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Getting Started With Your Lifestyle Business
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The first time I heard the term ‘lifestyle business’ was when I started designing this blog. I wanted to be able to define what I do, and the category I fall under as an entrepreneur. I like to see myself as a serial or multi-passionate entrepreneur, and now I’m adding ‘a lifestyle business owner/entrepreneur’ to the list.
I basically turned my passion into a business (personal interest) – that’s how I coined the term ‘lifestyle business’ even before I spent about an hour searching for the definition online. It is not a new term, there are several definitions in different resources – but most have negative and biased attitudes towards it. I don’t think it matters anyway – because I’m still a lifestyle business owner/entrepreneur, and I am unstoppable.
Lifestyle Business: My Definition
From my point of view, lifestyle business is the best form of business for people who want to be free and happy – maybe the pictured quote below is a little cliché, but it’s true
The happiness part:
Prior to starting my first business – I grew up taking care of children including my younger siblings, cousins; I’d help out at the local church camps every holiday, and also volunteer at our local community art center – organizing activities for children. I love children, and planning to launch a business for their pleasure made me so happy. I don’t think my family was surprised when I first shared the camp business idea with them.
My other businesses involve a combination of writing, designing, mentoring, consulting, teaching and learning new things – and if you know me very well, you’d know that these are my obsessions, my pastimes.
The freedom part:
In the past few years, I have been juggling multiple interests, I’ve had a lot of good ideas, and, of course, I can’t do everything at the same time; but I have tried every good idea thrown at me. I can do all that because what I do allows me to work on other projects, and also have the lifestyle I desire without having to sacrifice my personal life. In other words, I get to try new things because I can, I have a flexible working and work-life balance, and I can choose to stay in the UK or Nigeria, and still get to run my business from anywhere.
So! now you know why I have the picture quote. Here is my definition:
Lifestyle business is a business that reflects your way of life – your personal interest, values, and enables you to use your talent, skills and hobbies; gives you the freedom to work in a way that sustains the lifestyle you want, and gives you a sense of self-fulfillment.
Running a lifestyle business means you have the freedom to make your own decisions, and you are not driven by profit to keep your investors happy, like most corporate businesses – you are more focused on the value, you work on your own terms, and you set your own hours. You earn money doing what you really love – and it can be just about anything: from selling your DIY projects online, to opening your own fashion boutique, or a design studio.
If you don’t know the true meaning of success, (click here to read mine).
A lifestyle business is not very different from a corporate or, in general, terms a ‘Startup’ business. The difference is probably the structure/design. Most startups are harder to build and sustain, and profits don’t come easily – but when it comes, the owners begin to enjoy the freedom and flexibility lifestyle business owners already enjoy.
(Pictured: A day in the life of a lifestyle business entrepreneur – that’s me in Orange).
The Growth Potential For A Lifestyle Business
So! I know what you are thinking – NO! a lifestyle business doesn’t have to be small at all. Doesn’t mean you won’t or shouldn’t make money or employ smart people. You must know that the main reason people go into lifestyle businesses is for the freedom to live a great life while running their company – unlike a startup whose aim is to grow big enough to provide a return to investors.
In other words, a lifestyle business could be any size, can be very profitable from the very beginning, and has a high growth potential – and it’s all up to you to decide how big you want your business to grow.
For instance: with my camp business, I currently book hotels and hostels, and hire equipment for my camp business, which is quite expensive – but my short-term goal is to build our own camp site, which will have all the equipment and resources we need; and my long-term goal is to have more than one camp sites.
Excitingly, my small lifestyle business has a high growth potential. Again! it can be just about anything if you can cultivate your creative brain. Another example on how you can grow a lifestyle business, using the DIY and fashion boutique examples above – is opening a physical DIY studio to teach people how to make their own things.
What Lifestyle Business Is Not
So you know what lifestyle business is, and you are probably excited and ready to get started – but let’s set realistic expectations before we go any deeper.
1. It is not about having the freedom to do as little as you want.
Don’t breathe a sigh of relief just yet, because it’s not about having the freedom to do as little as you want, right from the offset. I don’t believe anybody should start a business sitting at the beach sipping a cocktail, even if it’s a knitting business – come on you are not Richard Branson yet. I also don’t think anyone serious about starting a business should spend the first few days, weeks or months doing nothing (chilling’). Let me tell you the truth, starting a business takes a lot of hard work, success doesn’t come overnight. So won’t you rather do all the work now and rest later when you’ve reached your goal?
- In my opinion, it’s about starting a business with little capital – I have actually never gone out looking for funding or investment to start my business, but I work extremely hard to get results. My lifestyle business(es) enables me to start up whenever I want without any serious capital.
2. It is not just a ‘Mom and Pop’ Shop
According to Business Dictionary online, “a mom and pop shop is a small, independent, usually family-owned, controlled, and operated business that has a minimum amount of employees, has only a small amount of business volume, and is typically not franchised, therefore open for business only in a single location.”
Contrary to popular belief, a lifestyle business isn’t just a mom and pop shop. It can be anything, any size, and very similar to any startup. A lot of people have started really successful lifestyle businesses online, Click here to read stories about three highly successful lifestyle entrepreneurs – these guys run extremely successful blogs (Pat Flynn, Tim Ferriss, and Chris Guillebeau). 
Here is a really successful lifestyle business, called Mindvalley, the company has never taken a VC or loan, and it’s really interesting how they’ve evolved.
Of course, we also have really successful lifestyle business entrepreneurs in Nigeria, like Bella Naija, and MUD Nigeria. If you’re still not convinced you could run a big lifestyle business, you might be interested to read Epic Things Start with Small Humble Steps. It’s a good read, and I think it will help you understand the concept of starting and running a lifestyle business.
Quick Guide To Starting Your Own Lifestyle Business
So now you know what lifestyle business is and isn’t, and you also know that you can grow it to any size of business you want. Now, let’s go deeper:
If you already have an idea of what you want to do, then skip to the ‘How to start your lifestyle business’ section below. If you don’t have any idea yet – you should start by evaluating your skills, talents, personal interest, values, and your passion. Write down at least three things (5 is good too) that make you unique, then write down 3 -5 ideas that come into your mind. After that, find a problem, that people are willing to pay for – no idea is a bad idea. Have you heard about these two lifestyle entrepreneurs who get paid to wear company t-shirts (iwearyourshirt.com)? Again! there is NO BAD IDEA, even if it’s about making better mousetraps – you shouldn’t be worried about or be ashamed of your idea.
HOW TO START YOUR LIFESTYLE BUSINESS
Now that you have a good business idea in mind, there are several steps to get started:
- Have an Effective Action Plan: I don’t mean a business plan – it’s different, it’s a simple list of all of the tasks that you need to finish to meet your goal. Of course just like any other business, you need to have an action plan before you get started. Why? Because it can help turn your idea into a reality, gives you a clear direction, and also helps you understand your idea better. Click this to read 5 Reasons Why Your Business Idea Needs An Action Plan.
