Starting your own business is hard, especially when working a full time job. It’s like raising a child, one who has weird quirks that can either ruin things or make them better (also known as employees), who costs a lot of money (much more than you have), and ultimately, who can make you successfully fulfil your dream (once the “teenage” years are over of course), while at the same time, spending hours 8-5 at the office. Your own business is something you create and control, but getting to that happy spot where all is well, is hard. First, you have to start the business, and doing this outside office hours takes planning, early mornings, and late nights.
All good businesses start with a dream. Your dream, whether it is a fashion store, an online business, or a quaint little restaurant down the street, is the all-important first step. You might think, oh that wasn’t so hard, maybe I can actually do this. You can do this, but that’s just the first step. Hold your horses before you get to excited and rush forward. Next piece of advice? Never rush forward. Always make a plan. In the required high school financial classes, they have a fancy dancy name: The Business Plan.
Ok, so maybe it’s not so fancy. But it makes sense. You have to have a plan for your business. This includes money, location, people, product and/or services, quality, quantity, and everything else. There is an overview, and then there are details. This is a necessary part, because it outlines exactly what you need to do in order to succeed. Often in order to develop a good, working business plan takes training, classes, a mentor, and good old fashioned research. Don’t skimp on the plan, take the time, even if it takes months working around your full time job. It’s worth it to have your plan beaten out and laid in front of you in all its glory.
Financially, starting up a business is expensive. It takes a lot of investment before you see any kind of return. You will need money, savings so to speak. And this is why you also have that lovely office job. The easy way out is a loan. While this can work, it is not the best way, in my humble opinion. Taking out a loan gets you the money fast, but it also gives you a chunk of time where you will be paying for the loan. Instead, try saving. A little each month can go a long way. Ignore minor and even major setbacks from financial emergencies, just slowly build up your investment. The amount of money you will need depends on your business, and will need to be hashed out, preferably in the business plan mentioned earlier.
Before you can just jump right in, you will need to be registered. That means health codes, national and state taxes, any licenses you need, the name of your business, etc. This should have been in your business plan. It may take a while for these to come through, and you may need to alter your business plan a little to accommodate these. Don’t lose hope, keep moving forward.
Now all is left is to execute the plan. Use your training, your research, your mentor if you have one. It will be hard, and for a while, it may not look like your business will pull through, but hold on, and keep pushing. If you still have that office job, learn to multitask and work fast on little sleep. You will be spending late nights at both jobs, and probably early mornings as well. But with patience, practice, and planning, your business will be born, and hopefully, will settle in as if it always belonged. `
Are you an entrepreneur yourself, did you struggle with transitioning from 9to5 into your own venture, or did you just jump on your own into the cold water. Let me know.