Get out of your comfort zone

Sorry, I found this picture to be too funny to not use, even though it's totally irrelevant.

On the subject of gold chains and mohawks, I pity the foo' who does the same things over and over and expecting different results.

If you look at any successful entrpreneur, they all have many things in common fundamentally. One of those things was the sheer determination to do things that most people would be uncomfortable or afraid to do. It is precisely because they do what most don't that leads to their inevitable success. Of course, that's not to say that these people never fail. In fact, all successful entrepreneurs will fail AT LEAST several times before finally succeeding.

Failure is uncomfortable. No one likes to fail. Many people will refer to the quote, "Play with fire and you get burned." Well...so what if you get burned a little? You become all the wiser. It is the fact that you made a mistake or failed that teaches you to appreciate not only what you have, but to appreciate what you're aspiring for.

When you can bring yourself to do things that most people won't (within reason of course...I'm not saying go walk naked out on the streets...) you will find that there's very little competition on the other side of the fence. If being an entrepreneur was easy, don't you think everyone would be one then?

I know I used this quote in a previous post, but it begs to be repeated. A successful entrepreneur once told me, "You know why people never get ahead in life? It's not because they set the bar too high. It's because they set the bar too low, and they keep jumping over it each and every time in a ritual of sheer habit."

As an entrepreneur, you will be faced with many unknowns. You will have to become something you've never been educated or trained to do. You will learn as you go, and you WILL make mistakes along the way. However, don't let it get to you, it's just part of the process of being successful. Starting something is always the hardest thing to do.

Take running for example. When you first start your run, your muscles burn and you're practically wheezing...because you've went from a state of comfort and low activity to a state of motion. However, you find that after the first 10-15 minutes, your body adapts to being in a state of motion...your breathing slows down and your muscles stop burning. It is a simple example, yes, but it is true of any endeavor in life. It will always be difficult at first to get out of your comfort zone...but when you do (and persevere), you will go far.

And with that, I shall leave you with a wonderful quote by Mark Twain:

"Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it's time to pause and reflect."

Prioritizing is essential to success

CLEARLY, this guy's got his priorities wrong. In fact, I don't even know why this image came up on a Google search for "prioritizing tasks" ;)

"He who takes a minute from me, takes something he can never return." -Anonymous

Whether you own a business already or are in the process of starting one, it is easy to get caught up in A LOT of things. Time is the most valuable resource we have, but it is also the most scarce and most elusive to notice. Like many things, we don't realize its full worth until it's gone.

Money is the lifeblood of every business. However, time equals money. Therefore time equals the lifeblood of the business. Like my math there? ;) This is true whether your business exists or not. Only difference is that in the beginning, that lifeblood is needed for the "embryo" to become a live "child". If you already own a business, then it's to sustain the life and growth of the business.

Often times, when starting a business, new entrepreneurs get caught up in activities and tasks that are not necessarily the most vital. Some entrepreneurs spend way too much time thinking about fancy marketing campaigns or other non-essential "hot air" even before they've fully fleshed out their product or service. BIG mistake. Spending time thinking about bells and whistles will do 1 or 2 things (or a combination of both):

1) Delay your launch
2) Ensure the failure of the business

The most essential tasks that you need to prioritize are those tasks which directly relate to the operation of your business. I'm talking about the skeleton and muscles of the business. The foundation underneath that allows you to earn revenue. Once the core is in place, then you can worry about the skin and make-up.

Pretend that you've already done all your research and your business idea is a great opportunity. In the startup phase, some key tasks you want to prioritize and tackle first are:

• Developing a solid plan of how your product/service will make your business money
• Ascertaining WHAT suppliers and/or labor you will require and HOW you will get it (and of course, how much it'll cost)
  
• Plan for your business on how you will deal with too little or too much demand

Basically, your priorities should be about PLANNING PLANNING PLANNING. Then execution. Any activity that is not absolutely, beyond a shadow of a doubt, essential to the launch of your business must be placed in a lower priority. Marketing for example, is one such item that is a lower priority. You can't market what doesn't exist. There will be plenty of time to go out there and market the business once the foundation has been established. There will also be plenty of time to come up with new ways to market the business afterwards.

