Startup Advice: Take The Leap, and Don't Ask For Help

Starting a business isn't always easy. Most times you need to spend money before you make money. The amount invested will hopefully be earned back within your first or second year of business. For a large span of time you may be working hard and paying everyone else but yourself. This is the life of a small business owner. You spend evenings examining spreadsheets until your eyes are crossed and write checks to everyone while you eat a $1 pack of noodles. Welcome to business ownership. Take off your shoes, get comfy.

I recall my days of being thirsty for business ownership. I have signed up to do just about everything from selling cosmetics to legal services. There was no limit to the things I tried. Each time I entered these business structures I was told to spend money. When I would cringe, I would then be reminded that any and every business requires an investment. This is true. The difference is that these business structures ALWAYS required that I target my friends and family to purchase an item they have no need for or sign up to sell something they wouldn't even want to buy.

This method of predatory selling to family and friends often keeps people dodging you. You call to say hello and they feign ill in fear of being "sold". This is the worst way to get a business going. If you have a product worth selling, you should be able to sell it to anyone not just family and friends who have sympathy for your curse of being dreaming big.

Great products sell themselves. If you build a client base out of strangers, your family will follow. The last thing you should do is look for handouts to get your business up and running. It make take time, but there is no "get rich quick" business plan out there but to scam other people into believing there is one. Save some cash, find ways to keep expenses down and build your business, one client at a time.