Sustaining Business Newsletter

What a Great Idea!
By Rhett Hendrickson

“What a great idea!”  “You should start a business that does that!”  “I bet you could make money doing that.”

Most of us have said these words and others like them to our friends and family; some of us have even heard them spoken to us by others.  Do we act on them?  Usually not – and for a variety of reasons:  We don’t have the time or money to start a business.  Sometimes we need others to bring our idea to fruition and we can’t find the right partner.  Sometimes we doubt our own abilities or that our idea is really as good as it first sounds.

It gets really painful when, after a while, someone else comes up with the same idea we had and makes it wildly successful.  Those of us who have sat on an idea for whatever reason have little choice but to watch others’ success and imagine ourselves reaping the rewards.  At best, we can buy stock if their company goes public.  That’s happened to us more than once.  Believe me, we know how it feels.

You may be expecting me to do a bit of cheerleading here – all “rah, rah, start your own business and live your dreams.”  If that’s all you need, you probably already own your own business.   It would be irresponsible of us to paint unicorns and smiley faces all over the issue and pretend that entrepreneurship is easy.  It is not.  Entrepreneurs risk their time, money, and reputation on an idea that sometimes can’t be deemed worthy or foolish until it’s tried.  Failure IS an option; most start-up businesses fail within five years and restaurants usually don’t make it past one or two.

Now you’re probably saying to yourself, “Slow down, Rhett.  That’s enough encouragement for today.”  There are LOTS of local success stories in entrepreneurship.  We all know people who have come up with an idea and gathered the necessary resources to develop it into a going concern.  Some have started businesses from scratch, others have brought franchised services to our region, and yet others have taken an existing idea and made their own adaptations to make it work in new ways and here’s what it takes – keeping in mind that all are equally important:

First:  Have the right attitude.  Believing that you CAN isn’t a guarantee of success, but believing that you CAN’T definitely guarantees failure.  Those who succeed remain patient, positive and confident in their abilities are far more likely to succeed than those who are quick to criticize themselves.  Successful entrepreneurs certainly have their bad times, they just learn from them and adapt – always moving forward.

Second:  Have enough time.  Companies rarely know if they’re going to succeed after just a year or two.  If you can’t afford the time it takes to give your business a chance, then save yourself the effort.  You can’t go halfway on this.  You can definitely start a company “on the side” – just realize that your “side business” will probably take up more hours of each week than your “regular” job.

Third:  Have enough money.  Not just the money it takes to get your operation going, but also enough to live on.  Maybe for years.  We see a lot of new business owners that expect to get paid right away and it doesn’t always happen.  Entrepreneurs who retain their business earnings and use them to bolster their new company stand a far better chance of survival than those who take too much too soon.

Fourth:  Have the right partners.  Don’t go into business with ANYONE you don’t know well.  If you and your partners don’t share the same vision and if you don’t have a way of resolving conflict, you’re a dead businesses walking.  Even if you’re a sole proprietorship, your company’s survival is dependent on your relationships with suppliers and customers.  Business partners should have nothing to hide from each other.  Trust your gut.  If a potential business relationship feels strange, avoid it entirely.

Fifth:  Have the right partnerships.  Every business needs a banker, attorney, accountant, and advisor.  All provide the perspective and advice that you need to be successful, don’t skimp on this.  For instance, even if you can do your own books, accounting, and taxes, you need a second set of eyes to check things over and do so objectively.

You might just have the next great business idea.  If you don’t know what to do with it, call us; we’re experienced at helping budding entrepreneurs decide what they need to do next.  We’ve been there ourselves and continue to evaluate our own ideas and put them into action.  We’ll take the time to sit with you and hear your ideas – confidentially, of course – and recommend a course of action.  Best of all, it’s only your time you spend with us in that discovery session.  We don’t charge for initial consultations – ever.  Your choices really boil down to two simple options:  Act, or don’t.