Given the fact that most of us are trained to be good employees– rather than groomed to become entrepreneurs – making the transition from working for someone else, to being self-employed can oftentimes be difficult.
I recognized that I’d be facing new challenges when I went into business for myself, but I wasn’t prepared for how different. Although I’m still an entrepreneurial work-in-progress, a few lessons learned in 2010 have helped me a lot:
Don’t Burn Bridges
Being unhappy with your job can be a great catalyst for change; and more than one entrepreneur has started their business for this very reason. But it’s always best to give your soon-to-be former employer the respect they deserve, and depart on the best possible terms.
Once you’ve made the decision to forge out on your own, begin by assisting with any transitional planning your former job requires. After all, someday you will have your own employees and you’ll will want them to treat your business with professionalism should they elect to part ways. Being professional with your employer will also help to build your reputation; and your reputation is your most important asset when launching a business. Who knows, you just may even be able to transform your former boss into a new client.
Set Goals/Create A Plan
As an employee, superiors evaluate your performance. As an entrepreneur no one holds you accountable other than yourself. It is always best to begin with a business plan, one that offers a mission statement and documents your short term and long-term goals. The business plan (and it doesn’t need to be more than a few pages) will help serve as a guide measure your ongoing growth. Because business, just like life, can be quite unpredictable; your business plan needs to have flexibility. Any number of factors may come into play that will require you to make course corrections – and you need to be ready.
Address Your Weaknesses Quickly
Being an employee is a team sport; your weaknesses are offset by someone else’s strengths. Being a small business owner is more like golfing. You can only rely on yourself. If you don’t address your weaknesses, nobody will. Acknowledge your strengths and weaknesses. When you do, you’ll be better positioned to recruit where you need assistance, and your business will have a better chance of achieving stability.
Make a list of all the things you’re bad at, and spend some time figuring out how to overcome those weaknesses. Industry events like Affiliate Summit are full of educational opportunities and also provide plenty of time to network with subcontractors and new business partners. For this reason, I’m convinced that conferences are a great investment.
These are just a few of the things I’ve learned while building my business. Although I’m working longer, harder hours than ever before, owning a business is also fun and really rewarding. If you’re considering taking the plunge, I wish you all the success in the world!
Joe Lilly writes about business, music, and dog rescue at baldguitardude.com
Download the entire FeedFront issue 13 here – http://www.scribd.com/doc/45332687/FeedFront-Magazine-Issue-13
FeedFront issue 13 articles can be found here as well: http://feedfront.com/archives/article00date/2010/12a>
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