Before you spend time on a task, always ask yourself, "Does this directly contribute to the launch of the business? Or is this something that can be done after launch?" If the answer is "It can be done after launch" then set it aside and tackle more immediate needs.

Now...for those of us who already own a business, the playing field is a bit different. As a current business owner, your priorities must be towards value-added activities. ALWAYS. For any task you're about to do, you should ask yourself, "Will this activity boost/retain my profit?" If the answer is, "No" or "Not really" then set it aside for now...or don't even bother with it. Your time is limited.

Any task that is required for the maintenance and growth of the "skeleton and muscles" of your business, it must be given highest priority. Notice that I specified "PROFIT" in that question. Boosting revenues is nice, but if you're spending just as much as you're gaining, then you've gained nothing. Lowering costs is good too, but if that lowers your revenue (i.e. because you've cut service, etc.) then the benefit is nill.

You cannot let non value-add activites consume you. (see my post "Don't be a helicopter entrepreneur" on March 31st).

Not convinced? Everyday in the news, you hear about companies going bankrupt. Some are liquidated, others are what they call "restructuring." Restructuring is a HUGE business. Consultants love it. Restructuring is exactly what I just stated above. It is doing what NEEDS to be done. Restructuring efforts prioritize tasks that directly relate to the skeleton and muscles of the business (its core foundations). Bells and whistles like cool marketing, events, or whatnot are CUT until the core of the business is stabilized. It's almost like performing emergency surgery on a dying patient. The first priority is to stop the bleeding, then repair the damage, then give the patient the ability to recover and continue onwards.

Often times, companies enter into bankruptcy because they fail to prioritize correctly. They let cracks in their foundation to fester and grow until the entire house is on the verge of collapse. They keep focusing on trying to sell more and more and come up with crazy marketing campaigns while the core problems (i.e. the quality of their product/service) is deteriorating) is eating them alive. There's just not enough time.

If the lifeblood (time and money) of the business is not being pumped to its "vital organs" it will die. Bankrupt companies are the ones that pumped lifeblood into non-vital areas.

In fact, some companies I've seen were so terrible...I'm convinced all the lifeblood was pumped into their hair or something. "Hey, we're losing millions of dollars, but we're a great company!" Famous last words? Probably.

With that said, I want to leave you with a quote from a philosopher who's name has been lost to time....or maybe it's just me...I don't remember:

"To look outward, you must first look inward. It is the power within that determines what your fate shall be."

Hmm, yeah...actually that is my quote...

How to find the right business partner

An example of a bad partnership....

Mark my words...a space photo is coming! Consider yourself lucky that I considered two galaxies merging to be way too...hmm...well...damnit that was a good picture... oh well.

Depending on what type of person you are and your idea, having a partner or two never hurts. A business partnership is almost like marriage in a lot of ways (not really sure about polygamy though...)

As explained in previous posts, a good buinsess partner brings the following advantages:

• Additional skillsets to build a stronger foundation on which ideas can be brainstormed, or an existing idea built upon

• Motivation. When you and your partner(s) are responsible to each other, you don't want to let each other down

• Work can get done faster by splitting the burden
  

• Additional start-up capital (if needed)

• Bigger network of people to contact that could help your idea fly

• Camaraderie (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/camaraderie) and lasting friendship(s) which are always good
  

Of course, as with anything, there are disadvantages to note as well:

• If your partner is not trustworthy, he/she can steal your idea, spread it to others or try to steal your hard-earned money from your venture

• Disagreements are inevitable, especially among dominant personalities. If you don't have the right partner, disagreements can either slow you down significantly, or grind everything to a screeching halt. Many small businesses fail because of unresolved disagreements between its partners rather than poor planning/execution

• Depending on your partner, you will have to compromise. If you are a control freak, this is probably a disadvantage for you then

• If you're more of the greedy type...then bad news for you, because you'll have to share your profits with your partner. This shouldn't even be a consideration for you though, because starting a venture shouldn't be for the sake of chasing money

You can maximize your advantages and minimize your disadvantages by taking the time to find the right partner for you. Trust is absolutely essential.

What are some signs you need to look out for in finding a good business partner? Here are some from personal experience and the experience of others:

• Is your business partner ambitious? What is his/her plans and goals in life?

