Archive for risk
Capital, Confidence and Concept
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Conventional wisdom says that starting your new business is risky, although these days “risk” is a relative term.
It turns out that working for someone else is risky, too – as so many people have discovered in the past 18 months. Evidently, joining a union for the perceived promise of stability doesn’t remove that risk, and neither does working for the government.
In the presence of the risks of entrepreneurism, there are, however, two things you need to bring to the table in some combination when you make the leap to start your own business: Capital and Confidence. The need for these two elements exists in a constantly evolving, symbiotic dance because the amount of either that is available at any given moment varies. In a general sense, the less capital you have, the more cajones you need to survive.
Nevertheless, many small business epitaphs have been written by entrepreneurs who had an abundance of both, but who lacked a solid, well-thought-out concept of what they were actually doing. In other words, a bad business idea – or a good business idea executed poorly – has the power to trump everything else when it comes to achieving ultimate success.
The concept of concept is multi-faceted. You can have a general idea of something that might make a successful business model and still have absolutely no idea how to actually make it work. Which is why it makes sense to test your assumptions, build a good support system, increase your business skills and knowledge, and continually adjust your plan as you move forward. That is a powerful reason why business coaching makes so much sense for first-time entrepreneurs and new business owners.
Of these three elements – Capital, Confidence and Concept – the risks of entrepreneurism are only alleviated by improving your concept. Contrary to the assumptions of many first-time entrepreneurs, having what is perceived as “sufficient” capital doesn’t remove the risks at all – it only defines the amount of risk. And, confidence – although absolutely essential to any entrepreneur – can actually increase your risk if it isn’t appropriately balanced by the other two pieces.
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11 Ways to Protect Yourself in Business Business is riskier than ever these days. The economy is a mess, credit markets are tight, taxes are high - and likely to go higher, the courts are clogged with frivolous lawsuits, and attorneys seem to rule the world. What can you and I do about it? Fortunately, we......
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We Believe in Entrepreneurism Zogby Interactive conducted an interesting poll of Americans to see where the nation is placing its faith in a better future. "Who will lead us to a better future?" Here are the results: 63% - Small business and entrepreneurs 52% - Science and technology leaders 38% - Family and friends......
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Assess Your Abilities and Resources
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Because starting your own business is a risky thing to do, it is important to come to grips early on about the potential risks you face. By facing those risks head-on, you can make an informed decision about whether or not you are willing to accept those risks. It also gets you thinking about ways you can reduce that risk.
Here are some important questions you can ask yourself:
- Do you have the financial resources you need?
- Can you afford to put your financial resources at risk? Can you afford not to?
- Do you have enough experience and skills necessary to go into business? If not, do you have access to the experience and skills of others?
- Do you know enough about your market to assess its needs and be able to sense and adapt to its needs?
- Do you have the tenacity that entrepreneurship requires?
- Do you have the discipline you will need to be accountable to yourself about your own performance? Read More→
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Protecting Your Credit in Economic Decline The "credit crisis" has become ubiquitous. It is being blamed for everything from home foreclosures to a plummeting stock market. Many individuals and most businesses are feeling the pinch from the credit markets today. Which is precisely why it is so important to carefully manage and protect your personal and...... -
Your Business Checkbook Doesn't Tell You Everything It can be a real challenge for a new entrepreneur who doesn't regularly balance his or her personal checkbook to adjust to the demands of business accounting. Business accounting is a critical discipline that the business owner either must learn and adopt - or must outsource to someone else. No......
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