There’s no secret formula for you to follow to start up your own business. At least, I never saw one. I think it’s fair to say that when we break down any process into different phases, it helps us explain how that process works. For this reason, I like to divide the business creation process into the following phases: observation, drawing, selection, a 5-minute “what if” mode, and set-up.
The first question you should ask yourself before you start up a business is: What is my reason to start up? The most common reason people give is: to become my own boss, to be financially independent, to have more spare time, to make more money and to create new jobs. The problem I found here is: these are not real reasons to start up your own business. You should have a real reason to convince you and to inspire you to wake up and go to work every day. Especially when you start a business by yourself.
I am not looking to help you find your reason to become a business person. But if you want to share the reason you have, please send me an email at Rodolfo.b@verticeservices and I will tell you what I think. Clearly, I will not criticize. I will only orientate you.
Okay, now that you have a reason, let me tell you about the five business creation process phases.
- Observation
- Drawing
- Selection
- 5-minute “what if” mode
- Set-up
Observation: I call this phase “The Eagle Phase”. During this period, you must always be observing what is happening around you and others. I call it “Eagle” because you must watch the internal and external environment with 360 degree vision. The observation phase can take 2 minutes, 20 minutes, 2 hours, 20 hours, 20 months, 2 years, 20 years or more.
Some people can live their whole life in observation mode. They will die observing others. Is there anything wrong with that? No. As long as it doesn’t make you waste your precious time. Because you will be searching for a business idea which has all the characteristics you are looking for, you can be in a position in which you have more than one business idea to analyze. You need to start drawing and analyzing each individual possibility.
During the observation phase, most of the business people I know felt a different energy. I call it: The “Eagle” flash. As soon as they thought about a specific idea, a WOW sensation took hold of their body. It is a flash of energy that some people feel coming from the brain to the rest of the body, and some people feel coming from the inside of their body to their brain. It is a moment of joy and excitement.
Drawing: I would like to remind you that I am not talking about business plan preparation here. You don’t need one. You need to take an A4 piece of paper and for each business idea answer the following questions:
- Can I have clients? Can the business generate sales? Can the business make a profit?
- What resources do I need to start up the business? (Assets, people, systems, and money)
This is the phase when most business people start sharing their idea with others, and where negative opinions (especially from the people closest to you) can badly affect your energy and excitement level. The vast majority of business people give up. People are not supposed to tell you if you can or if you can’t.
The suggestion I can give to you is: only share your excitement with positive people. Only share your business idea with experienced business people. These are the people who will probably be willing to support you on the way. People learn by doing and acting – not by studying, obverting, or giving their opinion. You know what I am talking about.
Selection: During this phase, you need to select which business idea to carry out. Your level of excitement must be kept high. You obviously need to select the best business idea and forget the others.
During the selection phase, most of the business people I know felt a second, different energy. I call it: “Dolphin” Strike. What is this feeling? They felt a good feeling knowing that they selected the right business idea. They knew they had chosen the best option, or if they had only one business idea they feel it was the right business idea to carry out.
5 minute “what if”: this is the most unexpected phase ever. You did not think that you would feel like this. This is the quickest phase and the one in which most of the people I know got stuck. This is when you instantly and naturally ask yourself the following question:
“Should I move my ass?”
This is when the eagle in the observation phase freezes.
You start asking yourself as many “what if” questions as your brain can handle:
Questions like:
“What if I lose my money?”
“What if I fail?”
“What if the clients will not buy from me?”
You cannot let the “What if” questions take away everything you have created so far. And then the third flash of energy strikes. I call this one: the “monkey**” strike. You think: “What do I F** have to lose? I am going ahead, I don’t give a monkey.”
Congratulations. Now it is time to set up.
Set-up: During this phase, you need to create an action plan describing all the actions you must take to set up your business. Again, this is not a business plan. Don’t start a business without knowing clearly what you need to do. Most of the businesses that I know which failed, failed during the implementation phase. Implementation is more important than all the previous phases put together. Take another A4 piece of paper and describe line after line what you need to do and when. Organize yourself properly before investing your first penny into your business.
Never forget, you must channel three different animals to start up your business:
The Eagle – to let you observe
The Dolphin – to let you choose the best idea
The Monkey – to let you “do it” regardless of “what if” questions