This factor is important because you want to find someone who is entrepreneurially-minded like yourself. Someone who is ambitious and entrepreneurial will go the extra mile, work hard and take risks to make the venture a reality. Someone who says, "My plan is to get a good paying job in the next 5 years. Blah blah blah." probably isn't the right kind of ambition you want. People like that are stuck in habit and don't mind being "Just Over Broke" You need someone who wants to take the road less traveled and who is serious. Only someone who is ambitious and entrepreneurial will make the short-term sacrifices needed for long-term gains.

• Is your partner open-minded and compromising? Or stubborn and authoritative?

This is essential. Having an open-minded partner who can compromise and not stubbornly stick to one line of thought or ideas will go a long way. The more stubborn your partner, the greater the chance you will get into unresolvable disagreements which can destroy the partnership and the venture. If you happen to be the stubborn one, then it is really important you find someone who can effectively compromise with you, otherwise you're asking for disaster by bringing another stubborn partner along.

• Does your partner bring needed skills, fresh ideas or motivation that you need?

Sometimes, people need a partner just for motivation. However, in other cases, if a partner doesn't bring anything to the table that you can already do yourself, then why bring a partner along? That's just redundant. You need someone who can bring fresh ideas or skills to the table, otherwise there's no point in having them as a partner.

• Can you trust this person?

Sounds like a loaded question. It is. Trust is the single most important factor in not just business, but life itself. To determine if someone is trustworthy, it'll depend on how you know this person, what others say about this person and what your gut feeling tells you. If I could possibly tell you how to 100% tell if someone is trustworthy, then I'd probably write a book about it and win a Nobel Prize in Psychology.

• Is your partner one can short of a six-pack and a total dumbass?
  

What was that? ;)

• Last of all, do you "click" with this person?

What I mean by this is that do you enjoy socializing with your business partner? Can you talk about business, but also able to shoot the breeze and have a good time? Partnering with someone you like only serves to strengthen the partnership.

A good partnership

So you've got an idea now, is it worth it?

Some weird balloon in orbit...

Ok, I told myself, "They're going to start getting tired of these space photos..." Hey! I can't help it! SORRY!

Continuing from the "Eureka!" piece on March 3rd, now you've got a single idea or maybe two good ones that passed your initial questioning process.

Now the real fun begins. Now that you've identified your idea, now you need to quantify it and see if it's actually worth the time and if there's real demand in the market for such a product/service.

There are four key areas you need to look at to determine the feasibility of your idea, which I will break down more in detail:

1. Competition - Is your idea already being done by many competitors? If so, what are their strengths and weaknesses?
2. Market growth and trends - You need to determine if the pie is growing or shrinking. Also, it is essential to determine key consumer and supply trends to determine if there's demand and needed resources to make your business successful
3. Suppliers (if applicable) - If you're making a product, are there good suppliers out there? If you're marketing a service, can you find the talent needed?
4. Economic trends and conditions (to start, in your local area first, unless your idea is international, nationwide, or purely on the internet) - This isn't as important as the other 4, but it's useful in solidifying your approach. This category includes government regulations.

Before we delve into these 4 factors, lets go over a list of reliable free resources you can use to do your research:

• Google (of course)
• Bureau of Economic Analysis (www.bea.gov) useful for seeing macro-economic trends
• Bureau of Labor Statistics (www.bls.gov) could be useful for labor-related research
• US Census (www.census.gov) great for demographic information
  
• Major publications (New York Times, Inc Magazine, Wall Street Journal, Crain's)
• Trade associations related to the industry you're going into - these guys often provide data and statistics for free (not all of them though)
• Trade publications related to the industry you're going into - there are trade publications for literally every industry and subject under the sun. These often have very useful articles and statistics you can use to collect information on the market and your competitors
• CALL people up such as industry experts, journalists, etc. and even your competitors! (you just need to be a bit more careful when calling competitors). Usually you can learn A LOT just from talking to people.
  

Now...here are some PAID resources you can use if you either have the money, or already have access to them through your local library or something.

