In part 1 of ‘Is Having Your Own Business A Viable Career’, I talked about how easy it can be to set up a business these days for very little money. I also mentioned that it’s important to have the right mindset. If you do best when someone is telling you what they want done, or if it’s important that you have a weekly or monthly salary coming in as regular as a clockwork, then maybe you’re better off being an employee.
In this post, I’m going to talk more about mindset. In the next part, I’ll give you more information about the free or nearly free tools that are out there.
As I’ve already said, your mindset is critical to your success. In my opinion there are 3 parts to this. Firstly, do you have an entrepreneurial mindset? Secondly, do you understand the business of being in business and thirdly, what is it you really want to do with your life?
Entrepreneurial Mindset
If making money is your number 1 objective, then it’s important to distinguish between trading time for money, and being an entrepreneurial woman. Trading time for money is when you sell a service (for example an hour’s coaching, or a home-baked cake) for money. It requires your physical presence or effort, and so your time. The advantage is independence; you are your own boss. The disadvantage, as a self-employed person, is that if you’re sick, or you want to take a holiday, you don’t get paid. At the beginning you are likely to be doing everything in the business yourself, which can get in the way of serving your customers, and it can be very lonely.
If you set your fees or prices at a high enough rate, you have a chance of making a comfortable living. The problem is that most of us don’t set our fees high enough, particularly women. As women, we are notorious for undervaluing ourselves, so there is a common pattern where the business never really pays for itself, and remains little more than a hobby. If your target market is people who buy cheap, you’re going to have to sell a lot of time or product or services to make ends meet. Economics 101 – the lower the price, the more you have to sell in order to make a profit.
The entrepreneur sees the business as a business, and looks for ways to reduce the money-for-time activities, and increase income from other sources. That’s why most of the leading gurus on personal development, internet marketing, investing and so-forth have programmes you can buy, which provide video/audio/slides/pdfs and, increasingly, membership of a private facebook group. You have access to the knowledge without necessarily spending any time with the expert.
Of course, the true entrepreneur doesn’t limit herself. She makes the business grow to international super-stardom (think Martha Lane-Fox and lastminute.com, or Sara Blakely, founder of Spanx), she becomes a serial entrepreneur like Marcia Kilgore (Bliss, Soap and Glory, Fitflops), or she becomes an investor in a portfolio of businesses (think Deborah Meaden from Dragon’s Den ).
The Business Of Being In Business
It’s not necessary to know all about business before setting up your own, as Sara Blakely demonstrates, but some knowledge of what it takes to run a business does help. At the very least, you need to understand how money works: money in minus money out equals profit, but did you remember to pay yourself along the way? You also need some understanding of marketing, and you definitely need to understand the basic legal and financial requirements of your country and your industry. For example, if you are planning to sell cooked food, you have to be aware of food hygiene regulations in your area.
You can find much of the information you need by googling it. Unfortunately, in the UK, you have to dig around in various places for information on business start-ups, starting with HM Customs and Excise (home of our tax-collecting Inland Revenue). Again in UK, local libraries can be a mine of information, particularly if you live in a large metropolitan area with a business library, or near a local library with a good business section. These days, it’s much harder to find funding for start ups, but in the main the internet has reduced start-up costs dramatically, particularly when it comes to sales and marketing. It’s also made it a lot easier to source physical product (just check out alibaba for the fun of it), and organising distribution of physical items, for example by using ‘dropshipping’ companies.
In part 1, I talked about my friend and mentor Nicola Cairncross, who has created a range of excellent business information products, including an audio version of her original book, The Money Gym. Lawyers and accountants will often offer an initial free consultation, and local Chambers of Commerce and business networking groups often offer free or low cost seminars. There’s a lot that is really practical common-sense, and there’s a lot more you can learn by watching programmes such as The Apprentice or Dragon’s Den and reading some good business books. See our resources page for some suggestions.
What Do You Want To Do With Your Life?
In many ways this is the most important part of the mindset jigsaw puzzle. If your only reason for wanting to start your own business is because you hate your current job, you may find you don’t have the motivation to sustain it. Having your own business requires passion, or at the very least, genuine interest on your part. When you have passion, it makes it so much easier to sell your ideas, products and services.
My first job after University was as a sales rep for Esso. I didn’t like the company and didn’t think their products were any better than those of Shell, BP or Castrol. They certainly weren’t any cheaper! The result was, I found it hell to sell, and left after 2 years by mutual agreement. When I moved on, and started to sell services I believed in, it all became so much easier.
When you have a vision for yourself, it becomes so much easier to focus your efforts. It doesn’t have to be for ever: serial entrepreneurs build up their businesses and then sell them for a healthy reward, but while they are building the business, they know where to put their focus and effort. If you’re having problems creating a vision for yourself, then take a look at ‘How To Have A Career That Really Works For You‘ where I’ve included a number of different exercises to help you design your future.
In Part 3 I’ll be giving more detail on those free or almost free resources. Meantime, feel free to leave your comments in the comments box below this post.
