The U in Opportunity

Yvonne Battle-Felton

July 12, 2010

“I’ve been thinking about starting a business,” she says.

My sister is talented, while I personally think there’s nothing she can’t do, professionally I wonder what she will choose.

“I’m not going to do it,” she adds.

Over the next ten minutes, my sister convinces herself—and me—that maybe now is not the time to start a business—for her.

Some things she gives me to think about:

1. When: Starting a business requires a lot of time. Time spent reading, sleeping, researching will be spent running a business: marketing, retaining, staffing, billing, etc…
2. How: Starting a business is a big responsibility: staff and bills get paid regardless of whether my clients pay me. How do I find clients? How do I keep them?
3. What: While I have many talents, what service can I provide that clients will pay for? What will I charge?
4. Who: Marketing and advertising require capital, capital requires clients. I can’t start a business without having the resources to make it profitable.
5. Where: Will I office from home? In a traditional office? In shared office space? Will I even need an office?
6. Why: Am I able to provide a service that only I can provide? Is the only way to be successful in my industry to provide the service myself? Can I work with others to provide the same service, share the responsibilities and costs?

It’s not that I hadn’t thought about these issues in the past, I just hadn’t thought about them thoroughly in relation to me.

A successful business takes planning, models, strategies and dreams. Is it possible? Yes. Is it for everybody? No. Is it for you? Only you know the answer to that.

If you decide owning your own business is for you, remember you don’t have to do it alone. There are resources, organizations and companies who want you to succeed almost as much as you do—reach out to them and they can reach out for you.

• Permalink
• Comments (0)