• Factiva/Lexis Nexis - These databases aggregate articles from all major publications nationwide and worldwide)
• Marketresearch.com - Often have great market reports with robust statistics and data you can use to determine the market and the strength of your competitors
• Business Source Premier (EBSCOHost) - The literal hub of trade magazines and articles - very useful
• Dun & Bradstreet - There could be many small businesses in your region that you don't even know about. This database is useful for determining companies' credit ratings and their estimated revenue and employees. Also, a lot of bigger companies conceal the actual number to their corporate headquarters. This database also gives you their direct number in case you want to call them
• Trade shows / networking events - Sign up for a bunch and go to them, ESPECIALLY if they're in your area. You can learn A LOT and meet new people who can help you.
• Gartner - Only if your venture is IT-focused. These guys are EXPENSIVE though, so try to access them through a library or something.
• Author of this blog *COUGH* ;)
  

Competition

Competition will be one of the most important factors you look into. In order for your new venture to be successful, it must be able to take advantage of the weaknesses of your competitors.

Using your research, you need to be able to answer some key questions about your competitors:

• First of all....WHO are your competitors? and WHY? You need to know why, otherwise you might overestimate who your competition truly is. You should only count someone as a competitor if they serve the same demographics and a similar need to your own business.
  

Let me give a quick example. Lets say, for instance, you're opening up an organic dog food store (I want royalties for that idea if you use it!!! ;) ). As you do your research, you find out that someone else in your area has a store that sells organic food to fish and cats. Is he a competitor? No. Why? Because he doesn't serve the same "demographic" or "needs" as you do. Dogs are not fish or cats, therefore the other store is not competing with you.

Let me give one more quick example to drive the point home. Lets say you're opening up a retirement home for rich, socially inept younger people who don't want to work anymore and who are in their 20's to upper 40's (I REALLY want royalties for that one ;) ). Would you consider a retirement home for the elderly your competitor? No. You don't serve the same demographics or needs as they do. Your demographic is towards younger people. The needs you serve for them are not really health or hospice-related, but rather, probably more for hooking them up with fun activites and new friends.

• If your venture is more regionally focused: Who is your competition in your area? and why?

• What products/services do they offer, and what is their geographic coverage? (this depends on your idea)

• What are their strengths and weaknesses? This is very important because it will determine your angle of attack, if there is one. Your idea must be able to take advantage of your competitors' weaknesses.

• Is the market dominated by a few big companies or by many small ones? You can determine this by the market share of your competitors. The more fragmented your market is, the better. It is difficult to enter a consolidated market, and the big guys like to keep it that way. You must understand what kind of barriers to entry you are facing.

• What are your competitors currently planning to do? Are there new technologies or product/service lines that they're developing that could threaten your business?

The Market & Trends

Everyone wants a piece of pie. Question is, is there enough pie to satisfy? (hey, that rhymes!). The condition of the market you enter into is essential in determining whether your idea is even worth pursuing.

You need to be able to answer some key questions about your market:

• Is it consistently growing or declining? And by how much? Large increases indicate the market is still in its growth stage. Flat growth indicates it is mature, and declines mean the market is dying off. If you enter a mature or declining market, your only chance of being successful is to actually steal market share from your competition, which can be quite difficult. In a growing market however, everyone has room to grow, and there is not yet enough supply to meet demand.

• Are there any substitute technologies that might threaten the market? For example, the CD market has been consistently shrinking due to increasing adoption of mp3 players.

• What are the consumer trends in your market? Do you see signs of consumers embracing things that are similar to your product/service? Remember, your idea must serve a need or create one. However, you can't do that unless you understand what your future customers are thinking. You need to understand what makes your intended consumers want to buy the products/services in your market. Is it Price? Quality? A mix of both? These things you need to determine.

If you're more regionally focused, then you need to try and figure out the market conditions and trends in your area specifically. For example, you find out that the luxury yacht market is growing overall. However, if you serving somewhere like Mississippi ...chances are you're in for a rude awakening. That area would show a stronger preference towards smaller boats rather than luxury yachts.

Suppliers

Determining the nature of your suppliers and what they charge is essential for when you begin to put everything into numbers. You need to understand this area well in order to accurately predict your costs. You need to answer some key questions:

• If you have a product: Are there a few big suppliers or many small ones? This will determine how much leverage and negotiating power you will have with them. What are their prices and lead times? (Lead time refers to how long it takes for them to manufacture and ship the item to you)

• How scarce or plentiful is the labor you need? And what is the going market rate for employing them? (you can determine this either by articles or by the Bureau of Labor Statistics) Can you outsource? Sometimes, utilizing a third party is the best way to go, and often more affordable.

