Are You Ready To Start Your Own Business? The 4 Key Questions You Must Ask

Title:Are You Ready To Start Your Own Business? The 4Key Questions You Must AskWord Count:899Summary:How can you make sure that you are among thewinners rather than the losers in this highstakes game? The answer is inside of you. You must

ask yourself four key questions todetermine whether your own small business willsurvive and thrive.Keywords:business, starting a business, small business,entrepreneur, home business, working at home,working from homeArticle Body:Every year millions of people answer \"Yes\" to thatquestion and every year that answer costsmany of them money, time, confidence, andheartbreak. The Small Business Administrationestimates there are 580,900 new small businessesopening each year and that number does not

include the small one-person entrepreneurshipsthat pop up every day. However even if youare your business's sole employee then there isstill something to be learned from the SBA'snumbers.According to the SBA, two-thirds of newbusinesses survive at least two years and44 percent survive at least four years. Two of thekey factors in the businesses survivaland ability to thrive: the owner's educationlevel and the owner's reason for starting thefirm in the first place.How can you make sure that you are among thewinners rather than

the losers in this high stakes game? The answeris inside of you. You must ask yourself fourkey questions to determine whether your own smallbusiness will survive and thrive.1. AreYou ReadyHave you mentally prepared yourself for theswitch from employee (or student orwhatever label fits you currently) to boss. Youare going to be the one making decisions nowabout everything from office products to productline. This total control is one of thedriving forces behind many people who take theplunge into starting their ownbusiness but it

is also one of the elements that drives newentreprenurs crazy. When you start out there isan endless list of decisions that need to be madeand new questions crop up every day.Evenmore important you will need to remember that ina small business you will wear many hats.Even if you manage to start out with one or moreemployees you will each fulfill more thanone role in your new business. And if you arerunning a one-man or one-woman show then youserve in every capacity from file clerk tomaintenance crew to salesman to CEO. Can youhandle switching from task to task and role to

role like that? Are you willing to make thoseswitches?Similarly, have you prepared your family andfriends for this switch in attitude.Your life is going to change -- probably prettydrastically -- and that change can have apositive or negative impact on your family lifeand social interactions. It will make thingsmuch easier if your friends and family aresupportive going into the process.2. Where IsYour Niche?Have you identified your niche yet? One of thereasons many businesses fail is

that they fail to focus on a target audience. Yesif you are a major discount chain then youcan sell everything from peanuts to wallpaper butthis type of business requires vastresources that just aren't available to the smallbusiness. But small businesses dominatethe marketplace (creating more than 50 percent ofthe private gross domestic product lastyear) by finding a different approach -- a niche.Knowing your niche means you are betterable to find, target, and maintain your customersas well as provide the best possible goodsand services to that customer base. That focus isone of your best chances to not only

survive but to thrive in a very competitivemarketplace.3. What Is Your Plan Of Action?Another key factor in the survival and ultimatesuccess of your business is how muchplanning you do before you open your electronicor physical doors. You need to decide ifyour business will be based on the internet orinclude more traditional models. Are yougoing to work full-time or part-time at your newbusiness? Are you going to hire help or gosolo? Have you written (or at least outlined) yourbusiness plan? Dreaming, thinking andplanning can save you much trouble and waste later

when things are hectic and problemsstrike. Planning can also help keep you focusedand to balance your spending and time.4.Who Are You Going To Call?At some point, no matter how experienced abusiness person youare, you will need help. You will need support,advice, tools, or information -- or all ofthe above. One of the beautiful, and mostfrightening, aspects of growth is that it can leadyou to places you never imagined. No matter howmuch planning and experience you bring toyour new position as CEO the unexpected will arise.

How will you cope with this? It isimportant to recognize that no business is anisland. It is not failure to seek help.Failure is when your business shuts down becauseyou didn't get the help you needed.Thebest way to get timely help is to work on yoursupport system while you work on buildingyour business. That way you will already have aready list of resources available that youcan quickly tap into when emergencies strike. Intoday's world there are many marvelousresources available to you no matter what yourbusiness model may be. These include:

~Publications (newsletters, magazines, books) ~ People (professional advisors, mentors,teachers, consultants) ~ Networks (organizations and forums in yourniche as well asgeneral business and marketing) ~ Education and training (tutorials, courses,andseminars)After you have answered these four key questionsyou are now ready to askyourself that one big question again -- are youready to start your own business?