Entrepreneurial
Necessities (v1.1)
By Rusty Chatelain Desire - If I could sum
up this list with one trait an
Entrepreneur must attain, that trait
would be desire. Desire is defined as:
"a longing or craving."
Starting and operating your own business,
no matter how much someone tells you
differently, is a big task. Therefore,
you must examine your desires honestly.
What is it that drives you to step out on
that limb and risk your time and money?
Will the desire sustain your effort? Is
it realistic? Are you knowledgeable in
your choice of the avenue you use to
reach your desired goal? What will your
desire cost you? Monetarily? Mentally? In
time invested? Relationships? Starting a
business is easy!!! Sustaining it takes a
lot of work and a worthwhile desire.
Knowledge - An
entrepreneur must be knowledgeable about
the products and services that will be
the basis of his business. Only, how much
knowledge is enough? All the knowledge
you can acquire will help you better
serve your customers' needs and will make
you more valuable to them. must you be an
expert in your field before you leap into
your own business? While this is
advantageous, it is not always practical.
bUT, You must have the knowledgeable to
adequately market and produce your
products and/or your services. You must
be able to service your customers!!! If
you are unsure of your ability to do so,
then back up and learn what it will take
to provide the service. Don't make the
mistake of soliciting customers before
you are ready. On the other hand, don't
make the mistake of not soliciting if you
are knowledgeable of your products and
are prepared to provide services! That's
where confidence comes in to play.
Confidence - An
entrepreneur's confidence level should be
directly related to his competence. But
exactly what is confidence? Confidence is
termed as assurance. Assurance of your
ability to provide your products and
services is a must. Confidence is not
always a trait easily found, but you must
be able to project confidence to your
customers. Your customers will be wary of
dealing with you if you are seem to be
unsure of what you are doing. This brings
us back to "knowledge." The
more you know and understand your
business and your customers needs, the
easier it is for you to show confidence.
But you should be careful. Over
confidence lends itself to complacency
and stagnation. Your confidence should
never bring you to the point that you
stop learning, or make you think you know
everything. Remember . . . there are
always others who are willing to step in
and take over if you falter. So, let your
attitude be one of humbleness; ever
testing yourself and learning more and
more each day. Be the best you can be at
what you are doing. This will create an
innate confidence, and will help to keep
your focus on bettering your business . .
. instead of only living up to the
competition.
Willingness to Learn
- As implied above, as an entrepreneur
you must be a continual learner . . .
ever searching not only about the
products you offer, but also about your
customers. You will find, depending on
your type of business, that each customer
has different expectations of you. While
this seems to complicate things, it may
well be one of your best tools in
learning how to service all types of
expectations. Moreover, in most
industries, technology drives change. If
you are not willing to keep up with those
changes, then you may be left behind.
Willingness to learn requires a humble
confidence that affords you the
opportunity to learn from others in your
industry. If you want to learn what
pitfalls to avoid, there is no better
place to find out about those pitfalls
than from someone who has already found
them. Learning in this manner can save
you much time and money. Be willing to
listen to advice, but always weigh it
against your knowledge and experience.
Watch market trends, keep abreast of
changes in your industry, watch customer
advertising, ask customers for feedback,
and on and on and on. Continual learning
makes you perpetually more valuable to
your customers.
Self Motivation and
Discipline - Are you a self starter?
Do you wake up on time? Are you eager to
complete tasks? It is often typical to be
motivated when you first begin your
business. The excitement and adrenaline
of a new business start up is enough to
keep you motivated. But, can you keep it
up? Sometimes, the last thing any of us
want to do is work. Having the initiative
to service your customers is a priority
you cannot do without.
Some suggestions to
stay motivated:
Set some work hours.
I have worked at home for some thirteen
years now (Nighthawks Rebar Detailing). I
went through a few phases. At first I
felt like I was always at work. Then I
felt like I was always at home. Both are
extremes that are not conducive to a
healthy work life. Now I work all day at
the Rebar Detailing, and most of the
night on my web dabbling
www.nighthawker.com. What I suggest is to
set some normal and realistic work hours.
Usually these hours will revolve about
your customers' need to reach you. There
will be times you will deviate from these
hours since certain projects require more
or less time, but you should try to work
within set perimeters. This will give
your life more normalcy and will help to
keep you fresh and motivated for the
tasks at hand. Also, this will give your
customers some consistent hours during
which they can contact you.
