More Secrets to Success

My 9 Personal Secrets For Starting Up a Business (continued)

6. Isolation
To overcome isolation when starting up a business, make sure you go to networking events and join some associations. This is not a waste of time and effort, especially if you approach it in a very targeted fashion. This is why it is do important to have a plan.

7. Opportunities
Be opportunistic when starting up a business. By being alert to opportunities when they arise you may find just the break you were looking for. However, if you say ‘no’ you may never know if it was your door opening or not!

If it does not look like many opportunities are coming your way – create them! But an opportunity, even if taken, is still useless if you do not take action! I believe that if you only plant one seed and it does not come up – you can be devastated. But if you plant a number of seeds, one is sure to come up. The only problem you may then have is if they all come up together (but it is a nice problem to have)!

8. Never say ‘No’
When starting up a business it can be very overwhelming and we are often faced with an opportunity that we feel we must say ‘no’. Perhaps this is the difference between a creative, innovative operator (the one with the great ideas) and the entrepreneur (the one prepared to put the ideas into action).

Say ‘yes’ then figure out how! Build on the success of your business by leveraging off other successful businesses – in other words create joint venture alliances.

9. Technology
By utilising technology, starting up a business can be so much easier. Technology gives you a level playing field and allows you to be competitive. New businesses are springing up which are entirely Internet based. I am a dummy when it comes to technology – but I use it to build successful businesses. I am lucky because my husband knows more than me and my son knows even more – and they are both here to help me.

It is important that you build a relationship with someone who can provide support when you need it. I am sure some of the senior kids at your local school can help you with mundane tasks – but you also need an expert available to assist with the more complex issues. One thing I can tell you for sure – never allow games to be played on your business computer and do not consider having a computer without a good anti virus protector!

Follow these 9 secrets when starting up a business and you will be well on the road to success.