Asking The Right Questions When Thinking About Starting A Business

When I was looking for the right business to invest in, I had certain criteria’s that needed to be met before I could move forward.  My first step was to address what kind of business I wanted to get involved in.  Many of the information I would read taught to look at what you like to do as a hobby and ask yourself how you can make money with it.  For me I liked working with others of like mind.  I love business, investing, politics, helping others reach their goals, and most of all I love the big man up stairs.  When I become passionate about something I go full fledged, and because of my background I love see success and will work as hard as I can to see more.  I wanted to make sure I surrounded myself with others who had the same passions in life, and you will to.

Secondly I had to look at how I wanted the business to work.  There are two things that make up a business…products, services, or both….but you have to have at least one of them. Which one did I want to incorporate in my business? Did I want to have a business that required me to lease or own real-estate, do I want real-estate at all?  Would I want a business what would require me to hold an inventory, and the cost associated with it?  Did I want a business that was limited to one product or service, or something that transforms as the demands transform?  How would I handle the change in supply and demand, is there a business that does this for me?  Do I want a business that would require me to hire and manage employee’s, and deal with the cost, taxes, and pain that come with being a manager?  It’s funny because in the corporate world the goal is to become a manager, but in the entrepreneurial world the goal is to avoid this phase at all costs.  Did I want a business that I ran on my own, or a business I could run with a team?  Did I want investors or business partners?

There is so much that goes into planning out the who’s, and what’s, of understanding where to start on owning a business.  To be honest it can scare you out of looking further when you think about it.  In the end I knew my answer to all the questions above were a big no.  I didn’t want the pains of owning real-estate or the hassles of leasing.  I didn’t want to take on the cost of furnishing anything or leasing equipment.  I didn’t want a business that limited me to services only I could perform, or trying to keep up with what’s popular today and not tomorrow.  I didn’t want managing and sell an inventory of products in a warehouse.  I definitely didn’t want a business that would requirement the nightmare of hiring, managing, and babysitting employee’s while taking on the tax nightmares associated with it.  I call businesses that have employee’s adult day cares.  I didn’t want a business with the hassles of being a franchisee.  Most of all I wanted a business I could grow with a team of individuals where we could run together and have financial benefit as a whole.

What I didn’t like about your typical traditional business structures is you’re all on your own, and only as good as your last sale.  I wanted a business that would eliminate my need to constantly sell…sell…sell, and a business where I could partner up and leverage my time and energy with a team environment.  So what business did I choose and why, we will talk about this soon.

Let The Games Begin

Since I was old enough to move out on my own I have always felt I was created to own my business vs. working for someone my entire life. The hard part about this equation was my lack of income. It seemed like you had to come from money or have it in order to live the American dream. My other obstacle was choosing the right business to invest in. This is where it gets tricky. It seems like when you have money the choices are obvious, buy a franchise or create your own business from scratch, and bam you’re rich. For people like me who were living hand to mouth I thought I was destined to live the peasants life. My only options were four years or more of school and join in the cut throat world of Corporate America, so off I went.

Throughout my years I did well. I started off in a mail room for a Fortune 500 Health Insurance Company. Within 5 years I had quadrupled my income and was promoted five times. I felt I had found my calling, and had given up on the idea of someday owning my own business.. I had become comfortable. As life would go on I would get married, and become a parent…and the beast was summoned from within. At this stage in my life I was working many hours as Sales Coach and Account Manager, and started to feel like a part time dad.

Every morning I got to see my little 2 yr old son wake up in the morning, spend about five minutes with him…and off to work I went. I would usually get home about one hour before his bedtime. I had school once a week, and would go a couple days without cuddling with my wonder wife and son. In reality I only got to experience my family on the weekends, and as I continued to advance up the corporate latter I couldn’t see this changing. So I began to seek out other alternatives with a goal of becoming my own boss and have control over my time and income. Don’t get me wrong I am blessed. I love my job, I have an awesome management team who gives me complete freedom. I am able to make a living good enough to allow my wife to be a stay at home mom with our son and little one on the way.

I would find myself often Googling home businesses and not knowing which ones were a hustle and which ones were legit. There were so many scams , and it seemed like the other ones were Pyramid Schemes or Multi-Level Marketing programs when you looked past their fancy seminars. I began to think that the only true way one could start a business was saving up hundreds of thousands of dollars and buy into a franchise. Even in this venture I found myself feeling that little knot in my stomach, because of how your going against every rule on investing….putting yourself into extreme debt in hopes to dig yourself out in the long run. That’s kind of how I feel today when it comes to college, spend 60-100K just to get a 35-40K job, in hope that this degree will someday lead to the big money, doesn’t make sense.

Then one day I was introduced to a business that would change my life and provide me a means to an end. It would help push and challenge me in a way I loved, and help me to create some of the best relationships I’ve ever imagined. Almost everyone I come across says they feel their an entrepreneur, and if given the right circumstances they could see themselves running their own business. What I hope to accomplish with this blog is what creating a business is really about, the drive you need to have, the willingness to close your ears to those who want to tear your dreams down, the sacrifices that will be made, and help give you the tools through my journeys that owning a business is a reality for anyone who has the desire, drive, and passion no matter where you are at, nor the income you may be making.

In my next blog we’ll look at some good questions to ask yourself when choosing the right business to start