- Start your Business Plan: A business plan is not something you write overnight just to get it over with. It’s the most important document for any business, and should not be rushed. It is a living document that evolves over time, and should adapt to a changing marketplace. That’s why I suggest you start it, but not close it – keep it flexible and unfinished, you will see that you may have to change your business idea a number of times even before you get to launch it. However, if you are looking at reaching out to investors, then you can go ahead and close it – but we are talking about a lifestyle business – and so we don’t need any VC or Loan right? RIGHT!
- Get a Blog first and then a Website: I’m not trying to repeat what a lot of bloggers have already written – I am only going to explain why I think you should get a blog first before a website. I have done the opposite so many times before, and I think it takes a long time to get results, unlike a blog. Blogs drive long-term results, and it’s an inexpensive way of selling/advertising your new business. A lot of people read blogs to stay up-to-date and to learn how to do certain things. Having a blog can connect people to your brand, can help you develop a relationship with potential and existing customers, and also drive traffic and awareness to your business and website. You can use your blog to share some practical guides and advice, and some ‘how to’ tips. People with real needs would visit your website to view your product or service, from your blog.
- Make a Realistic Social Media Strategy when you Join the Party: You already know the benefits of using social media for business – again, I’m here to tell you the truth. In reality, not all your Facebook friends, Instagram and Twitter followers will subscribe to your services or buy your products from day one. A lot won’t even respond to your Facebook page invite – it happens! but why focus on growing your social media likes/followers overnight, when you’ve got a business to run. I suggest you focus on the number of people who have engaged with you, accepted your invite, and are interested in knowing more about your business; because if you impress them – they can become outspoken evangelists for your business, and others will come around eventually. I’m not saying stop promoting your business online – of course you have to keep doing that every day, but don’t beat yourself over followers or likes, because social media success does not happen overnight.
- Learn a Few Things from the DIYers, Photographers, Makeup Artists and Fashion Designers: People love to see your work and how it works before they buy into, and these group of people have got it going for them, thanks to YouTube and other social networking sites. They use this medium to showcase their work, it drives interest and repeat customers, and we can learn a few things from them. This can work for any business, products, services – think outside the box – just about anything can be done to drive interest and awareness for any business.
- Spread the word: I believe you should start with your family and friends, they are an inexpensive way to sell/promote your business. If they don’t understand your business idea, I believe you should help them understand, so they can also share it to their friends and colleagues. If you are into products or DIYs, make something for them as a gift – something they will use every time – and if you are into services – design a solution to meet their needs or lifestyle. Your family and friends are your life size/walking billboard waiting to be utilized, Simple. Some tips: don’t make it obvious that you are using them to promote your business, especially if you are the type to always receive and not give – I’m sure your family will be happy to receive something from you too.
- Be Bold to Approach your Potential Clients: This is something I struggled with when I started, and I still do. This is how I see it – if you don’t try you will never know if the answer would have been a yes. Honestly, getting a No is not such a bad thing, It’s just a no, not the end of the world. To me ‘No’ means you’ve got something new to learn, ‘No’ means you’ve got a challenge, and it’s an opportunity to prove yourself, ‘No’ means you are still a human and humans make mistakes, they get things wrong every time; and the best part is, you can ask them for feedback. I have never heard of anyone dying from a constructive criticism – young people and new entrepreneurs need that every time to grow – so ‘No’ can also mean your idea is really good, and it does have a future only if you change something.
An finally! (I’m totally digressing) A ‘No’ can save you a lot of stress, time, money and embarrassment in the future; so go ahead, make that call, send the email, Get a Yes or NO… it doesn’t matter, it’s only a word… Stay Positive Always, no matter what… and you will make it happen for you. Goodluck!
Infographic To Help You Perform Your Personal SWOT Analysis
In my previous post, I shared information on why we need to perform a personal SWOT analysis, and the few steps to create one. I recently came across this really interesting and useful personal SWOT infographic, which I’d like to share, to help you conduct yours.
The infographic below designed by Mindtool shows how to do a personal SWOT, use this to conduct your personal SWOT assessment.
Personal SWOT Infographic
How to Conduct a Personal Swot Analysis
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SWOT analysis is a useful technique for understanding your Strengths and Weaknesses, and for identifying both the Opportunities open to you and the Threats you face. – Mindtools
SWOT analysis was first devised as a business tool in the 1960s, commonly used for business planning, new market/business development, and new product or service launch – generally, organizations use it to assess themselves and their competitors and to formulate their strategies. Today! more people (entrepreneurs, job seekers etc.) are conducting personal SWOT analysis to determine where their particular skills are most likely to fit in, in the professional world.
What SWOT stands for | Credit: Shutterstock
The purpose of a personal SWOT analysis
There are several reasons why we need personal SWOT analysis. For example, in a business context, the SWOT analysis enables businesses to identify both internal (Strengths & Weaknesses), and external (Opportunities & Threats) influences. It’s primary objective is to help business develop a full awareness of all the factors, positive and negative, that may affect the business.
On the other hand, a personal SWOT analysis is essential in personal development, it helps you understand what you are best at, and the areas you need to improve upon to become the best version of yourself. It’s a crucial step for making yourself more appealing to your customers or employer. So whether you are transitioning from entrepreneur to employee, starting your own business, or planning to climb the career ladder; a personal SWOT analysis can help:
- Boost your self-image.
- Set a course for your career
- Take advantage of opportunities available to you
- Identify your short-term and long-term goals, and help you set actionable plans to achieve them.
How to conduct a personal SWOT analysis
Here are the steps to perform a personal SWOT analysis. (You will most definitely find these very useful if you carry out these tasks honestly and realistically):
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Strengths:
This part looks at what you do well and where your skills and talent stands out. Questions to ask include:
- What do you do better than anyone else?
- What sets you apart from others, such as education, certifications, experience, lifestyle?
- What do other people around you see as your strengths?
- What are the positive things people say about you when they meet you the first time?
- What special traits and attributes do you possess?
- What values and ethics set you apart from your peers?
- What advantages can you offer an organization?
When looking at your strengths, think about them from both an internal perspective, and from the point of view of your friends, families, customers and competitors (if you currently run your own business).
For instance: here’s a short list of my strengths:
- Creative and innovative
- Creative writing skills – can prepare any business writing of all kinds
- Capable of studying and transferring knowledge
- Strong project management skills
- Great public speaking and presentation skills
- Capable of studying and understanding business concepts, and any book on any subject
and last but not the least, I am
-
Determined, focused, ambitious, resilient confident and a risk-taker – hence why I’m an entrepreneur
2. Weaknesses:
A personal weakness is an area of opportunity for growth, these are things you could improve upon. For example, some people are disorganized, and uncomfortable speaking in public. These are weaknesses that can really hinder one from growing or succeeding in the professional world, whether you are an employee or an entrepreneur. Questions to consider are:
- What would other people see as your weaknesses?