• If you're providing an outsourced service (i.e. you use another company to serve your customers) - what do they charge? What is their lead time? And what is their quality of service?

• What are the different incentives/perks among these suppliers? (i.e. bulk discounts, free shipping, etc.)

• WHERE are your suppliers located? (this can apply to both products and services)
  

Again, this will be essential in determining if you can secure the supplies you need, and also essential for your financial planning. You can't run a business unless you know if you're even making a profit.

Economic Trends & Conditions

Chances are, you will find out more about this subject as you look into the three other categories. Therefore this is the least important of the four. However, it is worth looking into, and you'll want to answer some key questions:

• Are there any government regulations in place that could have an adverse or positive effect on your idea? You need to find out about both federal and state regulations. If you're going international, then you should understand any relevant laws of those countries that affect your business. (this is the most important question in this category)

• One interesting thing to check is to see if there are any government grants related to assisting in starting a venture like yours. You'd be surprised what regulations are out there that provide incentives for people to start all kinds of businesses.
  

• Has disposable or overall income been on the rise or on the decline for your demographic and geography? What about living costs? (again, this is a plus to have, but not necessarily required)

• What is the employment situation for your demographic/geography? The more people that have jobs, the more people that can spend money. (again, this is a plus).

As you do your research, you'll probably come across more questions that what I listed here. Depending on your industry and your idea, there might be specific questions that come up that you will need to answer. Remember, "Luck" is simply when preparation meets opportunity. Do your homework!

And if, from your research, you find out that perhaps your idea isn't as attractive as you thought, SCRAP IT! Base your decisions on facts rather than emotions. If the facts don't support your hypothesis, then it's time to look somewhere else. Many entrepreneurs come up with many ideas that don't fly. The successful ones dump the bad ideas through research, and embrace the good ideas with the proper planning and knowledge. Ultimately though, no matter how many facts you have, you will still need to make a decision based on your gut feeling. Don't get into what some people call, "paralysis through analysis." Get the facts, but then MAKE A CHOICE.

Also, you must remember that it'll eventually come down to numbers if you're planning to start a business with high overhead. If you start a business with very little overhead, then financial projections are not as vital, because you have very little to lose and potentially a lot to gain.

Remember, you can make the numbers say whatever you want. In the end, numbers are there to make sure you're not losing your shirt rather than telling you how rich you're going to be.

If the idea turns out to be good, then the good news is, you have most of the stuff you need to write a solid business plan.

Eureka! How to filter and focus on an idea

Helix Nebula - Spitzer Telescope

Space...the final fron... woops... wrong topic ;) The reason you see that picture, is because there are MANY ideas out there, but only few end up shining upon greater scrutiny. It is important to focus, otherwise you'll find yourself never getting off the ground.

Here's a real story to illustrate the point. After about 40 minutes or so of brainstorming in dark rooms (they were separate rooms! Sorry ladies), we came up with a list of about 20 ideas for a new business. We were thrilled. It was one of our first times trying the whole dark room thing out, and it worked great. There's just something about a dark and silent room that just triggers your mind to think and be imaginative. Perhaps it's a subconscious desire for the mind to escape what seems to be emptiness and darkness? Who knows.

After our alarm clocks rang, we stepped out and I started to write our ideas down on a big board, while occasionally taking a deep whiff of my marker. There's just something about markers...anyone ever sniff those markers that actually smell like fruit? That was the best invention since the toilet. Yeah... TAKE THAT sliced bread!

Anyways, I digress...

We were pumped up for sure. We then took those 20 ideas, and filtered them down to 5 ideas, based on four criteria: 1) Can it make good money? 2) Is there a demand for it? 3) Is it resistant to economic cycles? 4) Is it fun? Yes...looking back, those exactly weren't the most accurate criteria to use. Each criterion was scored from 1-5, and we took the top 5 average scores.

