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3 Brutal Truths About Starting Your Own Business

Written on July 12, 2011 by George Krueger & Mary-Lynn Foster in Business Ownership

Are you unhappy with your job?

Do you dream of starting your own business?

Wouldn’t it be nice?

Being your own boss.

Setting your own schedule.

Getting paid what you’re worth.

We tend to romanticize what we don’t have. Looking in from the outside, all we see is the glamour.

Let’s talk about the brutal truth of these three commonly held beliefs about starting a business.

Hear George & Mary-Lynn talk about the 3 brutal truths on The BIGG Success Show! Click a player to listen.

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Be your own boss

No more working for “the man.” No longer having to put up with the bull. Not answering to anybody.

The fact is you will answer to more people than ever:

Customers

To start, every single one of your customers is your boss.

Sure, it’s different. Sure, if you have enough customers, you can afford to fire one now and then.

But if you want to be a BIGG success in your small business, you better get really good at serving your customers.

Financiers

Your financiers are your boss. It’s the golden rule: He or she who has the gold makes the rules! They will likely set parameters within which you must operate.

Of course, if you don’t need outside funding, you won’t have to worry about these bosses.

Government

As a small business owner, you will answer to governmental entities at the local, state and federal levels. Once you hire your first employee, the requirements will escalate. Certain businesses are more regulated than others but every small business deals with government.

Employees

Employees as your boss? Are we nuts? Stick with us for just a minute.

If you believe in servant leadership, you may think of your employees as your boss even though it obviously isn’t the case.

We believe that it’s the leader’s job to make it as easy as practically and financially possible for each and every employee to do his or her job.

Set your own schedule

Can you picture it? Rolling into work late. Taking a long lunch. Leaving the office early. Afternoons on the golf course. Long vacations. What a life!

What a lie!

The reality is that, when you first start your business, you will probably work more than you ever have in your life.

You’ll have to, unless you have a lot of money to pay for help. But then, you’ll be flowing red and you’ll feel even more stress to reach break-even.

Of course, once your business is a BIGG success, you may be able to back down on the time you spend on it. But that will take years, if not decades.

Get paid what you’re worth

Finally, you will be compensated for your effort. Your true value will be valued. You can set your own pay.

The truth is not quite so pretty. You may not be able to afford to pay yourself as much as you make now.

Of course, in time, you better make more money. But you have to plant in order to harvest.

You will invest both time and money. You deserve to be compensated fairly for both.

But it won’t likely happen right away. Chances are, you will subsidize your business for a period of time. (Unless, of course, you raise more money. In that case, see the discussion above about financiers and the golden rule.)

If you no longer want to be an entrepreneur, great! We’ve accomplished something here today. You’ll be spared the financial and emotional costs of starting your own business.

If after reading all this, you still have that feeling in your gut – you just have to do it; you cannot accept not trying; you have to start your own business.

Great! We’ve accomplished something here today. You’re ready to start your own business with your eyes wide open. It leads to BIGG success!

If you aren’t sure how to get started, shoot us an e-mail at bigginfo@biggsuccess.com or leave a voice message at 888.455.BIGG (2444). Tell us what you’re thinking about. Maybe we can help.

Direct link to The Bigg Success Show audio file | podcast:
http://traffic.libsyn.com/biggsuccess/00717-071211.mp3

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Tags: audioblog, bigg success, entrepreneur, george krueger, job, mary-lynn foster, podcast, small business owner, starting your own business, the bigg success show

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Entrepreneurs, Emotions and an Election

Written on November 2, 2010 by admin in Business Ownership

voting It’s election day here in the United States. A 60 Minutes segment this past weekend talked about the mood of the electorate. It was called Anger in the Land.

It’s a story about Newton, Iowa which, like many communities in the Midwest, is still struggling in spite of the pronouncement that the recession has ended.

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Hear George & Mary-Lynn discuss today's topic on The BIGG Success Show! Click the player to listen: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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We’re in the Midwest so we know the feeling. Many small business owners are still hurting. Steve Pelley, the host of the segment, interviewed several small business owners from the Newton area.

And that’s what really struck us. It wasn’t the anger as the title of the piece indicated. It was two different emotions.

Grief

Dave McNeer is the owner of Maxim Advertising, an advertising specialties manufacturer. His company had grown every year for 22 years. Then it ran head on into the Great Recession.

He had to lay off twelve of his 22 employees. He said that, before letting the first one go, he and his wife were all night. They talked. And prayed. He added that it was one of the hardest days of his life.

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George Krueger My students are often surprised at how much the entrepreneurs we bring in as guest speakers talk about their employees.

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Many small business owners see their employees as part of their family. They don’t just work with them. They genuinely care about them.

That’s yet another reason why we need elected officials who do more than just talk about getting the small business engine revved up again. We need them to first, understand the small business owners’ mindset. Then they can create the environment necessary for small businesses to thrive.

Gratitude

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Mary-Lynn Foster The small business owner who really got to me was Scott Creech, the owner of the Domino’s Pizza franchise in Newton for the last 21 years.

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Due to sales declines, he’s had to cut his staff from 22 people down to 7. So he’s doing what entrepreneurs always do – rolling up his sleeves to get the job done.

Unfortunately, that means he’s working overtime – he had worked 82 hours the week before the interview. His wife worries about his health. He comes home before his 10-year old son goes to bed before going back to work to finish up. When asked what the stress is like, he answered: “I’ve been blessed.”

Public servants

Yes, there is anger in the land. We need politicians who step up to the role of public servants again, who roll up their sleeves and work overtime to come up with some real solutions.

In the meantime, we’ll keep plugging away. We’ll grieve. We’ll be grateful. But we will find a way, with or without their help, to reach BIGG success!

Direct link to The Bigg Success Show audio file | podcast:
http://traffic.libsyn.com/biggsuccess/00643-110210.mp3