- What are the negative things people say about you when they meet you the first time?
- Do you have a weak network of connections that will hurt your chances of succeeding or finding work?
- What negative feedback about your personality or work habits have you received?
- Do you have any negative online identity that may stop people from identifying with you, buying into your business or employing you?
- Does any part of your education or training need improving?
- What could you improve about yourself?
Again, consider this from an internal and external basis, and be honest to yourself. As a guideline to conducting yours, here’s a short list of REALLY embarrassing weaknesses I discovered and worked on when I conducted my personal SWOT analysis:
- Perfectionist – I’d often miss deadlines as a resultBad at staying in touch
- Hate failing at anything – took it really bad and personal
- Workaholic – didn’t know when to stop, would work all night all day
- Unnecessarily shy – not capable of speaking in a small group or large group.
Interestingly, this last point is my strongest point now. As a result of the personal SWOT assessment I conducted few years ago, I found out that the only problem I had which hindered me from moving forward and getting my dream jobs, was the fear of public speaking. I worked on it, attended presentation skills training – now! I speak at any occasion irrespective of the size of the crowd.
This is why answering these questions honestly and realistically can help you become the best version of yourself. Answering it falsely can really harm your image and chances. It’s best to be realistic now, and deal with the unpleasant habits as soon as possible.
3. Opportunities
For this part, you should look at your strengths and ask yourself whether these opens up opportunities you can take advantage of. You can also look at your weaknesses and ask yourself if you could open up opportunities by minimizing or eliminating your weaknesses. I use ‘minimize’ because I want to be realistic, the truth is it may take a while to totally eliminate your bad habits (weaknesses). It is a process that requires focus, hard work, determination, and a conscious mind – there are no magic tricks or words for it. For instance, I went on training to improve my public speaking skills – that’s a process.
Questions to ask include:
- What good opportunities can you spot?
- Is there a new demand for a skill or trait you possess?
- What is the state of the economy, is your industry growing?
- What interesting trends are you aware of?
- Is there new technology in your industry?
- What changes are taking place in the industry?
- Are there certain job openings that can’t be filled by other job seekers?
- Have customers and clients given you feedback about new services you could provide?
4. Threats
This part takes into account the external factors that could hurt your chances of improving yourself, moving forward to starting your own business or getting a new work. Questions to ask include:
- What obstacles do you currently face at work or in business?
- Is there strong competition for the types of jobs for which you are best suited?
- Is there strong competition for the products/services you are currently providing or planning to launch?
- What are your competitors doing?
- How easy is it to enter the industry you’d like to start a business in?
- Is changing technology threatening your position?
- Do you have bad debt or cash-flow problems?
- Could any of your weaknesses seriously threaten your business or your ability to rise in your company or get work?
- Is your industry changing directions, which you are not ready for?
- Are there new professional standards and industry practices you cannot meet?
- Is there any new technology that will hurt your chances of finding work or remaining competitive in your industry?
- do you have any family obligations that will reduce your chances of finding work or starting your own business?
A Personal SWOT Example
To help you understand what a personal SWOT analysis look like, here’s an example of a personal SWOT published on a training and job site Mindtool. This is a SWOT analysis for Carol, an advertising manager.
Strengths
- I’m very creative. I often impress clients with a new perspective on their brands.
- I communicate well with my clients and team.
- I have the ability to ask key questions to find just the right marketing angle.
- I’m completely committed to the success of a client’s brand.
Weaknesses
- I have a strong, compulsive need to do things quickly and remove them from my “to do” list, and sometimes the quality of my work suffers as a result.
- This same need to get things done also causes me stress when I have too many tasks.
- I get nervous when presenting ideas to clients, and this fear of public speaking often takes the passion out of my presentations.
Opportunities
- One of our major competitors has developed a reputation for treating their smaller clients poorly.
- I’m attending a major marketing conference next month. This will allow for strategic networking, and also offer some great training seminars.
- Our art director will go on maternity leave soon. Covering her duties while she’s away would be a great career development opportunity for me.
Threats
- Simon, one of my colleagues, is a much stronger speaker than I am, and he’s competing with me for the art director position.
- Due to recent staff shortages, I’m often overworked, and this negatively impacts my creativity.
- The current economic climate has resulted in slow growth for the marketing industry. Many firms have laid off staff members, and our company is considering further cutbacks.
The Outcome
As a result of performing this analysis, Carol takes the bold step of approaching her colleague Simon about the art director’s maternity leave. Carol proposes that both she and Simon cover the job’s duties, working together and each using his or her strengths. To her surprise, Simon likes the idea. He knows he presents very well, but he admits that he’s usually impressed by Carol’s creative ideas, which he feels are far better than most of his.
By working as a team, they have a chance to make their smaller clients feel even better about the service they’re getting. This takes advantage of their competitor’s weakness in this area.
Related Post: Tips to Transition from Entrepreneur to Employee.
Infographic to help you perform your personal SWOT analysis
Personal SWOT analysis – making the most of your talents and opportunities (External Link)
Tips To Transition From Entrepreneur to Employee
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When I first started blogging about my journey and experience as a young entrepreneur, I never knew I’d someday be sharing tips on how to transition from entrepreneur to employee. What has changed? – Well, a few months ago, I was facing some business challenges, juggling too many responsibilities alone, and I couldn’t launch the business I was planning at that time, and I decided to take a break, re-plan and re-strategise.
Weeks passed, I still wasn’t mentally ready to start again, just then I decided to get a short-term contract or temporary job, at least to keep busy, stay relevant in the industry, learn new things, meet new people and potential clients. Again, I was faced with new challenges including changing my personal brand, image and mindset from that of an entrepreneur to employee. Truth be told – some HR managers are intimidated by former entrepreneurs, because a “has-been” could end up being the boss one day. That’s why I had to be very careful not to come across intimidating, unemployable or “over-qualified” (don’t you just hate that?).
One option was to hide information on what I’ve been upto in the last few years – you can say ‘lie’ – NO! because now it only takes a google search for one to know a whole lot about you – so lying wasn’t an option for me. Instead I was modest and simple, and then I approached the companies I was interested in. Yes! I got offers – but I did not accept any. Why? because I got my mojo back – I guess I needed the drawbacks to get my head back in the game.
So if for any reason you’d like to transition, I know there are several reasons why some people transition – but the decision is totally up to you, and I am not against anyone who’s trying to transition from self-employer to employee; hence, why I’m sharing these tips, and I hope you’ll find this useful. Here are some tips on how you can transition successfully.
- Explore Your Reasons & Understand Your Personal Goals
My reasons for making that decision – like I already said: I didn’t want to sit at home doing nothing; and even though I did not go through with it, I learnt a lot in the process; I left my comfort zone, tried new things and it improved my confidence three-folds. Therefore, exploring the reasons why you want to stop working for yourself and start working for another entrepreneur (harsh, I know!), is very important, and you also need to understand what you want to achieve in life. Sometimes circumstances can blind us from seeing the future, the prospects, the opportunities ahead; and all we want to do is give up, believing we can get rid of the problems that way. However, this step can help you see things clearly, get a pen and paper, write down the main reasons and your personal goals, and if at the end you are convinced you have to transition, then you can go ahead.
