The,amp,#34,Other,New,Year,#39 business, insurance The "Other" New Year's Resolution

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Small Business Q&A with Tim KnoxSince this is my first column of 2004, I thought we'd spend afew minutes talking about those well-intentioned, though seldomkept promises we call New Year's Resolutions. In addition to "This year I will lose weight!" and "This year Iwill stop smoking!" and the ever popular "This year I will stopwatching reality TV!" one of the more common resolutions madeby many folks this time of year is "This year I will start myown business!" I call it "The American Dream Resolution," and like most New Year's resolutions it is a proclamation of intent that is oftenmade, but seldom carried out (at least in an effective manner).Before you jump off the ledge into the entrepreneurial abyss in2004, here's a little test to help you decide if this truly is aresolution you are qualified to make or if you should just stickto "This year I will lose weight..." Give yourself 10 points for each "Yes" answer and a big ZERO foreach "No."1. Can you delegate without micromanaging? Running a businessrequires the performance of dozens of simultaneous tasks and it's foolish to try to handle them all yourself. You must surround yourself with partners and employees whom you can trustto perform these tasks as you would yourself. If you can't dishout responsibility without worrying over the result, add a zeroto your score. 2. Are you self motivated and disciplined? If you do not havethe wherewithal to bounce out of bed each day without your spouse drenching you with cold water, chances are you don't have the self motivation or discipline required to be an entrepreneur. Business demands that you take action based solely on your own volition. You have to motivate yourself topick up the phone and make sales calls. You have to motivateyourself to get in the car and visit customers. You have to doa hundred things every day that will not get done unless youmake yourself do them.3. Are you afraid of a little hard work? Starting a business iseasy, right? WRONG! If you think working for someone else ishard work, try starting your own business. You will be requiredto give every ounce of blood, sweat, and tears you can muster.You will have to work long hours and be on call 24/7, at leastin the beginning. If the mere thought of hard work makes youtired, congratulations, here's your zero.4. Are your personal relationships strong enough to withstandstarting a business? The first question I ask anyone who tellsme they want to start a business is: "What does your spousethink?" When you start a business you may have to spend moretime away from the family than you like. The business may alsoput a strain on you financially. You will have enough obstaclesin your way without having to worry if you have the support ofyour family and those closest to you 5. Can you sell? This is a triple zero question since everybusiness requires customers and in the beginning it will be upto you to get those customers. This means selling yourself andselling your products. Even though customers are the lifebloodof every business, you'd be surprised at how many entrepreneursHATE this aspect of doing business. Do you cringe at the thoughtof cold calling i.e., walking into a business and asking tospeak to the owner? Can you pick up the phone, call a prospect,and ask for an appointment without breaking into a cold sweat?If you are not comfortable selling, you will have a very hardtime in business. Zero, zero, zero.6. Do you give up easily? One of my favorite sayings about business is: "If it was easy, everybody would do it." Startinga business is hard work and the odds for failure are againstyou in the first few years. If you want to ride herd on yourown business, you must be willing to fall off your horse a fewtimes without giving up. If you can't dust off your pants andclimb back on, here's your zero.7. Can you handle rejection? If your feelings are easily hurt,keep your day job because business is not for you. Many daysin business, rejection waits around every corner and you must be able to handle rejection without letting it beat you down.You will experience rejection from customers, business partners,bankers, and investors, just to name a few. 8. Do you interact well with others? Being a business ownermeans that you will have daily interaction with a variety offolks, from your own employees to vendors to customers to investors. You must have the ability to effectively manage people without offending them; the ability to accept good advice from mentors and politely discount the bad; the abilityto overlook mistakes or quietly rectify them; and the one Ihave trouble with: the ability to tolerate incompetence withoutlosing your cool (but that's fodder for another column). 9. Do you have financial backing? The number one cause of business failure is a lack of money. Before you start your business you should have enough capital to see you through thefirst year or until the business can sustain itself. A good financial plan will include a number that ends in a few commasand a considerable number of zeroes.10. Do you have experience in the type of business you plan tostart? We've talked about this before. If you can't locateyour car's engine you have no business buying a Lube-N-Gofranchise. The most successful business owners have priorexperience in the industry in which they have set up shop.BONUS QUESTION. Have you ever started a business before? Priorbusiness ownership is not a prerequisite, but it can't hurt. Many successful entrepreneurs have the skeletons of past businesses hidden in their closet. Business is a lot like marriage: you learn a lot of things on the first one that maycome in handy the second time around. You can see why I didn'tgo into marriage counseling…Give yourself 10 points for every "Yes" answer and zero pointsfor every "No." If the "Yes" answers outweigh the "No's," youjust might have what it takes to back up your New Years resolution to start your own business.If your answers lean heavily to the "No" side, you might be better off working for someone else. And that brings about another New Years Resolution that goessomething like this: "This year I will get along with my boss…"Here's to your success.Tim [email protected] For information on starting your own online or eBay business,visit http://www.dropshipwholesale.net