Monthly Archives: December 2022

Entrepreneurs are a breed in and of themselves.  I think an entrepreneur can be born or made, but I believe I am of the born kind.  I have met people that have worked in corporate environments that have learned to be successful all by themselves, but they bring a unique training and thinking style, that us born-entrepreneurs don’t have.  We tend to be more of the creative type and big thinking types.  Both can work, but I think lots of people should work for themselves, and maybe you are one of those.  To you I will give three pieces of advice to move closer to your dream of being an entrepreneur and starting a small business.

1. Start Small. Because I don’t believe in a 10 year business plan, and I believe things will change rapidly, you need to start making steps as fast as possible.  I would also recommend it be started on the side, on the weekends, and whenever you have free time.  Get used to the 80 hour work week now, while you have a steady paycheck.  If you want to open a restaurant, then start at a farmers market, and see how people respond.  If you have a product idea, get one made (and yes it will be expensive at low quantities), and see if anyone will buy it.  Start your handyman business on the weekends and evenings.  If you have more business than the weekend hours will hold, then quit your job.  Just start, and see where things go.
2. Network. I think this is something that most people don’t understand.  Networking is a powerful way to build a business, even in the digital age.  I was playing soccer tonight, and started talking to one of my team mates who works in commercial real estate and development.  I put up my hand and said:  “Hello.  I can help you.  Who can you connect me with?”  And he said he was more than willing to connect me with his tenant improvement contractor.  Tell people what you do or are thinking about doing.  You never know what can happen.  You don’t have to sound like the insurance salesman that wants 3 or 20 names of people he can call, but you can ask probing questions, and let people know what you do.
3. Build a system. From day one, you should be thinking about your business as having employees.  What would you have them do?  How would you train them?  Who would manage them?  Most small business owners just hire people and give no direction to what and how things should be done, and then they complain that there are no good employees.  I would propose that there are no good managers.  Well, there are few good managers.  But, in order to manage well, you have to have systems.  Start from the beginning.  Figure out the best way to do everything in your business, and write it down.  I waited until I had been in business for at least 10 years before starting this process.  I eventually hired someone to finish it and implement the systems.  Much more costly than starting from day one.  Once you have it all documented, it is that much easier to train people to do it the right way.  This will lead to happier employees and much happier customers…all of which leads to higher profits.
4. Consistency.  You have to show up every day, and take one step closer to your goal.  I am in the gym a lot, and see a lot of people that come and go and never get anywhere.  Then there are the guys that I have seen in there EVERY time I am there, and they are FOCUSED and more than anything, they are consistent.  You need to make small improvements every day.  A saying I coined: To be extraordinary, you have to do the ordinary Every Day!!

So there you have it, three things to focus on when starting a small business.  There are lots of other things, but if you head my warnings and encouragement, you will be far ahead of the masses.  There are many that try to start a small business like they try to lose weight, and fail.  You need to have a realistic goal, and go for it.

For more ways to grow your business, to hear stories from successful small business owners, and more from Nick May,  listen to the #1 Small Business Podcast from Denver, Colorado, Small Business Naked

Starting a Small Business
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The Value of an Idea

As small business owners, or worse, as entrepreneurs, we are full of ideas.  I joke with my friends that I get a great new idea about every 20 seconds.  But what are they worth?  When you come up with an idea for a business, a new way to market, or even just the idea to do something differently that you have always done, what is that worth?  I would suggest that it is worthless.  There is no value in an idea…absolutely none.  If there was, I would be wealthy beyond all belief, and so would a lot of other people I know.

To illustrate, let me tell you about some of the great ideas I’ve had over the years.  I thought when I was about six that there should be a way to use a power drill to screw in screws, instead of using a hand torque screw driver.  At the time, there was no such thing as a Dewalt cordless drill.  A few years ago, I thought it would be great if there was  a way to make a strand of Christmas lights that used LED lights, instead of light bulbs.  They last longer, and would be safer.  They are making them now; I just saw them at Home Depot.

When I was in about 6^th grade, I thought it would be awesome if I could bottle water from our lake house in Wisconsin and sell it back in Illinois, but who would pay for water?  That was just silly.  Have you heard of Fatheads?  Yea, I thought of it.  But someone else did to, and now I see their commercials on TV.  There have been plenty more:  from creating a whole house automation system, selling businesses like Realtors do, to websites that allow contractors to talk about dead beat customers, all have been done…by other people.

It is only the steps and actions, one takes, after the idea that has value, and sometimes these steps are not easy.  In fact, most of the time, the steps are very hard.  The difficulty in starting and running a company isn’t in the one or two really tough days we have, but it’s in being consistent; taking the steps to move forward and doing it day after day. We do the mundane and boring little things that create consistency that is not flashy or sexy that creates a really great business.

I will say that even though an idea does not have value; an idea PLUS ACTION does have worth.  Everything I have ever done has started as an idea.  But it by itself has no value.  Take a step with your idea, see where it goes.  Put a direction to your new marketing campaign; write it down and commit to it, then do it.  I meet a lot of entrepreneurs that talk a great game.  But until you apply some effort to your idea, you can just keep on talking.
Almost everyone I meet (and I would guess every one you meet), has an idea for a business they would love to start. Don’t just sit there, do something.  Don’t be afraid.  Don’t let others nay-say and talk you out of it.  If it fails, then try again, or try tweaking your idea.  Nothing great has ever happened without a little failure, and don’t be afraid of failing because that’s where we learn the most.  After finding success with the incandescent light bulb, Thomas Edison is quoted as saying: “We now know a thousand ways not to build a light bulb.”

I think however, that people get stuck.  They think it will take too long.  It will be too expensive.  I can’t give up my secure paycheck.  Why not start on the weekends and evenings. Give up TV for 6 months, and work on the idea.  Don’t wait until it is perfect.  Take action…NOW!

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