it’s simply a matter of getting back on your feet. This applies to any product, service, and idea that currently exists. If you think that you can make a better cookie, then you may have a chance of becoming a baker. If you think that you can sell more cars that everyone else, then you may consider going into sales. But, no matter what you do, never lose your creative edge- it is what will separate you from the masses.
- Honesty and integrity. You may make hundreds of dishonest sales, and earn quite an income for yourself, but you will make thousands of honest sales. People respond to genuine, sincere sales techniques. If you are selling rust remover, and you know that it doesn’t work on automotive sheet metal, don’t sell it as an option. If you were smart, you’d have a second product that did work on sheet metal. This avoids any issues that may arise, as well as complaints. This also keeps your reputation a positive one, and in the business world, that’s crucial. Billion dollar companies have fallen simply because their reputation has faltered. Don’t make that mistake.
Recommended Downloads:
- Free Business Cards.
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You got the rite point Jane.. Work for yourself… I too was told to work for someone..and then start a biz, i thought it would give me experience but things worked fine, and I am surely in a process of being a businessman.. Who cares of falling down, all you need the gut not to settle for less… aim and grab the next big thing..
Starting a business may be easy, but the process isn’t thats why entrepreneurs stand different from service people.
As I even quoted in one of my comment in an other blog regarding Business Plan “There should be more of Planning than a Plan”
If you already have a family, starting a new business without some savings (about one year of going without a job) can be very tricky and painful… but feasible.
there’s always give and take for everything . . my suggestion for people who want to start their own business is to ask themselves if they’re truly ready emotionally and financially to handle all the stress
Gary.. emotionally there would be a lot of stress, but their passion should be way more than the stress.. Financially may be problems may arise, I dont agree entirely that one needs to be financially ready, yes its true you need money for biz..but still that not amost important thing to worry about.. Initiate how you have been planning, learn from your mistakes, hunt for sources for money….
and I would like to share a saying which has kept me going even after facing multiple failures in my acadmics and life
“keep your faith in success more than fear for failure”
Gotta start small. Keep the costs down to almost nothing. Start it out part time and enjoy it. A lot of hobbies have huge business potential simply because they fit all these criteria.
One of my favorite lines for people that aren’t sure they want to take the plunge is:
“Too busy working to make any money”
Timing cant get any better, I just received from my Google Alerts You guys need to check out this link. Jane if possible you can add this to the post
http://www.gobignetwork.com/wil/2007/6/13/start-a-company-when-you-are-young/10166/view.aspx
Capital is a big one. That’s one big step people often cannot clear. With the right moves you need to somehow come up with the initial cash.. even to get to a stage where you can attract investors, you need to put a lot of money in.
If being in business were so good, why do 85% of all small business’ fail within two years? I think every employee should be in business for himself and see what its like to not get a steady paycheck, but to actually be paid based on your effort and output. I had a successful business for 14 years and I can tell you its a battle all the way. Employee problems are the worst. Most employees have the attitude that they would work harder if you paid them more money. Boloney. When your in business you have to always be “UP” no matter how you feel. The work must get out no matter how your employees feel. If you should happen to make some money you probably deserved it. I’m constantly disappointed buy substandard employees. Three cheers for the small entrepreneur.
Larry Kahn, you speak of substanard emplyees . my question is how do you treat the above or standard employee? as production manager I have worked closely with several owners over the years and have relieved them of there daliy dealing with substandard employees.
Of course it is true, you need to do your own biz to make yourself wealthy.
it sounds good but it is not every one have enough money for run business.
I think a solid business model and good timing of market entry are also crucial factors. You can have the passion, the integrity and even the product but if you mis-time your entry into the marketplace using a shaky business model none of the above matters. Witness all the companies that went under when the dot-com bubble burst.
You are correct, it can be tricky. A great option is direct selling/network marketing. If you find a good company, the start up costs are minimal and the benefits you reap can be huge! The business plan is already set for you. You just duplicate what the best in the business have already done.
Great article. And it’s true–the challenges never end, but the satisfaction’s hard to top.
Great read again, i know working for others does not make me wealthy, but if i dont work for me i would die.
larry kahn,
The point of the article is you wont get rich working for someone else. not that every business will rocket to the moon.
I had my own professional business (Engineering) for 10 years – working for someone else does not make your employer 10 times what they are paying you. I had ten people working for me and with about 1.2 Mil revenue(A good year) and I made about 135 K or so.
Having your own business is not what it is cracked-up to be – it’s much harder that it looks.
Isn’t it worth pointing out, as larry kahn did, that working for yourself won’t necessarily make you rich either? I would think, then, that if your motivation to work for yourself is purely financial, you’re way more likely to fail than succeed.
I forget the exact numbers, but with 1% of the world’s population controlling 90% of the world’s wealth, it seems pretty obvious that hardly ANYBODY actually gets rich – though I’m sure a comfortable living can be made by selling other people your “secrets to creating wealth.”
i’m trying to transition over this year. but i’m one of those ppl in the process of getting a raise, so i’ll have to make sure to leverage a biz that will make me more money than i’m currently making… the creative juices are flowing though…
ok, working for someone else dones not make you wealthy and it isn’t total security but working for yourself is no cakewalk – taxes, finding affordable health insurance (even in a pool), marketing, etc – I can say though that you either own a big company or do most everything yourself and contract out what you can’t do or the cost of owning a small business with all the government requirements will pay everyone but you! Robert Kioysaki says if he had it to do over again he’d start with network marketing – the product is developed, the marketing plan can be duplicated, and you get paid what you’re worth!
As someone who has owned a successful small business for 11 years, I get tied of hearing other business owners complain about their employees. We employ ten, and have had just three people quit since we began. Our employees are fantastic because our business ethos supports who they are.
The issue is that businesses treat their employees as commodity rather than as people. All wealth is oriented toward the business owner or share holders instead of fairly being distributed among the employees and the larger community which supports the company.
I have found that generosity and humanity are best business practices. Our company works in a circle rather than a pyramid. We’ve had ten years of double digit growth and my wife and I leave our company for four to six weeks a year every year to travel. When we come back, there’s day of work on our desk. If you want to learn how we do it, see my blog, http://www.circlemanifesto.com
mama ji i am glad to c ur article,will read in detail.billoo bhaji forwarded it to me.
I wanted to drop you a comment and say “excellent blog entry”.
I’ve been working for myself full time for almost a year to the day and have never looked back. This certainly is the life – though it may not be for everyone.