How to Become a Successful Entrepreneur

By Joel J. Ohman

It seems like a pretty common place thing to hear someone say, “I want to start my own business” or “I should really just be my own boss and go work for myself”. If you are yourself an entrepreneur then you no doubt hear these kinds of statements all the more from others after you tell them what you do: “Oh, yea I had this idea for a business before. I should really start my own business too”.

With so many people talking about becoming an entrepreneur why is there so few people actually doing entrepreneurial things? According to the Kauffman Foundation the rate of entrepreneurial activity in the US is somewhere around 0.30%. This means that while a lot of people talk about starting their own business a relatively small portion of those people actually take action (or remain committed to their entrepreneurship goals for any real amount of time).

The most important step for becoming a successful entrepreneur is to simply take action. Yes, you won’t know all of the details before you begin but if you aren’t comfortable handling ambiguities and “learning as you go” with everything from business insurance to payroll taxes to health insurance then you may want to rethink becoming an entrepreneur. Planning is important but nothing is a substitute for simply taking action and getting started. Here are some practical tips for helping you to simply get started as soon as possible in becoming a successful entrepreneur.

#1 Keep the Main Thing the Main Thing

It’s easy for those starting their first business to become overly concerned with all of the periphery of a business rather than concentrating on the business model. Would you rather have a great logo, nice business cards, and a great computer for your new business or would you rather have a bullet proof method of making loads of cash? Sure, you can have both but concentrate on the former while ignoring the latter to your own peril.

#2 Build a System

The great thing about building a system for your business as opposed to just flying by the seat of your pants (or keeping everything “recorded” in your head or in a clutter of paper on your desk) is that systems are scalable, concrete, and repeatable. If you have plans of growing your business then you had better design a system to accommodate that growth. Your system will make it much easier to train employees because it will give concrete measurements of what is expected and how tasks are to be accomplished. Having a system will allow you to delegate and free up a lot of your time as those under you can follow a system rather than constantly use up your time to find out what to do.

#3 Constantly be Learning

This may sound like a somewhat generic step for becoming a successful entrepreneur but it is no less important. Let’s dig a little into the specifics of what “constantly be learning” can actually mean and make this practical.

As an employee it can be easy to fall into a rut of just doing your everyday tasks day in and day out, same old same old. As an entrepreneur this type of thinking can lead to disastrous results. Coasting by while just focusing on rote everyday tasks is a recipe for disaster.

As an entrepreneur you should be a student of not only business principles but also a student of the market that your business is in. Study your competitors, be aware of changing market dynamics, be aware of regulatory changes, and on and on.

Questions

• Why do you think it is that so many people talk about becoming an entrepreneur but very few actually do?

• What is the #1 thing that you would change if you could to make it easier for you to strike out on your own?

• What additional advice do you have for anyone that is looking for guidance on how to become a successful entrepreneur?

Joel J. Ohman is a CFP® and a serial entrepreneur. He owns 4 companies and is currently working on a website that makes it easy for people to do an online car insurance comparison.

Health Scare: Why Seniors Have Reason To Be Afraid

Is AARP The Best Representative For Seniors?

The health care debate is certainly heated, a lot hotter than what most people would have expected back in June when Congress first began to seriously consider changing the way Americans take care of themselves.

Opposition to what many are calling “ObamaCare” is strong, but it isn’t just coming from conservatives and anti-big government proponents. Instead, America’s senior citizens are up in arms, leading the charge to defeat ObamaCare. Strong opposition has taken House and Senate Democrats, AARP and other interest groups by surprise, but they still don’t “get it” when it comes to understanding our seniors.

5 Reasons Why Seniors Hate ObamaCare

Some people just don't "get it" when it comes to America's senior population and why so many are opposed to ObamaCare. I've compiled a list of five reasons to help them nail it.

Though I am years away from retirement (if ever) I am a new member of AARP, having turned 50 just last year. As an AARP member I can tell you that this lobbying association has a lot to learn, but are they willing to listen? Frankly, I don’t think that they are – just in case I’m wrong, allow me to share some of my observations when it comes five important reasons why seniors are pushing back hard against Congress and the Obama administration:

Seniors Don’t Want Medicare Decimated – Medicare is national health insurance for seniors, a “safety net” of sorts put in place more than four decades ago to protect aging Americans. Lots of Americans are not happy with the system, but understand that dismantling it may very well do more harm than good. When seniors learn that hundreds of billions of dollars will be diverted from Medicare to pay for ObamaCare, they’re rightfully concerned.

Seniors Want Choice – We live in a nation where “choice” is a popular buzz word. Unfortunately, changes to Medicare just may limit senior’s choice of doctors, choice of care and choice to live. Terms like “end of life counseling” are not clearly defined and when the president himself suggests that care must be rationed, then many seniors know that their lives will be placed in the hands of bureaucrats who may be more inclined to end them instead of preserving life.

Seniors Hate To Be Patronized – Why is it when Americans reach “a certain age” that politicians think that they can talk down to the senior set? Seniors are some of the most politically engaged people in the country, Americans who take the time to study proposals, read the fine print, ask probing questions. How unhelpful is it when politicians refute what seniors have already read and studied? Never underestimate the power of seniors and, as in the case of AARP, if you claim to represent seniors you need to understand exactly what seniors want apart from your own profitable interests.

Seniors Worry About Costs – Health care costs continue to increase with no end in site. While a government system promises to contain costs, most seniors know that their out of pocket expenses will increase, especially for those seniors who own a home, have a retirement account or some other assets which puts them squarely in the middle of the middle class. Few people believe that the middle class will avoid the next round of tax increases.

Seniors Worry About Their Legacy – And by “legacy” I mean their children and grandchildren. Seniors aren’t stupid – they’ve lived many years and have witnessed many profound changes during that time. Younger seniors came of age during the 1960s while our oldest seniors defended America during World War II. They’ve seen good times, they’ve seen bad times but no one has seen the government spend so recklessly as has been done in 2009. Someone has to pay for GM and Chrysler being bailed out, banks and other financial institutions bolstered, for so-called stimulus packages to be repaid, cap and trade taxes and, now, a multi-trillion dollar tax boondoggle in the form of ObamaCare. Seniors have had “enough” and aren’t interested in burdening subsequent generations with unpayable debt that threatens American sovereignty.

Slow Down The Process

Many Americans know that if ObamaCare becomes law there is virtually no chance that it will ever be dismantled. The rush to pass untested legislation has gotten many people upset who want everything slowed down, properly discussed and weighed before Congress puts anything to vote.

Further Reading:

Is AARP Beholden To ObamaCare?

A Slow Bleed For Insurance Companies?

Read The Bill: Ya Think?!