Prioritize your
work. Failure to prioritize your work
can create problems and can make it
necessary to cram your work in a short
period of time. Look ahead at what needs
to be done and make a list. Put the most
important things at the top. Using this
simple planning method keeps you from
feeling overwhelmed. It also gives you a
direction in which to work. And while you
need to be motivated to complete the
whole list, the focus is switched to
completing one task at a time. Mark each
task off as you complete it.
Take a break.
When you need a break, take it! Often
times we trudge through work without
really focusing on what we are doing.
Cloudy headed, lack of concentration
etc., are all signs that you need to just
push your work aside for a short period
of time. Perhaps a short walk, a few
minutes with your kids, or something else
to divert your attention will help to get
your mind back on track. The length of
your break may vary. Twenty minutes may
be all you need some days, but sometimes
an afternoon off will be just what the
doctor ordered. But remember, your work
load is what will dictate the time
available for free time. Don't abuse this
tool, use it only when you need it.
Overload Yourself???
Some entrepreneurs work better under
pressure. To some this may seem foreign
but to others like myself, this at times
is a necessity. Just be careful, it's a
tightrope and you must watch your
balance. Depending on your type of
business, overloading yourself could lose
you customers. Be careful to take only
the contracts which you can successfully
service. Missed deadlines and failure to
produce could damage your reputation.
Caution should be taken when using this
tactic as a means of motivation.
Be Available -
Being in a service oriented field for the
last thirteen years has given me an
insight into the need of availability.
When your customers need you, they expect
to be able to reach you. They are not
concerned about having to take your dog
to the vet, or having to replace your
car's brakes. They expect you to be there
for them. . . plain and simple. For this
reason, set your office hours and let
your customers know that you will be
readily available during those hours. If
you will be away during your office
hours, make sure your customers know that
they can leave a message for you and you
will get back to them as soon as
possible. Voice mail, email, fax, beeper,
mobile phone, etc., are all available
options to keep yourself available to
your customers.
Organize and Plan
- On your mark...get set. . . Plan!!! It
is not only important to plan and
prioritize your daily work, but it is
also important to plan and organize the
rest of your business. What is your
marketing strategy? What are your plans
for growth? Have you planned financial
strategies? While your focus needs to be
on your daily tasks, you must also have
some short and long term goals.
Organizing these goals and your plan of
action to achieve them is as important in
your business as is servicing your
customers. As with anything in life, your
business needs direction. Lack of
direction may not keep you from making a
living, but it could keep your business
from growing. You must decide (as the
opening of this document states), what
you want from your business. Of course
you want it to be successful, but define
what success means to you. Set your
goals, then step by step, organize your
actions in order to achieve those goals.
Set realistic deadlines, make things
flexible. If you set your goals so rigid
that you cannot stop and reevaluate them,
then you are setting yourself up for a
possible letdown.
Be Flexible -
Along with planning and organizing, you
must remain flexible. Unless you are a
seer of sorts, you never know what will
happen each day. Regardless of your
plans, and no matter how organized you
are in your approach to achieve them,
there is always something or someone who
can change those plans; therefore you
must remain flexible. Although your plans
may have to change to accommodate the
unexpected, your focus should remain on
achieving your ultimate goal.
Be Decisive -
When things become complicated, your
organization skills and your flexibility
will help you adapt to the situation.
Sorting and weighing the pros and cons of
your options are only part of the
process; making a decision about what to
do is the rest. Once you have explored
your options and fully reviewed the
situation, then make your decision and be
comfortable with it. It's not like taking
a guess, so there is no need to
vacillate. If your decision needs to be
reevaluated, then do so. There is no
shame in doing your best, and having to
reevaluate and make changes to your
plans. It is part of being in business. .
. and being alive.
Be Determined -
"When at first you don't succeed,
try, try again." To Be Continued!!!
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The
author, Rusty Chatelain, is a crazy
man... Self employed for some thirteen
years now, spending eight or more hours a
day detailing rebar (Nighthawks), and
since March 1998.. spending most of the
rest of his waking hours in pursuit of
diversifying into the Internet industry..
by developing http://www.nighthawker.com (Above
article edited by Jan Garner - Much
thanks goes to Jan for taking my jumbled
thoughts and making them presentable and
coherent)
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