One of the worst mistakes you can make as a new business person is to try and open a business that you known nothing about. A lot of people think they know all about a business after reading a couple of books or even a couple of paragraphs but as Napoleon Hill says in his book “Think and Grow Rich” – the moment you think you know it all is the moment that you know nothing. The bottom line is that no matter how positive your attitude is — you have to have some practical know-how.
Although a great attitude is necessary to have it is also a good idea to have a business that is grounded in the reality of the economy. There is no sense battling every day to force a badly thought out concept to work. You can have all of the hope you want but you cannot eat a dish of hope for dinner at the end of the day. This is why it is so important to have a business plan and an idea of how your business will turn over a profit and how it will do this every day to sustain itself and you. It just simply is not a good idea to succumb to wishful thinking, which is not quite the same as staying motivated so that you can succeed.
Many people starting their own business are also escapees from the nine to five rat race. Many of them have also had twenty plus years experience as a corporate executive, advertising executive, a tax lawyer or some other high-paying job. Failure is not an option in their mind, but the reality is that no matter how smart or experienced you are a business can fail. It can fail for reasons beyond your control, which is why you have to have a practical business plan that helps you prepare for a prosperous exit should your business not make it after all.
Many people try to wing a business only to find themselves wishing that they had done more research about their customer base, location and the cost of advertising. Many businesses are also begun by hopeful types that do not actually have enough capital to start a business and then end up having to declare bankruptcy because of a complete shortage of funds.
If you have no idea what your business is about then hire an expert who can help you learn about it. A leader who does not delegate tasks or is too egotistical to learn the basic nuts and bolts of a business is also likely to fail. Swallow your ego and realize that the richest businessmen in all the world are asking questions about how to run their business all of the time. They just never stop doing their homework.