- Conduct A SWOT Analysis Of Yourself
Just like when you started your business, you also have to conduct a SWOT analysis of yourself, to know your strengths, your weaknesses, and how you can improve yourself to be suitable for your dream job. This analysis will help you understand the kind of job that best suit your personality, and how your skills and experience can benefit your employer. Remember you won’t be going in as a CEO or a business owner who is responsible for everything and everyone, you are going in as an employee who will be responsible for his/her given task, and probably in charge of one person or no one at all. So understanding yourself, your strengths and weaknesses will give you a better picture of the kind of jobs you should be applying for, whether it’s a team-oriented job or a one ‘man-band’ job.
- Research Your Preferred Industry & Job Role
Being a techie girl who also has a business management degree, worked as a business consultant and a technology consultant; I was more interested in companies in this sector/industry. So in your case, you have to research companies offering services and products you are interested in, consider your experience in that industry, and be sure you have the necessary skills. The truth is, someday you may want to go back to run your own business, and the worst thing that can happen is going back after wasting time and years in the wrong industry, and then you are out there struggling in business, all over again; who says you won’t transition back to being an employee? So do the right thing now, do your research and then apply for roles in companies you’ll learn a lot from, a place where you will meet potential clients, partners, suppliers – who will follow you to your own business, FACT!
- Design Your Curriculum Vitae (CV or Resume)
I have a lot more to say about this, but I will try and keep it short….
I have heard some self-employed individuals brag about not having or needing a CV. Trust me, you can’t really get away from this one, everyone needs a CV, even the very successful entrepreneurs in the world have CVs – just Google it. Whether you are an entrepreneur or a student, a strong resume is important in telling and selling your story and personal brand; they are designed to open doors for any one – be it a job, a contract or an investment. My CV for instance, is my self plan just like my business has a business plan. It’s a reminder of where I started, my progress, the gap I need to fill and where I should be headed. So if you still think you are too cool for school – in this case “for CV,” then think again! Oh and by the way, a CV is that personal profile and portfolio potential clients or companies request for when you make a bid; so if you are an entrepreneur without a CV, you should get one (click here to read why an entrepreneur needs a CV, and how to create one); and if you are transitioning and do not have a CV, you have to get one also.
Here’s how I optimised my CV for a job application (check the image on the right), I omitted the title ‘Founder,’ or ‘CEO,’ and used my main Job role for the title – (Had to hide some of my client’s info), but you can see from my CV that I have been self-employed since 2013, so I used the title: Independent Consultant on my CV, and I briefly described the projects and clients I worked for; I also highlighted the jobs that where relevant to the company and the role I was applying for.
Think about the area of expertise you want to focus on and give yourself the appropriate title, highlight the projects you executed, your part in the project, so for instance if your staff was in charge of the project, you can say that you managed and monitored the project team and process, and you liaised with the client etc.
- Send A Speculative Email or Application To The Company Of Your Choice
A speculative email or application is one you send to a company that’s not currently employing or employing internally. Sometimes companies start the recruitment processes internally – open to employees only, or through referrals and recommendations, before advertising to the general public. There’s absolutely no harm in trying, you might just gain access to the hidden/unadvertised jobs. This is exactly what I did, none of the companies I applied to, advertised any job openings, in fact the company I got the first offer from where planning to start advertising the following month, so I kind of saved them money and time – (well in the beginning), and I also kind of wasted their time by not accepting the offer. So I sincerely apologise to them for that.
Now for you, start by sending an email with your CV and a cover letter to the companies you are interested in, introduce yourself, express your interest – I simply said I’d like to work for them as ******* (whatever the job role), and then I explained why and how I will fit in and how I can contribute to the success of company. Now I hope you see why you need to do the SWOT analysis!
- Call Or Visit The Company
So what if they don’t respond to your speculative email/application? – Make a call, and if you are not comfortable with cold calling then visit their office. You can find the company’s address on their website’s contact us page. What happens if they won’t let you walk in without an appointment? – Here’s what I did, I went on LinkedIn, and I searched for the company’s HR or the CEO, took their names and details, learnt few things about them, and when I got to the offices, with a lot of confidence – I told the security at the gate and later the receptionist that I was there to meet with ‘Mr. this’ or ‘Mrs. that’. They thought I was probably family or a close friend. So even if you do not have an appointment, it’s all in the way you approach the first point of contact. Remember! first impression matters – and to be honest, this is Nigeria, you can get to meet anyone without an appointment. If you’ve done all the right things, and you still can’t get past the gate, then you need God and Luck to try again. Good Luck!
- Prepare! Prepare!! Prepare!!!
So I have told you the steps you need to take to transition successfully. Now I hope you are ready to make a move – visit or call the companies. But first you must be prepared, because they may just decide to interview you right away, and you want to be very prepared to impress them. The worst thing is walking in confidently and then you flop (oh! what a nightmare). So here’s how you prepare: 1. Research the company, 2. Refresh your interviewing skills.
- Research the company: Who are they? What services or products do they provide? What is the company’s culture, mission, vision and business values? Who are the customers or clients? Who are the competitors, partners, suppliers etc., – look for information that a typical applicant may not have. I will shed more light on this in my next post.
- Refresh your interviewing skills: Work on answering interview questions such as: tell us about yourself? why do you want to work for us? tell us how you help a client solve a complex problem? how do you perform a particular task (this depends on the industry and the job role you are applying for).
… and that’s it. I wish you all the best, I hope transitioning to employee is the right path for you. As an entrepreneur who’s been there, it’s sad to see you go, but I hope some day you will come back to the club. In the mean time, please follow my blog, and I will try as much as possible to post more information for everyone (entrepreneurs and non-entrepreneurs). GOOD LUCK!
Top Ten Lifestyle Business Ideas In 2015
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New year, new life and new business – if that’s your new year’s resolutions, then way to go mate! I am excited for you. Making the decision to start your own business is great, but it’s rarely enough, you also need a great business idea to make that dream come true. I have selected 10 great small lifestyle business ideas that will provide you with plenty inspiration to get started. Some of the ideas are not new, but are ideas you can start with little or no money, you can run it from anywhere, and control easily.
Running a blog to help people start their own business, comes with a high personal cost, I’m at risk of sharing or exposing my own business secrets. But I will try as much as possible to share good tips and advice, and if you need more information or guidelines on how to start any of the businesses below, I will be glad to assist you, send me a message.
In no particular order, here are the 10 small lifestyle business ideas you can start this year in Nigeria:
1. Online Store
So I will repeat the same thing I say to all the people who come to me for an e-commerce site: ‘you don’t need thousands of naira, £, or $ to get started, and you don’t have to be a massive retailer to start and own an online store. There are so many options, all you need to get started is a great e-commerce software and builder, but if you cannot do it yourself, you can get a reliable designer who will take on your project like a lifetime job. Beware! of the one-off-high-priced-every-size-fits-all freelance designers! Some of them are leeches. Your online store needs a life partner, who is a friendly professional designer/webmaster (hope you get my drift).
