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Show Have you ever thought of going into business for yourself? By KENNETH J. ROSE Editor's Note: Bottom line author au-thor Kenneth J. Rose is the owner of Rose and Associates, a small business tax consulting, and financ-: ing planning firm in BountifuL Have you ever considered going ' into business for yourself? Most of Why that kind of business instead of some other? Is ft a business, product, pro-duct, or service that you already know well? If not, where can you get the training that you need? What are your strengths? What are your weaknesses? How are you going to compensate for those weaknesses? Who and where is your competi-tion? competi-tion? What will your market be, and how will you approach your market? How much capital will it take to get started? . Take the time to write out a formal for-mal business plan. It may seem like a lot of work when you would rather be working on getting the" business open, but it will be worth it . - in the long run. , , If you don't know how to do it yourself, find a competent profes-, profes-, sional to help you. And if he is any good at what he is doing, he will have you do much of the legwork I yourself. It will help you get a really real-ly good picture of where you are go-1 ing and just how successful you can 1 really be with your new venture. us have at one time or another to one degree or another. Some only think about it for a moment They've already decided that it isn't for them. Others think about it for years waiting for the right time and the right opportunity. Fewer still actually ac-tually take theplunge. - The official U.S. Small. Business Week is an appropriate time to consider con-sider some of the pros and cons of going into business for yourself. The turnover rate among , small businesses is the highest of any, mostly because the entrepreneur doesn't take the time and care to avoid the big mistakes. v ."; How do you avoid the costly mistakes? It's easy ...do your homework. Remember that part of your schooling that you hated to do and were glad when it was done? In this case your homework is proper planning, and it has to be done before you start your business. The first thing you need to ask yourself is why you want to start your own business. Can you do it better than anyone else? Is it a new product of service in your area? Are you trying to earn more money? Many small businesses start out part-time to supplement income and then grow into a full-time business that eventually hires other people. rr Oh, by the. way. Jf you are star-, star-, ting your own business because you think that you wont have to work as hard, think again. Most small business owners end up working longer and harder man they did ' when they worked for someone . else. One ', definition of an en-' en-' trepreneur that I have seen is . "Someone who will work 16 hours a day to keep from having to work eight hours a day for someone .eise;;-,:,:;,.;:;:', ':;;,;. u-v : ; , There are other questions to ask - yourself, as well. What kind of : business are1 you going . to start? |