Thankfully, we had a mentor. A real business veteran who started successful ventures in the past. We met up with him after we came up with our list. We felt like we could take on the world, that we could revolutionize the way things are done. We gloriously presented him the list of our ideas on our fancy little Excel file and proved to him that we knew how to use the =Average(B1:D1) function.

The one thing I remember the most about that meeting was how red his face got with laughter. In fact, it reminded me of a tomato with glasses and thin hair. Of course, I knew him for a while, so he had a license to laugh...for now...

The first question he asked was, "Guys, do you even have the skill set for these ideas? These are awfully complicated." He was right, we didn't. In fact, one idea we liked a lot would have needed either us or someone else who had deep experience in law enforcement and almost espionage.

Safe to say, ALL the ideas turned out to be just like that nebula above...just floating and as fleeting as gas. Sure, they look nice, but they can't do anything, not like the star in the middle. We hadn't found that shining star in the middle. It was back to the drawing board for us.

So... with that said, how can one go about filtering and focusing on a single idea? Well, there are a number of steps to do this.

1. The first step is to HONESTLY assess yourself and your partner(s) (if applicable):

• What skillsets and experience do you have?
• How much DISPOSABLE income can you put into a new venture?
• Who do you know in your network? Are they trustworthy?
  
• How risk tolerant are you? Although starting a venture is always risky, some ideas are way more riskier than others because of high start-up costs and overhead.
• Are you genuinely motivated to start a new venture? You have to have a high level of motivation and will, because starting a venture is not easy, and you need to toughen up to see it through.

2. Once you've identified the base foundation (you and any partners you may have), then you can determine what idea can be built upon that foundation. Like in the previous step, for each idea, you want to ask and answer the following questions:

• Do I actually have the needed skills to execute on this idea? If not, can I find someone trustworthy who does?
  

Trustworthiness is extremely important. Knowledge is power, and power is used. If you are clueless about an idea, then a lot will rest upon the shoulders of the person who has a clue. That gives them a lot of leverage over you...so you need to make sure you bring unique skills that the other person lacks to compensate. You also need to trust that person, otherwise you may find yourself left behind.

• What kind of need does this idea meet? What value do you provide? If your only answer is, "well, I think people will find this to be pretty cool." Don't waste your time. It has to bring some sort of value to people.

If a need is met, then there will be demand for it. How much demand, however, will be determined in the next phase. Right now, this is just initial vetting.

• Can I actually secure the resources to execute this idea?
  

I have a personal preference to try and stick with ideas with relatively low start-up costs and overhead. However, there are many successful entrepreneurs who start ventures with high costs and succeed. You just need to be realistic on how much money you can actually secure for yourself and WHERE you're going to get it.

• Where will the money from this venture be earned?
  

Notice that I didn't say "how much" money yet. That comes later. Right now, this is an initial idea vetting phase. What you need to answer in this stage is basically: Do you know how you will earn money from this?


If you can positively answer ALL the questions for any particular idea (i.e. "Yes, I have the skills for this idea" or "Yes, I can find someone, and I can secure the resources" etc.) Then it has some real potential.

Chances are, by putting all the inital ideas through this questioning process, you will end up with very few left or even just one idea. If you end up with none, then don't worry! Just go back to the drawing board. There's nothing wrong with that, it's all part of the process.

Once you've focused on one or two ideas, you're still not ready to execute on it. The next phase now is to do your homework. Now that you've identified the idea, now you need to quantify it through market research to determine its actual feasibility based on FACTS rather than assumptions.

Stay tuned for next episode. We'll discuss how to do homework on your idea to determine - factually - if it's feasible and worth the effort.

Laid off? Time to embrace your inner fire

Yep, my good friend and a great human being officially became a statistic. Half of his office was laid off yesterday, almost suddenly. The people that were laid off were all good people, with two of them being veterans in the company.

It comes to show you, that ultimately, there is no such thing as job security. The days of working for a single company for your entire career and then retiring are long gone.

Job security is a contradiction. It is also an admission of surrender...the surrender of your freedom. Think about it, you are working in an "office" everyday. You take orders, and if you don't do what you're told, you are punished. Who would want to live life being dependent on "the man?"

