Don’t look now. Apparently you aren’t talented enough to run a business. Is this news to you? It is for the Wall Street Journal.
I ran accross an article this morning from the WSJ that continues my disappointment in the coverage that small business gets in the media.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123025114273834377.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
So with all of the pressure to make your business a success, how do you Build it to last? Since, we are talking about the first step, your platform, we will just talk about getting started on the right foot.
The first question is why are you engaged the business you are running. Was it a good idea that someone had? Do you want more time with your kids? Or hopefully your answer is that you have a passion for what you are doing and you are solving problems in the world that create tremendous value for people.
The article mentioned above makes mention that marginal businesses will be going out of business. So is that a bad thing? If your business is marginal, you have two choices; make sure you figure out a way for your business to not be marginal or go out of business. Today’s economy just sped up the inevitable, it didn’t create the problems that many of these business owners probably already had.
No individual starts a business thinking that they are going to be marginal. We all think we’re going to be great right? It starts with a passion for what you do. Then comes the identification of the big problem that you need to solve. The other piece that’s critical in the beginning is to find mentors who can help you as well as good advice that you are willing to pay for. It could be the difference between surviving the lean times and folding your business.
PS. I apologize for the delay in this week’s podcast. Without further delay, click below to listen.