If you don’t have your own items to sell yet, you can use drop-shipping service. If you make things and can’t afford an online store yet (even though it costs as little as N5,000 a month to start), you can sell your creations on sites like Etsy or other online marketplaces like ShopFabz.com.
To get started today, click any of the links for special discount shopify and bigcommerce. You can start a 15 day trial with any of these companies. Learn how to design an e-commerce site with shopify and big commerce today.
2. Social Media Consultant
I don’t spend hours on my social media pages like I used to back in the University (I 
think I’ve lost my mojo), but I know people who spend way more time and are really good at it, unfortunately, not all of them know how to leverage their online presence, thankfully, I am going to help you see the light today. If you are worried your smart-phone or tablet is practically chained to your wrists, and you’ve lost the keys (I mean if you are addicted to your phone), believe me! it’s a blessing in disguise, because in today’s world, you can have a real career as a Social Media Consultant.
Social media presents great marketing opportunity for businesses, but a lot of these businesses and entrepreneurs don’t have the time to manage their pages. If you know how to use it and how to drive awareness, then you won’t have any trouble helping them with their social media work. The good news is – you will get paid working at home or anywhere, doing what you love most.
[Related: Making money online in Nigeria ]
3. Virtual Assistant
One virtual assistant cannot do it all, and a virtual assistant in the US, won’t know or understand how small business owners and managers in Nigeria function, so this is where you come in. If you’ve got a background in administrative work, or are very organised and a great planner, this might be the perfect small lifestyle business for you this year.
You will be targeting business owners and managers who don’t have time to do certain things such as, opening and answering emails, scheduling meetings and flight reservations, managing a blog or website, invoicing customers, managing diary, planning events, meetings, and many more; all these tasks can be done from the comfort of your own home – as long as you are doing a great job. All you need to get started is a laptop, a good website or a blog (if you can’t afford a website yet), a good mobile phone, a complimentary card, a home office space, an internet connection, and a social media presence.
Need a social media consultant and a virtual assistant to stay organized? Get a free quote today from Smart Biz Services.
4. Niche Event Planner
Do you love throwing parties and organizing events? Have you started an event 
planning business but having difficulties getting clients, and turning it into a profitable small business? If yes, you should consider specializing in one or two types of niche events.
Everyone needs event planners, from individuals to organizations, so whether you decide to focus on either corporate or social events, selecting to focus on niche events, will get you seen soon enough, and you will become an expert faster than you can in multiple events; it will also save you time and start up costs. Here are the following possible niches that you could choose from:
- Weekend event guest services (events to entertain out-of-town guests over the weekend, or for hotel guest looking to organize parties away from home).
- Kids’ event areas at grown-up parties and weddings.
- Surprise parties, his and hers showers, wedding after parties and baby showers
- Kids birthday parties, baby christening after parties, and naming ceremonies.
- “Golden” parties (50th anniversaries, 50th birthdays, etc.).
- Theme parties, fashion shows, store grand openings, product launch, store promotions
- Corporate events (meetings, awards, conferences, retreats, fundraisers).
Learn more on how to find your Event-Planning Niche
5. Training Services
Providing DIY training services including: tailoring, crafting, carpentry, graphic design, makeup and many more; are not just a simple way to make money, its a great way to develop your skills and new experiences. So many people are turning their passion into a profitable business, and it’s simple to start up too. You don’t need a degree to teach others how to do your everyday job, you have all the experience and the best practices, all you need is to set up a studio at home or hire one for all your training sessions. Then go online to promote it, by displaying pictures or videos of your designs or projects, to encourage more people to sign up. Start small, do a good job and word of mouth will spread quickly. Want to know how you can go about it, check out how Tilly does it.
6. Dream Holiday Agent
Can you make your home town a dream holiday destination? If you are outgoing, love 
travelling, and you know the cool places to have fun or a weekend gateway, then it will be easy for you to sell your services. Just like any other business you can set up a blog or a website, then share pictures, great contents and genuine reviews, that will not only attract potential clients, but will become a go to blog.
You also need to partner with some of the best hotels, to be able to get great deals for your clients, and you also need great value added services such as, airport pick-up and drop-off (easy if you have a good car), a tour bus and service. Your knowledge and passion will help you stand-out and succeed.
7. Fitness Coach
This is a lifestyle business that can be started with ‘no money,’ especially if you are very popular, and everybody knows you as a fitness guru. If you can give fitness tips, and can motivate people too, then you can turn that interest and passion into a profitable small lifestyle business.
Become a personal fitness coach, hold 1-to-1 fitness sessions at home or at a gym, organise fitness classes and bootcamps, make your own short fitness video, become a swimming instructor, teach people how to eat healthy and stay active; whatever you choose to do, the opportunities are endless, because everyone who’s looking at losing some weight and staying fit, needs a personal fitness coach to motivate them. Start by spreading the word on your social media pages, get your friends and family to signup, take a course (if you can afford it), and then work hard on helping people get results, and word of mouth will spread quickly.
8. Home-based food services
If you love baking and cooking, you should consider launching a home based business. 
Don’t just bake cakes for friends or small parties, be more creative and turn it into a profitable business. Keep in mind that home-based food businesses are not new in Nigeria, but there are so many things you can do to make money.
Find your niche market, it could be catering for corporate events, delivering dinner to families at home, or breakfasts and lunches to professionals at work; making your special cupcakes for school parties, and supplying to fast foods. If you’d like to know more on how to go about this, I know a lady who can share some ideas, tips, and even recipes. Click here to learn more.
9. Mobile Nanny Services
The Nanny Service business is still untapped in Nigeria, and it is a great business idea for mom-preneurs who’d love to provide quality child care services to other mothers and/or single or stay at home dads. If this sounds like a great idea, then go for it – start a friendly professional nanny service, run a babysitting service from home, you can specialize in the training and placement of either daily or live-in permanent nannies and baby-sitters, either in your city or everywhere in Nigeria. You will be stopping a lot of people from leaving their children with strangers and nannies who are just few years older than their children. At least you will be solving a problem, and I’m sure people will be happy employing mature and experienced nannies.
10. Courier Services
Lagosians (businesses in Lagos) are big snobs, and I mean that in the nicest possible 
way. Don’t you just hate it when you need something to be delivered from Lagos to another city in Nigeria, and all the local courier companies tell you they only deliver within Lagos. I always wonder ‘why they claim to be running a business in Nigeria, when they are actually running a business only in Lagos?.
So this is a chance to start a real business that people will be very glad to sign-up to. Going into this business requires substantial capital – if you’ve got the capital and are looking for a good lifestyle business to start-up, this could be it. Every online and offline store owner offering nationwide deliveries, needs a reliable delivery company, and if you remember the #1 idea, a lot of people will be launching their own online store this year – and what use is an online store without a courier company?