Of course, I'm sure my friend is only one of the many who've gotten laid off in recent months. The economy has not being doing well at all (to use a gross understatement). However, what most people don't realize is that an economic downturn presents new opportunities, much like a booming economy. You just have to look in different places now. While the opportunities in a downturn aren't as forgiving towards "irrational exuberance" or as "sexy" as opportunities in a booming economy, they're still pretty attractive.

So, if you've been laid off, this is now your chance to take your destiny by the reins, and forge your own path as a self-employed, independent person. Besides, look on the bright side, now you can actually get some sleep. Also, now that you're laid off, you've just gained another valuable resource to start your business: Time.

So...you've been laid off...now what? Well, here are some things you can do to start awakening that inner fire of entrepreneurship:

• First, think of the things you LIKE to do. Do you have a hobby? Or perhaps a couple of interests or what not? Did you encounter something that you found really fascinating or cool?

The first step is very important. Many studies have shown that successful entrepreneurs are the ones who do what they believe in or love to do. If you're just starting a business with no goal in mind but to make money, chances are you will fail. You have to believe that your business makes a positive impact to the community, or it is something that you genuinely enjoy doing.

• Second, take all those ideas and experiences and go sit in a dark and quiet room (try to find one). While in there, brainstorm how these thoughts can be turned into businesses, and make a nice long list for yourself. My trick is to bring my cell phone into the room so I can light it up and actually see where I'm writing :)
  

• Once your list has been completed, try to talk to some people, or even try to find a partner for your entrepreneurial endeavor. In fact, you can also try to find a partner before you even do the second step of brainstorming. With other people, get their feedback on what they think. What you want to do is try to determine the initial feasibility for your idea. Remember, try not to get excited about ideas that are beyond you or your partner(s)' skillsets...unless you can easily source that expertise somewhere.

• After you've filtered your ideas and came up with one or two solid ones, then you need to do some homework. You need to find out the following things:

1. What is your value proposition? To do that, you need to identify the need. Is there a need (or can you create a need) that your product/service can cater to? If not, then don't bother. Remember, when you enter into an industry, you need to bring value-add, otherwise there's no reason for people to use you over others.
2. Who is your target market? This can be a demographic or a particular characteristic of people. (e.g. females ages 18-24 or a category such as blue collar workers, etc.). This will determine HOW you will market your business.
   
3. Where would you earn your money? And how much money do you REALISTICALLY think you will earn? This is very important. Although successful entrepreneurs don't start businesses for the sake of money, they do, however, know where to earn their money to be able to grow and sustain their business.
4. Who's your competition? What are their strengths and weaknesses?
   
5. What is the state of the market now? (is it growing? shrinking?)
6. Is the market dominated by a few big players? Unless your idea is revolutionary and feasible, it is usually not a good idea to enter into a very consolidated sector.
   
7. Are there any imminent substitutes that could threaten your service/product?
8. What resources do you have at your disposal as start-up capital? In these economic times, it is usually more prudent to NOT dip into your savings unless your research has been very favorable to your idea. Even in that case, you will want to seek investor funding. Given the conditions of the economy, getting credit from banks is even harder now. Not only that, most banks require new companies to sign a personal indemnity agreement which pretty much holds you personally liable for the debt, rather than your company. You will want to find an Angel Investor or Venture Capitalists. However, you must be careful, because the usual way they give you funding is by buying equity in your company. In that case, you do not want to relinquish too much control. Also, if you seek investor funding, you MUST have a formal business plan written up.
   
9. Will your company have high or low overhead? The best thing to do in difficult economic times is to try to keep overhead as low as possible. Having low overhead also means you need less start-up capital, and you can achieve a faster time-to-market.
10. What is your timeline for starting up and breaking even?
    
11. What will you do with your eventual F-U money? (optional...but perhaps required for some of you ;) )
    

While this isn't an exhaustive list, this is a good overview of what you have to do to start up. Remember, planning is very important. Do not rush in based on emotions only. Collect the facts, then make your decision.

As a future entrepreneur, if you focus on achieving your dreams and goals, the money will come. It's the same for when you attract a potential mate. When you're focused on improving yourself and living life to the fullest, someone will come to you. Usually it's when you're activtely looking for that potential mate that you never find one. The same goes for money. If you actively look for money, you'll never get it. Money is a by-product of your own self-empowerment.