The single most important success factor for entrepreneurs is choosing the right business. Many entrepreneurs make their choice based on what they have done successfully in the past or what they are naturally good at. Those are important considerations but there’s one thing that’s much more critical.
You need to decide the lifestyle you want. I know: how un-American! We’re supposed to pick a business by the scale of the opportunity, the size of the payoff, the hockey-stick curve of the spreadsheet, the number of toys!
Try putting lifestyle first as a filter for possibilities you will consider. Say you love the excitement of a retail environment, and you also love gourmet coffee. So, perhaps you want to open a café. Except….the hours are 6 am to 10 pm weekdays and 6 am to midnight weekends. Are you up for that lifestyle? You think you’ll hire a manager to work the non-lifestyle hours? Nah. You gotta make the donuts! You won’t manage yourself out of the underlying lifestyle, not for a few years, if all goes well.
Another example: you are a superstar salesman but got fed up with all the travel so you left your corporate job. You’re thinking of launching your own media rep firm. Wait a sec! Didn’t like travel then? It’s going to be worse now, because you’re paying. No more favorite airline. (Does anyone still have a favorite airline? Not to mention the only flying perk left is a free can of soda and a big helping of attitude from your flight attendant.) If you really were sick of business travel, no matter how many clients you might have on Day One of your new startup, you are getting into the wrong business.
How do you identify lifestyle considerations first? Honestly answer these questions for yourself and then use your responses as an absolute, totally fortified boundary for what you will or won’t do:
- How many hours a week do I want to work?
- What kind of people (customers, employees, co-workers) do I want/not want to have around me all day?
- Do I want to travel for business and if so, how much?
- What are five family events I missed because of a current or previous job that I will make a commitment not to miss again? And how will I choose a business that ensures this?
- What kind of person am I?
On the last point, it’s a good idea to take an assessment test like DISC or Myers-Briggs. They are inexpensive and interesting. I’ve taken DISC many times and my independence score comes up aberrantly high every time—which means I have a big problem with authority, as most of my former employers will attest. It helps to know yourself and seek out business opportunities that fit well into your personality type. For example, if you’re super-independent, franchises may be a bad idea because you may have trouble following a system–and that’s what you are buying with a franchise.
Have I missed important questions to ask yourself to figure out the right business for you? Do tell!
Contributing blogger Mitch York is a personal friend of The VAR Guy. York coaches executives who are evolving into entrepreneurs. Find York — and his personal blog — at www.e2ecoaching.com.
Tags: e2e Coaching | Entrepreneurs | Executive to Entrepreneur Coaching | Mitch York | Start-ups
Interact: Add a Comment | Trackback Link | Permalink
Share: digg | del.icio.us | Technorati | StumbleUpon
Subscribe: RSS Feed
_2.gif&contenttype=gif "ManageEngine")
Great article! In fact, matching a career to personality type is key as it is accurately estimated that 70% of all employees are “falsifying” type in the work place. They are working in areas of weakness much more than areas of strength. Doing the Myers-Briggs can really help. DISC is wonderful but does not measure core instincts as the MBTI; actually doing both together would be perfect.
Falsification of Type is “pandemic” in the world and most are just not aware of it.
Regards,
Ken
Excellent information you had provided,if one want to start the business,he have to be aware of that business and he should have that much of capability to do that business,other wise it is useless.If one have that much of guts he can entered in to that business what ever he wants to do.
Franklin: Thanks for reading. Mitch has started several successful businesses since leaving the IT media industry around 2001. You can check in with him directly at http://www.e2ecoaching.com.
I’m now re-reading the E-Myth for the umpteenth time. So many good lessons to be learned about starting a business. The biggest trap small business owners fall into is that they are usually Technicians first, and Entrepreneurs second. The Technician loves to do the actual work, rather than plan the strategy for the company and manage the process of growth. Being a Technician is great fun — I enjoy it more than being a strategist — but unfortunately you can’t be a successful Entrepreneur unless you get you stop playing with the knobs and widgets and focus on the future!
The VAR Guy was at a lacrosse game this weekend, watching his son play — but also chatting with other fathers-turned-entrepreneurs. They mentioned 2 big mistakes they made when launching their businesses:
1. Not doing it sooner.
2. Not managing cash flow: The entrepreneurs noted that sometimes they were “too nice” to their customers, sending them invoices late and letting payments slide a bit. Include firm payment details in all contracts and invoices. And the moment a client is one-day late with payment, follow up. Don’t let it slide.