Entrepreneurship is something I will sell harder than anything else. My goal is to help you to take control of your life and gain freedom. I passionately believe that being an entrepreneur is one of the best ways to take control of your life especially since you spend about one third of your life working; why not do something that you enjoy and gives you the life you want. Here are a few reasons I think you should start your own business:
You can do something you enjoy
You can gain time freedom
You are in more control of your income than at a job
You grow so much as a person running a business
Many people see starting a business as risky, there is risk in a typical job we just choose to ignore it. That risk is more apparent now with all the layoffs in the past couple of years. I will never tell you just to quit your job to start a business, you need to take that extra time you have each week and begin building the business. You should keep building it until your are making enough money regularly that you can leave your job.
I do understand that many of you are not interested in starting a business, that is fine (even though I have noticing many people changing their minds after I talk to them for a while). Even if you do not want to be an entrepreneur you should learn more about it. I have found that I am a better employee after learning about running my own business. I am also very confident in my abilities in my job.
Following are some resources that will help you build a business. I recommend that you review my resources page (click here) to get some things to help you build yourself before you start building your business.
There are 4 books that I strongly recommend if you are wanting to start a business.
The first book or audio is:
This book helped me to open my eyes to the different possibilities that are out there in for starting a business. Not all business require you to own a store, there are many more options.
The next book or audio (which is a bit expensive) is
This book talks about inexpensive ways to market and advertise your business. This is a must read for anyone starting a business.
The third book is The E-Myth by Michael Gerber
This book will teach you how you need to build your business. Many of us that are starting businesses do not realize that there 2 parts to a business. Working in your business and working on your business. This books explains how many entrepreneurs spend all of their time working in their business and not on their business and how to strike that balance.
The forth book is on selling, If you want to make it at any business you need to know a little about selling. Now many of us view selling like a car salesman. This is not a good sales person, a good sales person figures what the customer wants and then fills those needs. Good sales people serve well. The book I recommend is
The next resource is a business plan. We are all taught that a business plan has to be long and complicated. You do not need 10 pages if 1 will do. We have too many MBAs telling us how it should be for a good business plan, very academic. We then get overwhelmed by the business plan and do not get what we need out if it. Here is a business plan I use regularly.
Business Plan
Finally, podcasts are a great resource for learning about starting a business. These are in addition to the podcasts mentioned on my resources page. I explain how to download podcasts on in the iTunes section on my resources page.
The American Entrepreneur
The Chuck Bowen Show
Escape From Cubicle Nation Podcast
Free Agent Underground
Sales Guy Quick and Dirty Tips
Tim Knox Show