In Kick-Starting a Business of Your Own*, an article I once read in the US News and World Report offered many great suggestions on what someone who is starting a new business should consider:
- Find a mentor (consider the benefit in working with both a mentor and a coach).
- Do the prep work.
- Write a business plan.
- Line up sources of funding.
- Purchase health insurance.
- Hire an accountant.
- Don’t neglect retirement savings.
- Accept what you cannot have.
There are many articles such as this one addressing this popular topic. After all, over 600,000 small businesses get started each year, according to the Small Business Administration. Yet, how many survive? In addition, per the SBA, 2/3 survive after two years and only 50% will still be there after the fifth year.
So what goes wrong? Well, it could be many things but the items that I never seem to see on the checklist is about knowing yourself and aligning yourself with someone who will objectively hold you accountable.
No matter how great the product or service a business has to offer, how well you have written your business plan and secured financing to get you started, success will only come from individuals who truly knows themselves, knows what their strengths and weaknesses are. Keep in mind that this is not the same as knowing about yourself when you work for someone else because being a business owner, an entrepreneur, requires a specific skill set. In the article, the author got close with #1 on the list encouraging one to identify and work with a mentor, there is a distinctive difference between these two types of support. Learn more about our Coaching.
"Your past is not your potential. In any hour,
you can choose to liberate your future.” – Lou Holtz