How do you know you’re ready to start a business?

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For me, I just couldn’t stand working for anyone else. I had to be my own boss. It consumed me. I knew I wasn’t going to be happy until I tried it on my own.

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For me, it was because I thought it was the best way for me to grow professionally. My industry wasn’t offering a lot of opportunities at the time. Starting BIGG Success allowed me to expand my skills.

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Listen to this post! Click a player to hear George & Mary-Lynn on The BIGG Success Show Podcast.

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Maybe you relate to one of us. Maybe not.

Maybe you have an idea for a business. Maybe you don’t.

No matter what, something is driving you to want to start your own business.

Be happy about that something. Let it guide you.

Because it will take you to the key to success in your own small business. What is the key? You must get started.

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It sounds so simple, but it is so true. What I call my first real at-risk business was a Ben Franklin franchise. It wasn’t a particularly good business. But it got me started. If I knew then what I know now, I never would have started it. But I’m so glad I did because it has led me to everything else, including BIGG Success.

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When we started BIGG Success, we certainly didn’t have it all worked out. In fact, I’m amazed now at how little we did have worked out. Everyone in our business was still finding the models of success. But we started anyway and I’m so glad we did because it has led to opportunities I might not have seen otherwise.

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So what’s keeping you from getting started? Let’s talk about five common reasons and see if any of them resonate with you.

It doesn’t have to be all or nothing

You don’t have to quit your job and go full-time. You don’t have to ignore all other sources of income. For example, you could work part-time and spend the rest of your time on your new business.

It will never be perfect

The planning process is incredibly important. However, don’t think you need a perfect business plan.

If you need to raise money, you’ll need a more detailed plan. But once you have a sense of the market, a decent strategy and some tactics to execute upon it, get going.

The timing will never be perfect either. There will always be a reason not to start:

We’re in a recession. We’re in a boom. We’re in between. Great businesses have been started in all economic climates.

You will never know everything

So don’t try. It will only lead to analysis paralysis.

There will always be more to learn. You can’t predict the future.

So don’t pretend you can. Get started once you have a reasonable understanding of your customers, your business, and your industry.

Some of what you know may be wrong

On this one, we can only say that you’re right. But that’s why it’s so important to get started.

Most of what you need to know can only be learned after you launch.

Fear

Fear of standing out. Fear of success. Fear of being different. Fear of embarrassment. Fear of the unknown. Fear of failure.

How can you overcome these fears?

Ask a question, “What’s the worse than can happen?”

Entrepreneurs are excellent risk managers. So start practicing your entrepreneurial skills right now.

Focus on reducing the worst case scenario. When it reaches the point where you can live with it, you’re ready to start.

For example, can you start part-time? Or could you do it on a smaller scale initially?

There are a number of ways to get the risk down to an acceptable level.

There’s one more fear that we should talk about before we go. It’s a fear that drives entrepreneurs. It’s the fear of not trying.

When your fear of not trying overcomes your fear of failure, you’re ready to start. You’re ready for BIGG success!

Are you having trouble getting started? Maybe we can help.

Direct link to The Bigg Success Show audio file | podcast:
http://traffic.libsyn.com/biggsuccess/00741-100511.mp3

Image in this post from k_vohsen