The "Other" New Year's Resolution

Small Business Q&A with Tim Knox

Since this is my first column of 2004, I thought we'd spend a
few minutes talking about those well-intentioned, though seldom
kept promises we call New Year's Resolutions.

In addition to "This year I will lose weight!" and "This year I
will stop smoking!" and the ever popular "This year I will stop
watching reality TV!" one of the more common resolutions made
by many folks this time of year is "This year I will start my
own business!"

I call it "The American Dream Resolution," and like most New
Year's resolutions it is a proclamation of intent that is often
made, but seldom carried out (at least in an effective manner).

Before you jump off the ledge into the entrepreneurial abyss in
2004, here's a little test to help you decide if this truly is a
resolution you are qualified to make or if you should just stick
to "This year I will lose weight..."

Give yourself 10 points for each "Yes" answer and a big ZERO for
each "No."

1. Can you delegate without micromanaging? Running a business
requires 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 trust
to perform these tasks as you would yourself. If you can't dish
out responsibility without worrying over the result, add a zero
to your score.

2. Are you self motivated and disciplined? If you do not have
the 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 to
pick up the phone and make sales calls. You have to motivate
yourself to get in the car and visit customers. You have to do
a hundred things every day that will not get done unless you
make yourself do them.

3. Are you afraid of a little hard work? Starting a business is
easy, right? WRONG! If you think working for someone else is
hard work, try starting your own business. You will be required
to 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 least
in the beginning. If the mere thought of hard work makes you
tired, congratulations, here's your zero.

4. Are your personal relationships strong enough to withstand
starting a business? The first question I ask anyone who tells
me they want to start a business is: "What does your spouse
think?" When you start a business you may have to spend more
time away from the family than you like. The business may also
put a strain on you financially. You will have enough obstacles
in your way without having to worry if you have the support of
your family and those closest to you

5. Can you sell? This is a triple zero question since every
business requires customers and in the beginning it will be up
to you to get those customers. This means selling yourself and
selling your products. Even though customers are the lifeblood
of every business, you'd be surprised at how many entrepreneurs
HATE this aspect of doing business. Do you cringe at the thought
of cold calling i.e., walking into a business and asking to
speak 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 hard
time 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." Starting
a business is hard work and the odds for failure are against
you in the first few years. If you want to ride herd on your
own business, you must be willing to fall off your horse a few
times without giving up. If you can't dust off your pants and
climb 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 days
in 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 owner
means that you will have daily interaction with a variety of
folks, 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 ability
to overlook mistakes or quietly rectify them; and the one I
have trouble with: the ability to tolerate incompetence without
losing 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 the
first year or until the business can sustain itself. A good
financial plan will include a number that ends in a few commas
and a considerable number of zeroes.

10. Do you have experience in the type of business you plan to
start? We've talked about this before. If you can't locate
your car's engine you have no business buying a Lube-N-Go
franchise. The most successful business owners have prior
experience in the industry in which they have set up shop.

BONUS QUESTION. Have you ever started a business before? Prior
business 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 may
come in handy the second time around. You can see why I didn't
go into marriage counseling…

Give yourself 10 points for every "Yes" answer and zero points
for every "No." If the "Yes" answers outweigh the "No's," you
just 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 goes
something like this: "This year I will get along with my boss…"

Here's to your success.

Tim Knox
tim@dropshipwholesale.net
For information on starting your own online or eBay business,
visit http://www.dropshipwholesale.net