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I came across the book by Louis Barajas entitled “Small Business Big Life,” which takes a more philosophical and psychological approach to teaching how to start a business that I find interesting.
The book doesn’t discuss how to select the right business, or how to patent an idea or how to write a business plan. Rather, it delves into your reasons for starting a business — and that is to have a fuller life. He tries to put the process of starting a business into perspective.
As the author writes at the start of the book:
“The true purpose of a business should be to give you not just more money but more life.”
To succeed in your entrepreneurial venture, the author emphasizes the need for planning, designing and calculating — just like building a house. And like a house, it needs to have a strong foundation or what he calls the “four cornerstones of personal greatness”: truth, responsibility, awareness and courage.
The core of the book is the author’s Five Steps to Build a Small Business, Big Life”:
Step 1: Your Life Blueprint – consider the emotional ROI for starting a business. You may have the most successful business, but true success does not mean that you hate what you’re doing, your business goes against your core values, and it takes you away from what’s really important in your life.
Step 2: Your Vision – The author describes this step as: “Your business should be a way for you to better express your full potential as a human being, a member of a family, and a contributor to the world.” Your business should utilize your unique abilities and gifts to the fullest, and doing so will allow you to create a compelling vision for your business.
Step 3: Your Business Blueprint – More than a business plan, a business blueprint is “an accurate description of exactly what is required to run your business on a day-to-day basis.” It is basically ensuring that all functions of your business are planned and executed well. The business blueprint shows you what to do.
Step 4: Your Business Systems – Business systems are systems that help make your business blueprint automatic. It helps you come up with ways that allow you to do all functions of your business with less effort. Systems can include your process for thinking and strategizing about your business, ensuring compliance with rules and regulations, as well as internal operations systems from accounting to technology to marketing.
Step 5: Your Team – Whether you are a solo entrepreneur or employ several people, your team includes everyone that you interact with in your business. These include your customers, suppliers, employees (if any), and outside professionals such as bankers, lawyers, and so on.
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About Isabel Isidro
Evaluating a Home Business
What are you looking for?
It often amazes me how make decisions when it comes to evaluating a real home based business. After years of coaching and mentoring people I’ve heard it all when it comes to people looking at a business.
http://www.mytripcost.com
It really comes down to the fact that there are two types of people. Those that focus on opportunities and those who only see the obstacles. Successful people focus on the opportunities a home based business can bring, unsuccessful people only see the obstacles.
Let me give you a couple of examples. First, no matter what the home based business is, a person who has an intent to make a profit and works the business to some extent, will benefit from the tax advantages alone that owning a business offers. This is one of the great tax strategies an individual can employ to legally reduce their tax liability. I successful person understands this and keeps more of their hard earned money. An unsuccessful person only focuses on how much it will “cost” to get the business started. Let me ask you a question. If you could put $500 to starting a home based business and save between $3-$5k per year in taxes, would that be a wise move for you? Again, what are you focusing on?
Another obstacle that most unsuccessful people focus on is the initial start-up fee itself. This one really amazes me. First of all, most home based businesses can be started for under $1,000. If you only see the $500 start-up or whatever the start up is and aren’t focused on the money you can earn, that says one of two things. Either you have no confidence in your ability to produce results or you really should be looking for a job, not a business. Here’s the bottom line. Most people spend more money on the TV’s or even their vacuum cleaner than it costs to start a home based business and neither of those earn you money. So what’s the real issue? Is it the money to get started or your fear of failure? Just something to think about.
Here’s what I suggest to those that are looking for a successful home based business. Stop over analyzing everything so much. It’s pretty simple stuff. You have an opportunity to make money and save money on your taxes. If you are willing to put some work into it and you are coachable you will make some money. If you don’t, you won’t. We act like we are purchasing a million dollar home and it’s far less than that. Do your research to make sure the opportunity is real, then get started. Stop with the analysis by paralysis that probably has you in the situation financially that you are in. Find a company and an opportunity that you can believe in and go for it!
Remember, no one has ever one from the sidelines. If you were so great at spotting opportunities, you would have invested in Microsoft, Google, ebay, Dell, etc. Find someone who has the results you are looking for and duplicate what they have done. Good luck to you!!
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