How I Became My Own Boss
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1. Get experience and work for somebody else.
What I do today is actually no different than my previous job. I even took a pay cut in order to make this happen. However, I’m not worried about that because I’m playing the long term game. So sure I may not be making as much as I did before, but I now have the potential to make more than I ever would have at my previous job. Plus I’m now in a situation where this is what I make it. I can live with not making as much if it’s on me. I can’t live with working my butt off while somebody else gets rich.
So why is it important to work for somebody else? Well first you need to get experience before you take the big jump. The best way to do this is to work for somebody else who has already gone through the headaches of trying to figure things out. So while you’re there, get as much experience as possible and learn as much as you can. Write down the pros and cons of how they run their business so you can then implement those ideas when you’re on your own.
2. Do a lot of research.
Before I started The Print Shop, I had a list of how much everything cost. I knew what my start up cost was way before I even had the money. I had a list of vendors that I planned to use for my inventory. I looked up the local competition and saw what they did and how much they charged. Now, I don’t like the word competitors, because I think the market is big enough for everyone to coexist. But I did look up other local businesses who also print and tried to see where I would fit in. During this period of planning, I actually read more than I ever had. Before, I used to hate reading, because I usually was forced to read stories that I could care less about. That changed when I became interested in leaving my job and doing things on my own. I became addicted to any and everything about starting a small business and being an entrepreneur.
3. Learn how to save your money.
I use to get paid once a month. As soon as I got my check, I would pay my bills and then budget myself for the rest of the month. I turned this into a game of seeing how much money I could save each month. I used this period of saving to do number 2 on the list, research. A friend of mine told me that I would need to take out a $60,000 business loan in order to start The Print Shop. At first this was a bit overwhelming to hear. I already had enough debt from student loans. My goal was to be debt free, not to double it. So then I began to read more about the subject.
Mark Cuban – “If you are profitable and need capital to grow and can easily cover the debt service, sure, go for it,” he wrote. “If the loan is all risk and you don’t yet have consistent cash flow or any cash flow at all, you are crazy.”
This was very important for me and why I did not get a business loan. Your business is not promised to be successful. If you take out a business loan, the only thing you’re promised is that you will have to pay the money that you borrowed back. Remember, most business don’t succeed so you need to put as many odds in your favor. It’s very easy to spend money, but it’s much harder to take money and make more with it. So start very small and try to create a profit with the least amount of money as possible. You can even build up your client base on the side while you’re still working at your other job. The biggest thing is that your expenses must be lower than your profit. Lower your expenses everywhere that you can. If the rent is too high for you, start your business from home and move out when your profit is big enough to cover that expense. You’ll have to get really clever with this, but it is definitely possible to do without a loan. You will also pick up good money habits by learning how to do more with less.
4. Take a risk.
Most people let fear get in the way of them following their dreams or even trying. To say that I was not afraid to start my own business would be a lie. I was very much afraid of the future and the big unknown of what would happen. My old job represented stability. It’s easy to get content with your job and not put yourself out there.
When you start working at a new job, there’s a learning process. You’re figuring out how they run things. During this period, you’re gaining experience from the business. However, whenever you feel like the business is getting more out of you than you’re getting from it, that is when it’s time to leave. So save your money and begin planning an exit route. You’ll be happy that you did. The hardest part for me was starting.
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