Welcome to Your Successful Business!

Have you discovered that your business is a bigger chunk than you can chew? Do you sometimes have that heart-dropping feeling that your new (or now slightly old) enterprise is beyond your capabilities?

Did you start your business because you were good at doing something (like making chairs or designing books), only to find out that sustaining that business took more and more time away from what you loved doing?

You are what I shall call a Reluctant Entrepreneur. You might love your work, but you are afraid of, or have even grown to hate, what it takes to make your business successful.

Michael Gerber in his best-selling book The E-Myth Revisited, said that 80% of startup businesses fail within the first 5 years, then 80% of the ones that make it past 5 years. His assertion is that the people went into these failing businesses for the wrong reasons. Perhaps you are not alone!

I have been a Reluctant Entrepreneur for 20 years, first as a photographer, then as a natural health practitioner. I kept asking myself, "why am I so ignorant about marketing, accounts, etc., and why do I hate doing it?" I thought I wasn't cut out for it, I thought that successful businesspeople were a breed apart.

Gerber said many people go into business to be self-employed technicians (i.e., photographers, flower arrangers, naturopaths or whatever). They didn't realise they also had to become Managers as well as Entrepreneurs. These technicians end up working in their business, but not on their business.

When you start a new business, you give birth to a new entity. It could be named after you (Mary's Pies), but it still has a life of its own.

Once you understand this point - that every business has a life of its own - you are on the road to recovery. I will show you what are the organs of a business and how to nurture it to good health.

The second point to understand is that successful entrepreneurs are not necessarily MBAs, and are not a super-intelligent race who speak a strange language. Most - maybe all - of them are human beings with a passion for what they do, just like you. I will explain things in simple terms, gently introducing you to the new concepts and language.

The 21st century approach to business is changing. The era of suits, impressive offices, and hard sell has come and gone. It is now about passionate people filling needs, working from virtual offices, and meeting at cafes. Every aspect of business is becoming streamlined, simplified, more natural and human. Rather than a few big corporations in stone buildings, its now about zillions of small businesses operating everywhere - in small shops, malls, homes, street markets and cyberspace.

The third point to understand, is that for you to know what you need to do for your business, you need to know what you want your business to become. How do you see the business in 5 or 10 years? Will you still be working solo in it, or will you be employing a team to do the work? Will you be able to sell the business when you want to leave? Will you be able to sell business packages to others who want to start a similar business?

The main thing is, you are not alone. Stick with me and I will share with you what I have learned - let's grow together.

So, make sure you keep up with me as I write this blog. Click on the link to get an RSS feed, which sends you updates of this blog. And feel free to make comments and ask questions.

Every blog will give you something to do. Please do it! A little bit every day soon turns you into an expert. For now, please clarify and write down how you see your business in 5 years and 10 years.

All the best.