Photo credits: freedigitalphotos.net
Photo 1: Feelart, photo 2: photoraidz, photo 3: stockimages, photo 4: Salvatore Vuono. photo 5: vorakorn. photo 6: artur84, photo 7, 8, 9: marin, photo 10: Stuart Miles.
Knowing When To DISCONNECT
WEEKLY INSPIRATIONAL 3
I like to think that I’m having a conversation with somebody or people with my posts, and I don’t want to talk at people or give instructions, I’m just sharing my experience, hopefully somebody will learn from it.
Since the launch of this blog, I have been working every single day to improve it, especially as my stats (viewers/visitors) keeps growing, I have been encouraged to keep going at all cost. At the same time, I am planning an Easter camp, working on launching my new business, and taking no breaks; and if you advised me to take a break, you’d be looking for trouble. But it all changed last week when I hit the wall, I experienced what you’d call fatigue. I didn’t see it coming and when it happened, I thought a few hours of sleep will do the job, and so I shut down early (9 pm GMT), I woke up at 10:30 pm, slept again at 7 am and I got up at 10 am; weak, tired, hoping to fall asleep again after breakfast, but it didn’t happen until 4 am the following morning.
Was I making any progress with work? No! Was I thinking straight then? No, but I was wide awake every night, surfing the internet and checking my email; at least something good came out of it, because I came across a three part inspirational message from UCB titled: ‘When Fatique Threatens You 1, Part 2, and Part 3.’ These messages spoke to me (you catch my drift), and I strongly recommend it if are currently experiencing this. 
The idea to DISCONNECT for a few days, came to me after reading that. I shared my plan on instagram, I got a few likes, and that’s enough for me because I love the story of my humble beginnings. Here’s how I rejuvenated myself:
The Problem
As described in the part (1) of the UCB Inspirational message, I also had the following symptoms:
- Irritability/hypersensitivity. – Things that wouldn’t normally bother me, put me on edge.
- Restlessness – I was exhausted, I won’t fall asleep, I couldn’t concentrate or work.
- Compulsive overworking – I worked all night because I won’t fall asleep – I felt like I was wasting time just lying there doing nothing. I will also check my social media pages late into the evening.
- Emotional numbness – I also didn’t feel anything, no motivation, no energy, and like I said, if you had asked me to take a break, you’d be looking for trouble, remember: “Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.”
- Escapist behavior – I over planned, surfed the Internet more, I couldn’t exercise or read a good book as usual.
So what did I do?
- Switched off my WiFi and swapped my smartphones for a not-so-smartphone:
Since the creation of smart-phones and social networking sites, according to a post on mail online, an average user picks up their phone 1,500 times a week, and uses it for 3 hours and 16 minutes a day. I personally visit my social media pages on average 2 – 3 times a day, the internet is my second home, and as long as I’m online I never stop working. I figured to get better and to become more productive again, I needed to disconnect my Wi-Fi and my smartphones’ mobile data for few days, and just take a break. Was it easy? not really at first, but I will definitely do it again if need be.
2. Improved my eating habits:
Every day I sit down to work, I eat less but drink coffee more; only because I don’t want to be distracted. I can sit down all day, and only get up for toilet breaks and for more coffee. So during this break, I ate more often, I had healthy breakfasts, and a lot of vegetables and fruits; and I go out walking. I’m not an expert on this topic, so I won’t go any further.
3. Controlled and disciplined my mind
One of the things you experience when you are fatigued is the mind battle. To cut the story short, I was plain stuck, worried I won’t be able to finish what I started, I was afraid of failing, everything seemed really hard and impossible. So the three days I stayed disconnected, I worked hard to control my mind and thoughts (mental discipline).
4. Brainstorming without the internet
Our minds work just like the internet, maybe not as fast (I’m also not an expert on the subject of the mind). What I’m trying to say is that if we take time out to explore our minds without making references to what we see on the internet; we can gather so many unique ideas and also increase productivity. I spent some time exploring my mind, and I uncovered a lot that will really come in handy as I progress.
The result from disconnecting
I had more time for myself, time to relax, sleep and lazy about for once. Now, I have a better routine, I work few hours and I still shut down early. I take more breaks, I listen to my body, and I know when to stop. I also realized how powerful and creative my mind is, and that I don’t always need the internet to find a good idea, or learn how to be better at something.
Thank you for reading, please remember to follow this blog for updates on new posts.
11 BIBLE VERSES FOR EVERY ENTREPRENEUR IN 2015
Few years ago, I was struggling over the decision to leave full-time employment for self-employment. There were too many people and voices telling me ‘I wasn’t ready,’ that ‘I was too young,‘ and that I needed ‘more experience‘. I felt discouraged and exasperated beyond endurance – I’d say, but I knew what I wanted to do, and I knew the time was right – so I began looking for real inspirations, and I also wanted to know what God thought of my decision. I don’t claim to be a super spiritual person, but I’m a Believer! and I believe spending some quiet time with God can make a big difference to your situation, because the Bible offers real inspiration when it’s most needed.
The Bible is a very big book (as you may already know) and it could take you a really long time to find the right verses. To find the verses quickly I go on good-old google and I remember searching for – ‘What does the Bible say about running a business?’ and I found this post on huffingtonpost.com by Melinda Emerson (America’s #1 small biz expert), it was exactly the inspiration I needed. The Bible is my #1 business book, and I’ve been inspired to share a few of my favorite Bible verses with people and they’ve come back to share their good news.
This New Year, I’d like to share with you 11 of my favorite Bible verses. Enjoy!
- Deuteronomy 8:18 (NKJV) – ‘and you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you power [ability (NIV)] to get [produce (NIV)] wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day.’
This happens to be my #1 favorite Bible verse. The day I got the message in this verse, was the first time I truly believed I have what it takes to do what I want to do, and to be successful at it – because God has given me the talent, the skills, and ability to make money. For me it meant my business ideas was my power to make money; and REALLY nothing and nobody can stop me from living my dream.
- Exodus 35:35 (NIV) – ‘He has filled them with skill to do all kinds of work as engravers, designers, embroiderers in blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen, and weavers—all of them skilled workers and designers.’
Shamefully, in my 20 something years in the world this is a verse I never knew existed, until last year. It’s very encouraging to know that all our skills have be given by God. So when next you feel or somebody makes you feel like you don’t have the skills or the ability to start your own business, and maybe you don’t have the knowledge. Remember that God has given you the ability to learn new things, and the skills and wisdom you need to operate your own business – if you don’t see it yet, then ask Him for it.
