Starting a Business in These Tough Times?

Doesn’t it seem counterintuitive to think about opening a business in these tough times, considering so many well established large and small businesses are closing at an alarming rate?

Didn’t we just “bail out” Wall Street and aren’t we considering “saving” the Big 3 automotive giants?

And what about all the statistics that state many new businesses fail within the first three years? Doesn’t that discourage you from wanting to start a business?

Actually, it should not. Research shows that during times of deep unemployment, American entrepreneurship rises and more new businesses are born. This is the perfect time to consider starting a business for many reasons.

• You might have just been laid off with 12,000 of your closest friends who are all looking for work in the same area in the same field as you are.


• Or maybe you are suffering from “survivor’s guilt” since you were not downsized but the people in the cubes next to you were.


• Perhaps you are just transitioning from 20 years of service and you are only 40 years old – way too young to retire.

Whatever your reason for thinking about entrepreneurship, there is no better time like the present time. But, as with all things we did while we were in the service, we need to plan.

Here are a few things to do while you prepare to think about starting a business in 2009.

Take inventory of you! I am not just talking about education and experiences in the field you were working in, but what makes you happy.

What is that thing that you always wanted to do? You might have to think back to pre-service days or maybe even childhood. Were you always good with your hands? Did you color people green, trees pink and skies purple? Did you love reading and finding and correcting mistakes in books? Did you solve the Rubik’s Cube in less than a minute or do you see Sudoku solutions as soon as you look at the page? Do you know all there is to know about Barbies, a particular artist, cars or a country? These might all lead you to the perfect business to start. But you won’t know until you inventory yourself.

Start thinking like a boss, not an employee! Begin thinking globally about your situation and what your business can contribute to the broader community. Entrepreneurs are always thinking about how their service adds value to someone or something else. How does what you
do help reach a goal for another entity? You cannot just think about the immediate steps only, but the next three to five steps as well.

What do you want out of life? There is the obvious: pay the bills, eat, and send the kids through school. But those are always there. What about the relationship you have with your family and friends? What about the end of your work life when you are ready to retire? How does what you do now affect those things?

I would argue that the above steps are the most important part of starting a business in these tough times. Understanding these things, knowing what makes you want to live and be what you want to be is going to help you and your potential business be strong and survive through any times—even the tough ones.

The Real First Step to Starting a Business

I listen to dreams. I listen to men and women tell me how they have the next, best, greatest, latest, newest idea, product or service that will change the dynamics of the world. This “thing” will set us all free, revolutionize our lives, and relieve them from their financial burdens. And after I spend 30 minutes listening to this potential entrepreneur go on about setting the world on fire, I get to pop the bubble of the dream and help him or her see the reality of the situation.

This does not always make me friends, but it does help entrepreneurs become successful. Take Kevin for example (of course that is not his real name). Kevin is a 20 year Army veteran who has been helping his father out with the side lawn care business for over 10 years. His father is retiring in a few years and he wants to make this a legitimate business venture. He has a younger partner who is educated in landscaping and eager to go. In Kevin’s eyes their only hold up is capital to get the business going. After talking with Kevin, I found out that there is a lot more then just one hold up for this duo. Kevin’s credit is shot, he has no capital and neither does his potential partner and there are no relatives that can assist him with a loan.

Do not get me wrong, Kevin can still go into business and become a very successful landscaper. He just needs to understand the truth of the situation in order to get there. I see way too many men and women who have never been told the truth about a business idea. They have been lead to believe that there is free money or are angel investors just waiting to help them out. They have been sold on the promise that if they hang out the shingle the customers will come. Why does this happen? From my experience it is because the counselor either wants you out of their office or they don’t want to be the bearer of bad news. I prefer to think it is the latter of the two.

However, I consider it an honor to bring in reality to the entrepreneur so he or she has a chance to make it. It Here are a few things you can do to ensure you are living in the reality of your dream and have a better chance for success.

Get a copy of your credit report and review it. You cannot run away from the issues of your past. You must face and correct them in order to move on.

Make a habit of checking your bank statements and looking at your personal household budget. If you cannot budget $5,000 you will not be able to budget $50,000. See where you can save and where you need to spend. This will give you a realistic picture of what you need to make in order to take care of your family and operate a business successfully.

There is no getting around it. Research, Research, Research. There are processes and steps you cannot get by and expect to do well. Who wants your service REALLY? Why would they buy from you? How will the customer know you exist? These are just a few things you must know and you have to put in the time to research your market.

Seek out professional assistance. There are plenty of free services available to you and wonderful counselors that can review or help you create your business plan or idea. You can visit the Veterans Business Resource Center (www.vetbiz.com) SCORE (www.score.com) SBA (www.sba.com) and find people and classes that can help.

Most importantly, identify at least one pessimist in your life and let that person read your business plan or listen to your idea. I guarantee he or she will point out every single thing that is wrong down to the smallest detail. Then you can adjust accordingly to address any pitfalls now instead of later.

It would be a disservice to my clients to let them continue to travel down the wrong path just so I don’t have to feel bad that day. If you don’t have someone in your life to tell you the truth, you will not be successful in your venture. Have a powerful day!

Characteristics of an Entrepreneur

Many mistakenly believe that being a successful entrepreneur you have to have $ and power. True you do need those things to start a business albeit at different levels, however, they usually forget about the non-tangible things you need to be successful. The following are 10 of those non-tangibles. Feel free to add.

1. Courage
a. People have an innate fear of failure
b. It takes guts to step out and do it
c. Failure to plan is a plan to fail

2. Action Oriented
a. They want to produce results immediately
b. Getting off your butt and doing it
c. Just Do It Affirmations

3. Success Oriented
a. Many people are ambivalent about success
b. Subconsciously wish to sabotage the whole thing
c. No is ands or buts about it

4. Perception of Opportunities
a. Abel to see the unfilled need around them
b. Spot opportunities
c. Excited about everything positive outlook

5. Moderate Risk Taking
a. Prefer taking moderate calculated risks
b. They set goals to achieve that are rather high and challenging but attainable and realistic
c. Right above their comfort level

6. Goal Setting
a. Set goals that are consistent with their interest, values and talents
b. Trust their judgment regardless of what others think
c. They are naturally competitive with themselves and their past achievements

7. Long-Term Perspective
a. Tolerated considerable amounts of frustration and delay in need gratification
b. Devoted a lot of time and effort to achieving goals
c. They think both short and long term

8. Continuous Goal Setting
a. Never content with their initial successes
b. They always set a new challenge even when they have achieved their first goal

9. Reality Orientated
a. Intellectual honesty and are ready to confront facts squarely
b. They know when they are wrong or made a mistake
c. They correct the situation

10. Motivated and Energetic
a. Work long hours
b. Little sleep
c. They are determined and single minded

Blogging in Progress

Hello, thank you for stopping by and checking out this site. Currently, I am putting the finishing touches on a few post to get you started but I need a little while longer.

Between planning for the Veterans Summit coming up on September 18 here in St. Louis, reviewing business plans, and completing classes (and oh yeah having a life) I am getting things in priority order. Set your calendar to stop back by on Monday to check out the post.

I look forward to your questions and Have a powerful day!