More and more, people are turning their backs on corporate life, on working in large organizations, and are turning toward working for themselves.

As with most significant shifts in one’s life, starting your own business can be a rewarding, challenging, validating, exhilarating, esteem building experience. Avoiding the pitfalls of entrepreneurship requires:

* A lot of planning and research
* A whole lot of passion, motivation and interest
* And, tenacity

Plan & Research

One would never jump off of a cliff’s edge, without knowing how far down the next landing was, now would one? But, every year, people set out to start their own business by doing exactly that—they fail to plan, chart their course, and fail to equip themselves with the critical knowledge to facilitate their success. Blindly, they go over the edge, believing “If they build [the business] it, they [the customers] will come.”

Not so.

Is it any wonder then that many new businesses end up exactly where they most feared—unsuccessful.

What should you do?

• Reflect on your skills and strengths—what are you really good at? Ask yourself, what can I do and where will I need help? Complementing your strengths with the strengths of others may give you that extra push to success.

• Learn what’s out there. Who’s already doing what you want to do? What’s their angle? Are they successful? Knowing ahead of time how you can differentiate yourself/your service can be all the difference between success and a stalled business engine.

• What do customers want? Find out what your potential customers would want? What are some ways to package your services/products to create a magnetic effect? Always get input and feedback from those people you intend to serve.

Keep the fires of passion burning

Would Bill Gates ever have been as successful if he loathed computers? Would Ben & Jerry have ever built their ice cream empire if they didn’t enjoy ice cream? Probably not!

• Explore your passions and interests. Starting a business is hard work—it’s going to require lots of attention and energy to get it off the ground. Ask yourself, am I that interested in the business idea to keep working at it tirelessly? A true passion will provide all the energy and fuel you need to be like the Energizer bunny—taking a licking and keeping on with the ticking.

• Create your vision and mission and continually revisit your purpose. The goal of “making money” just isn’t enough for most people to doggedly pursue success. It takes something extra—a strong belief in what you offer, the desire to make life easier, simpler, more enjoyable for your customers—to keep the fires of passion burning. Create your vision/mission statement and refer to it frequently so that you don’t lose your way.

Be tenacious

Read any book about the road often-traveled by every successful entrepreneur and you’ll find one very consistent theme. Success didn’t come overnight. It usually didn’t come on the first try, or the second, or even the third. Success is born out of a willingness to try, adjust, and try again until you get it right—that’s tenacity!

• Map out your strategy. Find out what others have done, and how. What worked for them—will it work for you? Give it a try and see.

• If something you’re doing isn’t working, CHANGE YOUR APPROACH.

• Ask for suggestions and input from others who have been successful.

• Allow enough time for the word to get out there about your service/product.

• NEVER GIVE UP!

And now a word on business opportunities!

There was a time when I was throwing good money after bad into schemes and opportunities that talked a good game but did not deliver the goods!

So many schemes dangle but never deliver unless you actually make up the scheme yourself or are in it from the outset.

My advice about schemes and opportunities?

If is seems too good to be true it’s because it is!

I decided many moons ago that the only way to true wealth and I’m not talking thousands here, I’m talking millions is to:

• Work for yourself
• Invent a product or service that people want
• Invent a product or service that is innovative and new
• Exceed expectations
• The service and product must have up-selling and cross-selling capability for lifetime customer profitability.

So, what have I done and what can you do?

I have invented board games, useful kitchen appliances, an alternative security handbrake lock for cars, I also invented a Call Centre scheduling piece of software that I sold the intellectual property rights to a firm of Consultants for thousands.

So how can you develop something similar to make your multi-million pound empire?

Well, it is all down to the way that you think and the skills that you have.

You know, you can rack your brain for a money making scheme or venture when all of the time it is usually right underneath your nose!

Hence that’s why I got you to think about what you are good at, it will be right underneath your nose believe me.

HOW TO GENERATING IDEAS – GET UNREASONABLE!

Your first assignment is to go to somewhere quiet and complete the following exercise.

List down all of the things that really annoy you with regards to people, things, technology and appliances and what you would ideally like for this situation.

For example, “why do I always have to put a massive wheel lock on the car, can’ it be smaller or built into the car” etc

I’d like you to write them out in the following format:

“Why do…………………………………can’t it be/I wish it could be like……….

What you are doing here is generating some thought processes of possible products and services.

If they annoy you, they certainly will annoy others as well.

Write down as many as you can and then use this list for potential ideas.