The Accidental Entrepreneur: The 50 Things I Wish Someone Had Told Me About Starting a Business

by Susan Urquhart-Brown

MAKING ROOM FOR MORE BUSINESS Expanding Your Business, 155 How to Tickle Your Customers, 161 Hire Wisely the First Time, 163 Retaining Good Employees, 166 Action Plan-What's Next?,

Going solo is difficult ... even for the best and strongest of entrepreneurs. The emotional ups and downs can be significant. In The Accidental Entrepreneur: 52 Things I Wish Someone Had Told Me about Starting a Business, Susan Urquhart-Brown speaks powerfully to the interpersonal aspects of self-employment as well as the practical nuts and bolts. Sometimes she offers a pep talk, encouraging you to try something

difficult ... even for the best and strongest of entrepreneurs. The emotional ups and downs can be significant. In The Accidental Entrepreneur: 52 Things I Wish Someone Had Told Me about Starting a Business, Susan Urquhart-Brown speaks powerfully to the interpersonal aspects of self-employment as well as the practical nuts and bolts. Sometimes she offers a pep talk, encouraging you to try something new and bold. Other times, she giv...

it doesn't matter if you own or want to start a professional practice, a service company, sell insurance, real estate, or even a product ... The Accidental Entrepreneur will begin to change your life and your business from the day you open it! Who can benefit from reading

WHAT I S AN "accidental entrepreneur"? The answer is: a person who never expected to be self-employed or thought of herself or himself as an entrepreneur. An accidental entrepreneur is not a born or natural entrepreneur, or even someone who is comfortable, at first, selling products or services. Accidental

for a cause. These are all good reasons. But do they have sticking power? Is your heart really in it? Before you take your first running step, it would help to ask yourself, "Why am I doing this?" If your answer is, "Because I'm enthusiastic and passionate about it," then you will have a good chance. When your heart is truly connected with your goal, then you are willing to train, to run, to move past your obstacles, to reach the finish line, and to celebrate your success-and then do it all over again! (The next time, however, you can learn from your mistakes and get to the finish line faster). You may begin your entrepreneurial career by accident, but it's important to make this move intentional

Questions to Ask Yourself 1. "Who am I?" Starting and running a business is a lot like running a marathon. There will be highs and lows, and the prospect is both exciting and scary. To maximize your chances, analyze your strengths and weaknesses as well as your personal characteristics. For example, to be in business, you need determination, persistence, creativity, flexibility, and a steep learning curve. Will you be able to develop and strengthen these characteristics better by working alone, being in a partnership, or being at the helm of a fast-growing organization? How does your business idea fit in with your personal goals for the next three to five

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""Don't be like 95 percent of wannabe entrepreneurs who think they have a great idea and jump into business without careful planning."' 2. "What business am I in?" Carefully define and detail what your product and/or services are. What problems do you solve? What benefits do you provide? Who are you targeting to buy your services? Consumers? Organizations? Where are they located? How will you reach them? For example, if you want to build a coaching practice, what type of coaching do you offer-executive coaching in which your clients are corporations, or personal coaching in which

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there enough potential customers out there for me to make a profit?" Identify and analyze what your competitors are doing, and how what you offer is sufficiently different to attract customers. But you don't need to do expensive focus groups. You can test market your idea with a group of friends and colleagues; interview competitors who are willing to talk to you...

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5. "How will I market my business?" The marketing strategies you choose must do two things: One, reach your target customers, and two, fit your business because you must continually market your business. Out of sight (or sound) is out of mind. For example, speaking and writing is a good marketing mix for business consultants. Back-of-the-room sales are also brisk if you have authored a book. However, if you love to give talks but you own a retail store, your store location and a well-placed radio or TV/cable commercial might reach a wider audience of potential customers. 6. "How will I finance my business?" The flip side of the question, "Will I make enough money?" is "Do I have enough money to get started?" Work with an accountant or business consultant to

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you'll reach your goals. The written plan is a document that you can use to quickly explain your business to potential investors and-more importantly-to keep yourself on track. 8. "Will I go into my own business?" Are you going to run the marathon? Answering the above questions carefully will help you make a well-informed decision. If you're ready, start running now. Remember: Even though there are obstacles along the way, a marathon always

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and money. • Myth 2: "When I'm my own boss, I'll avoid corporate politics. "Just because you're the boss doesn't mean you don't have anyone to answer to. You will have many more bosses than you ever did as an employee-bosses called "customers," "corporations," or "investors." So instead of dealing with the politics of a single company, you may have to handle the politics of twenty companies. It's up to you to stay tuned into the needs and subtleties of each company and figure out how to meet those needs if you want to continue to be retained. • Myth 3: "I'll have more free time and flexible work hours. " If you think you will have time to spend on your hobbies, play tennis a couple days a week, and schedule time off whenever you want, think again. The first few years you will most likely spend sixty

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• Myth 4: "All I need is a good idea. " There are many wonderful ideas and products that have never seen the light of day. It's much easier to come up with ideas than to implement them. However, even if you follow through with building the better mousetrap, your business may not succeed. Even if you have a good idea and the technical expertise to create the product, you also need to be able to get others excited about the product and invest money in its production. You may need the services of an accountant, lawyer, banker, distributor, or vendor to make your product successful. All of these people need to buy into your idea or product. In short, you need not only a good idea, but also the ability to communicate your vision, a great business plan, and the ability to produce and sell the product with the help of your backers.

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"After a few years, I'll make lots of money." Unless you are lucky or backed