When Planning Your Business,
Don't Forget About You!
By Joseph Lizio
Many new entrepreneurs spend a lot of time planning their business. They do
this to ensure that once their doors are open things run smooth and that they
have a real chance for long-term success.
Most go out and write a business plan. Business plans are great tools in
planning your business as well as thinking through all of the small things that
business owners have to deal with each and every day. They are very good road
maps for a business owner.
But, there is one thing that almost all new business owners miss - and that
is their personal situation. They miss it because they get so engrossed in
planning the business side. Further, most business plan templates or software
just do not cover this issue.
To be a successful entrepreneur, a business owners needs to have the least
amount of disruptions (non-business disruptions) possible as well as have the
ability to take advance of all opportunities that come their way.
This requires a very solid personal foundation. An entrepreneur must first be
mentally ready to put in long hours, make hard decisions and choices and be
willing to do what it takes to succeed (take risks). They must also be willing
to make personal sacrifices for the business knowing that these scarifies will
pay off in the long-term. And, lastly (and most importantly) they must be
financially prepared.
This can mean:
1) Having your personal finances in place so you are not reliant on the
business to cover your living expenses. Most businesses take 12 to 18 months
just to break even. If the business owner is counting on the business to provide
them a salary from day one - they are setting themselves up for a quick failure.
2) Reducing personal obligations to the lowest level possible by either
consolidating debt into one low monthly payment or eliminating personal debt all
together.
3) Lowering living expenses to the most basic of needs. Luxury items are out
- stick to just the basics for survival.
4) Improving credit scores. Regardless of what you may have been told - your
personal credit history really, really matters. Should you need working capital
or some other type of loan for your business - your personal credit history will
come into play. Should you need trade credit or store credit or even insurance -
your personal credit history comes into play.
By making yourself the as lean as possible - reducing personal distractions
and putting yourself into a position to jump at every opportunity - will go a
long way towards your business success.
Everyday I come across entrepreneurs who either have great ideas or growing
businesses but cannot get them to the next level because their personal
situation (bad credit or personal money needs) stands in their way.
Don't be one of them.
Copyright 2009 - BusinessMoneyToday.com
Joseph Lizio holds and MBA in Finance and Entrepreneurship
and has a strong commercial lending background. In his current venture, Mr.
Lizio is the founder of
www.businessmoneytoday.com - a site designed to help business owners find
and obtain capital to grow their businesses. |