- Proverb 16:3 (NIV) – ‘Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans.’ (NKJV) – ‘Commit your works to the Lord, And your thoughts will be established.‘
I love both versions, I had to use both – There will come a time when you doubt yourself, your business ideas, and you will struggle (it’s inevitable), you will be confused, you may run to many different sources for directions, but I urge you to remember to go to God in prayer, to commit your business and your plans to him – then wait for His answers and direction – He can speak to you through the Bible, in your dream, and through people. I am confident that I can run my businesses successfully with God, by following His direction and committing all my plans, thoughts, and works to Him.
- Romans 12: 2 (NKJV) – ‘And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.’
Trying to be different is easier said than done, same as trying to run a business against the standards. I’m not saying don’t copy best practices, but try to live a life of integrity always. If you are probably just following the masses and don’t really know right from wrong, maybe this will help: do you feel really bad after you’ve sold a product/service to a customer? and do you struggle to sleep at night because of what you are practicing at work? – if your answer to both question is Yes, maybe you’ve got to stop doing what you are doing, stop saying ‘everybody is doing it, so it must be right.‘ Trust me you are not everybody, and it ain’t right if deep down you don’t feel right about it, and you can’t sleep at night – funny because: the Bible tells us in Psalm 127:2 – ‘for God gives His beloved sleep.’ Think about it, and remember if you don’t know what to do, you can ask God to help you do what’s right.
- Jeremiah 29:11-13 (NKJV) – ‘For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. 12 Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. 13 And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.’
I understand that in order for my business to succeed I must put my trust in God, because only He can start and run a good thing, and only God gives good success. Putting my hope and trust in Him always- guarantees my success. Please don’t get me wrong – you will still face some challenges, but the good news is Gods’ plans for you are good and not evil – and if you keep the faith, you will pull through no matter what – to me that’s what running a business is all about.
- James 1: 2 – 3 (NKJV) – ‘My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.’
We’ve all heard it before – trials, challenges, difficulties, makes you strong, and like I already said in the previous verse, if you keep the faith when you are troubled, you will surely pull through. This is profiting from trials, and so many successful entrepreneurs will tell you that the trials and challenges they faced made them stronger and more successful.
- Joshua 1:9 (NKJV) – ‘Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.’
It’s been said that the Bible says “Fear not” 365, that’s one “Fear not” for every day of the year! Thank God for that, because for as long as your business exist you must remember that he is always there with you. People may tell you, ‘you are not ready,’ ‘you don’t have what it takes to start a business,‘ ‘you cannot do it‘- but the voice of truth says ‘do not be afraid,’ says ‘be courageous’ – that’s the only voice you should be listening to
- 1 Thessalonians 5 : 16 – 19(NKJV) – ‘16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.19 Do not quench the Spirit.’
There will always be hardship and trials in the life of an entrepreneur and the best way to deal with the tough times is to pray and thank God (remember the trials make you strong) so thank Him for his new development plan when the trials come. Having a time with God will definitely make you feel better and secured.
- Proverbs 24:3-4 (NKJV) – ‘Through wisdom a house [business] is built, and by understanding it is established; 4 By knowledge the rooms are filled With all precious and pleasant riches.’
Every entrepreneur needs to keep learning in order to grow. Learning determines your capacity to lead, and to solve problems. If you don’t think you need to keep learning, your small business may never grow; because change comes from learning, and with change comes opportunity, show me an entrepreneur who doesn’t like new opportunities? – I certainly do! Anybody can start a business, but not everybody can succeed. Why? because not everybody understand the requirements to running a business. As an entrepreneur, you should try to learn new things everyday.
- Luke 18: 27 (NKJV) – But He said, “The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.”
Think about this – everything we do and use now was started/invented by somebody (somebody like you) and some of them – if not all, heard the word ‘impossible,’ when they shared their ideas. ‘Nothing is impossible’ are the three words we throw around a lot these days, but do you believe it when you say it too? It’s always easier said than done – but next time don’t just say it, start believing it, at least for your small business.
- Luke 14 : 28 (NKJV) -“ For which of you, intending to build a tower [business], does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it.”
Hold on! before you rush off to start your own business (because Lucie said so) – you must first have an action plan, and a business plan – every business needs a business plan. You need to know what’s required, you need to have a goal and a set of objectives on how you intend to achieve your goal. Forget what you read on the internet, you need money to start any business, for instance, you need Internet connection, a website, transportation, and many more etc. So take your time to plan your next step.
Thanks guys for reading, if you have a favorite verse(s) please share below.
Image courtesy of [Graur razvan ionut] at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Allow Yourself To Be A Beginner
As we approach 2015, I’m excited to bring you my first weekly inspiration for entrepreneurs, and the last for the year 2014. This post is two days late, I broke my laptop screen by accident (worst thing that can ever happen to me), so from next week, I will go back to posting my weekly inspiration every Sunday. Here is this week’s inspiration.
This week’s topic: ALLOW YOURSELF TO BE A BEGINNER
A few years ago, I decided to learn how to play at least one musical instrument, and I chose the guitar. I always wanted to play the guitar (and also because my friend made me), so we ordered an acoustic guitar from e-bay (pictured), and we joined our University’s art center weekly classes for £15 a year (better than £20/hr).
My first day in class was so exciting, I thought I’d leave as a Pro – but we had to take our time to learn the basics (baby steps), something I wasn’t prepared for. One week, two weeks, three weeks later, I was still learning how to read sheet music and chords, and playing ‘merry had a little lamb.’ I was deeply frustrated so I ran to YouTube – and I learnt how to strum and play my favorite songs in few hours. I just wanted to be a professional, but I couldn’t spend another day playing basic chords. Unfortunately, it doesn’t happen over night, I didn’t learn much from watching YouTube videos, and so I quit.
Now being in the design business for only few months, I started out struggling with perfectionism and being excellent again. For instance, every website I designed didn’t look great to me even when the clients loved their websites; and every day came a new battle – I was either changing a little part of the design or the whole format, but as soon as I realized I was rushing the learning process just like I did with the guitar lessons, I had to do something about it – I allowed myself to be a beginner this time, because quitting wasn’t an option.
My Tips On How To Be A Beginner Pursuing Excellence
Start every new business idea with a ‘clean sheet of paper.’
I do the ‘clean sheet of paper’ exercise because I have a really busy brain/mind and this helps me organize my brain for better productivity. Starting with a blank piece of paper (that is: leaving everything ‘you think’ you know behind) when starting a new business, is an opportunity to discover your strengths and weaknesses – you may have talents you didn’t even know about, and you may also have false self-confidence/self–esteem that you are not aware of.
This exercise can help you improve yourself, and help you learn a lot more about the market, whether you are new or a seasoned professional. It is also very effective for small business owners looking at redesigning their business or starting from scratch.
2. Don’t try to move faster than the world – move with it.
From my perspective, only beginners can really handle the frequency the world is moving on, individuals with false self-confidence can try to keep up or beat it (like I did with the YouTube guitar lessons), but the question is ‘for how long?’. Take the internet and Google for instance, so many people spend a fortune on improving their sites’ SEO and only a few succeed at it, because they don’t try to beat it. Google is the boss, and if you constantly try to beat it, you can get beaten (a google penalty); but if you want to move with it, you’d allow yourself be a beginner, learn about how it evolves, and keep updating yourself as they evolve. It may take longer, but you’d end up knowing way more than the self-proclaimed experts.
