If you have recently become unemployed during this current
financial hiatus, you may be thinking of starting your own small business and
are looking around for some small business ideas for a first time business
owner. Life as a business owner is considerably
different to living life as an employee and just because you are currently
unemployed is not a good reason to start your own business.
To be a successful small business owner requires an
entrepreneurial outlook combined with vision and a burning desire to succeed.
This burning desire to succeed is balanced by reaching self-imposed goals based
on profits or losses in a balance sheet. It is these profits or loss figures
that will determine success or failure.
If your small business is either a success or a failure, it
will impact on your life far more than anyone realises. If you succeed in business
and make heaps of money, your life will change. If your small business loses
money, it will impact your life far more than anyone will usually tell you. Business
is a gamble on which you can dictate the odds more in your favour if you are resourceful,
punctilious and cautious. It is a balancing act and is not for everyone.
Franchise
Starting a small business today can be facilitated by buying
into a franchise. This method for a start-up business is very popular today
because it comes with a mentoring side from any good franchise offer.
The mentoring side means that the franchisor (that is, the
person who owns the franchise) is supposed to work with you, often supply the
necessary supplies for the business and to teach you the things that you need
to know.
The reality of this type of business is frequently very
different to what actually happens. I have worked with many small businesses
over the years and the percentage of happy franchisees (that is, the people who
have bought into this type of business) is very different to what actually
happens. Many franchisors don’t live up
to their contractual agreements.
If you are considering this type of popular business for a
first time business owner, it can be one that is not the one I would personally
recommend.
My Recommendation
My recommendation for you if you are looking for a popular
business as a first time business owner would be to start something very small –
like a ‘fish and chip’ shop or a corner store. Start something that is needed
in an area that doesn’t have one but has the population to use your service as
a convenience.
I also recommend learning how to do your own accounting
books through night-school while you study the location that you want to set-up
your business in. And talk to people about your proposed idea for a business
because it is their feedback that will guide you in assessing your idea for a popular
and profitable small business.
Oh god that post hit home for me. I wasted a year and a half chasing so many different ideas that I spread myself too thing. Those with an entrepreneurial mindset find it hard to stick to one thing – and I still do – but I have to keep reminding myself to stick to one thing at a time. Otherwise I’d get no where. This post is a nice reminder for me to stay on track – but wish I had read it years ago :)
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