3. Attract your clients the honest way – As a Beginner
When I started out, the market was over-saturated with web designers (freelancers and agencies), and even though my products and services are unique and different from what others offer; I still struggled coming across as an expert in the market. This is very common with first time business owners. Some feel they need to lie/ over exaggerate to get their first clients, and others feel they don’t have what it takes and they quit even before trying.
So what if you don’t have many years experience in the business or success stories like your competitors? that shouldn’t stop you, because what you’ve got is unique – your passion, skills, knowledge, the desire to learn and succeed, loving what you do, and having the right mindset; are the key elements you need to attract clients in your first few months in business. If you allow yourself to be a beginner pursuing excellence not perfection – you are making room for change (if the need arises), mistakes, and I can’t stress this enough – you will learn a LOT in the process.
What’s the one thing you’re struggling with, the main reason why you won’t allow yourself be a beginner? It could be the industry, your competitors, clients, partners, anything – Leave your answer in the comment section below, and I look forward to hearing about your challenge and also discussing your answers in my next week’s inspiration.
Cheers, thanks so much for reading and I’ll see you in 2015 (when I post my next weekly inspiration)!
What They Don’t Tell You About Starting Your Own Business
Getting into business is something I would always encourage, despite the challenges and the risks involved. I am a firm believer in “believers are achievers,” so if you have a dream about starting your own business, and you believe in your self, then go for it – you can achieve anything you set your mind to… that’s my Opinion!
That being said, nothing can really prepare you for starting your own business. I can’t tell you, the best entrepreneurship books out there can’t either; but I can share my experience, and also provide practical guides and toolkits to help you start your own small business. Everyone has a different experience, and someday you could be sharing your own start-up story, to encourage or discourage other would-be entrepreneurs… so GOODLUCK!
If you’re anything like me, you’ve probably read a lot of books, articles, and blog posts on ‘How to start a business,’ there are really good books out there, but most of the books don’t tell you the ‘bitter truth’ about starting your business. Before I help you start your own business, I think I will be doing the right thing by sharing my bitter experience with you – but don’t worry, I will try to make this a sugar coated bitter truth.
1. You have to be mentally strong:
When I started my first business, it was a lot harder than I thought, I constantly doubted myself, and the pain didn’t stop after I’d launched the business. The bitter truth is, you are always going to face challenges when you start running your own business, it does not end after you’ve made your first sale or have your first 5 clients. You will face challenges when you are trying new things, new business ideas or new clients – there are always problems to solve, but you’re not alone, every small-business owner goes through the same thing. Sadly, only the mentally strong people can succeed.
In case you are not aware of this, people, your family and close friends will question or doubt you – you will feel lonely and lost, you will be stressed out, you will cry and regret ever trying… I have been there, done that… and today I am happy I did not let negative thoughts and people get to me.
Also, not all the projects will work for you, and some times you will have to plan and replan and at the end of the day, those plans might not work – don’t give up – every successful business person out there, have gone through hard times, SO! be prepared – there is absolutely nothing wrong with you taking a break when it becomes overwhelming, just be confident in your own perspective and beliefs, and don’t let others discourage you. It gets better – with time you will learn how to make entrepreneurship work for you. Remember: “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.”
2. There are no roadmap to follow:
Another thing they don’t tell you about starting your own business is that there are no roadmap to follow. If you are the type to rely on instructions or directions, you will probably struggle on your own, and maybe you are not ready to take the plunge on your own yet; because 90% of the time, you would have to make things up as you go. It is your business idea, you are the boss now, so you have to be able to work on your own initiative, no body will come and tell you what to do – well except if you hire a business development or a start-up consultant – but it won’t be your idea, but your consultant’s.
3. You will work long hours:
Yes, you will. Your regular 9am – 5pm routine stops as soon as you start planning your own business. If you can’t handle that, then maybe you are not ready yet. I have been working for more than 40 hours per week including Saturdays and Sundays, since I started, and I don’t get to sleep some nights – most nights.
Your business will challenge you and other people will hurt you too, because as long as you get to work with people, you should anticipate disappointments, so make sure you have a plan B at all times.
4. The cost of starting and running the business
I have seen so many articles online on ‘How to start a business with no more, or with little money,’ trust me there are alot. Very misleading – I remember every time I had a really good business idea, and I have to share with my mother and family, I will always close my really long and confusing pitch with the statement: “the great thing about this new business is, I don’t need any money to start-up.” Few days later, I’m online paying for a domain name and hosting for the website I designed, I’m paying for business cards from vista print, and even buying myself a really good printer so I don’t get to pay a printing company to do the job; and I don’t even realise it until when I have to drive three times in a day to the shops to refill the ink (true story) – Guess what! that’s a real cost.
So if you are going through website pages and pages on starting a business without capital, you should know that you will still have to spend on the business. Of course you can bootstrap, I do that every time but i still get to pay for things like internet data plan (so I can connect to the world, and my prospective clients and customers), mobile phone top-up to call clients and suppliers; stationary, transportation, and other overhead costs – I can’t do everything on my own, I have tried, for instance, when I decided to print t-shirts for my camp team, watched a couple of DIY videos online (yes, I’m one of them), went shopping for all the materials and some t-shirts (luckily I started with 6 tees) and I came home to print with the same printer, I won’t tell you how it turned out, but I had to consider the quality and I gave the job to Banana Moon Clothing (great company) – Knowing when to make smart decisions like that is key to your business.
The other thing they don’t tell you is that you don’t need a massive capital to be able to kick start your business. There are several setup failures that burn through millions of dollars to start up only to close their businesses down forever. There are more important things to starting a business than capital (it’s important), but your skills, technical know-how, and capability matters.
5. You’ll make hardly any money at the first year
The bitter truth is you may struggle with money your first year in business. Suppliers or clients may not pay up on time, and you may not get paid a salary at all in the first year. Don’t expect not to get messed around by people, and you should always remember to state your terms clearly and early before starting a new contract with a client or supplier.
6. Your idea is not as unique as you think
So you have this great idea, and you are buzzing to share, and then suddenly you come across a company on the internet doing the same thing. I know! it happens, but before you quit – you should know that you have an original idea, and you can find ways to make it unique even if the product or service already exist.
I suggest you go back to the drawing board, make a new plan, do a research on your competition, find out what they are lacking and how you can make up for it, you can always copy their best practices (well, its not your fault they had the idea first, so go ahead and copy, but shhhhh! don’t tell anyone), and your idea will be better.
Owning your own business is rewarding, and if you can pull through, be unstoppable then you will soon see the rewards. Remember, If at first you don’t succeed, try… try… try again.
You Have The Abililty to Learn Anything!
Thank you for reading. If you’d like to contribute or have any question, please send me an email: ue.godwin@gmail.com
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