Chapter 1: Your Great Adventure - Exploring The Right Fit

1. Chapter 1: Your Great Adventure - Exploring The Right Fit Learning Objectives: • Discover the right complementary entrepreneurial fit for you. • Begin filling your Adventure Notebook with ideas and information to build Business Plan. • Understand how to use text and access vast entrepreneurship resources. • Review the three doorways to entrepreneurship. • Identify various entrepreneurial types. • Determine why today’s economic and technology climate is an advantageous time to start a business. • Understand your financial and family situation.

2. Chapter 1: Your Great Adventure - Exploring The Right Fit Learning Objectives: • Make bold assessment of your personal strengths and weaknesses. • Brainstorm a clear picture of success in small business. • Investigate the practices of financially successful businesses in your community. Evaluate those who did not succeed – what contributed to their failure? For those who succeeded – what contributed to their success? • Expand your knowledge of small business through interviewing small-business owners. • Design your own entrepreneurial lifestyle to include your realistic expectations of the time and energy you are committed to devote to your vision as an entrepreneur.

3. Action Step 1: Adventure Notebook • Twelve-month calendar • Appointment calendar with reminders • List of priorities • All Action Steps with #5 in front • Idea list • “New eyes” list • List of possible team members • Articles and statistics • List of helpful websites • List of experts • List of potential customers • List of contacts for goods and services

4. Product Distribution Network Technology Target Customers Financing Passion Community Resources Global Opportunities Incredible Resources Pricing Internet Customer Service Location Marketing Competition Building Your Road MapWelcome To Business Plan

5. Do You Have What it Takes to Be an Entrepreneur? • Are you able to make decision on your own? • Are you comfortable working with new people & new ideas? • Are you a self-starter? • When you lose, can you deal with it and move on? • Can you control your emotions & temper? • Do you have a need to achieve? • Can you laugh at yourself? • Are you disciplined? • Do you have lots of ideas & see solutions to problems? • Can you live without perfection & external recognition? • Can you sell your ideas? • Are you organized? • Can you handle stress & pressure? • Are you a reasonable risk taker? • Are you creative & can you share your creative excitement with others? • Can you made lemonade out of lemons & roll with the punches? • Do you dread routine days? • Are you self-confident? • Are you reliable & ready to work really hard? • Are you willing to fight for what you believe in?

6. Web Link Starting Points • Fast Company www.fastcompany.com • Inc.www.inc.com • Entrepreneur www.entrepreneur.com • Sprouter www.sprouter.com • Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation www.kauffman.org • Under30Ceo www.under30ceo.com • Small Business Administration www.sba.gov • National Federation of Independent Businesses www.nfib.com • Startup America Partnership www.s.co • Alltop www.alltop.com

7. Knocking At The Entrepreneurial Doors • Three Doorways to Entrepreneurship • Doorway 1 : Buying an ongoing business • Doorway 2 : Buying a franchise • Doorway 3 : Starting a new business

8. What Type of Entrepreneur Do You Want to Be? • Lifestyle Entrepreneur • Make a living • Satisfy personal needs • Empire Builder • Balance sheet affluent • Buys but not does not easily sell • Serial Entrepreneur • Looking for the cash payout • Ready to move on to their next company

9. Action Step 2: Why Do I Want to be an Entrepreneur? • Review your current job situation • List reasons you want to be an entrepreneur • How do these reasons fit into your personal, family financial and professional lifestyles? • How do these reasons fit with your social, spiritual and ego needs? • List reasons you do not want to become an entrepreneur • Look realistically at your lists and keep refining them

10. Action Step 3: Review Your Current Family and Financial Picture • Complete the Personal Financial Statement & Personal Budget • Consider the following: • Can I live on less? How much less? • What can I cut from my budget? • How long can I cut my budget before I feel deprived? • How long before my family feels deprived? • Which of my assets can I turn into cash? • What amount of my net worth am I willing to put at risk? • Discuss with family the time and money sacrifices involved • Meet with a financial planner and accountant to discuss issues • Businesses take time – be prepared to wait • Check out the following websites: LearnVest, Mint, Kiplingers and Money

11. Action Step 4: Self-Assessment • Complete the questionnaires in Table 1.1 and 1.2 • Access the Small Business Readiness Assessment Tool and the University of Pennsylvania’s Authentic Happiness Site for character and strength tests. • Answer the following questions: • What are your personnel strengths? • What skills have you acquired throughout the years? • What are you good at doing? • What makes you happiest? • What type of businesses offer you the fulfillment you desire? • What personality traits might hinder you in your business? • What do you value? • What are your financial dreams? • What are your passions?

12. What Does It Take To Be An Entrepreneur? • Four-question Test to Determine Entrepreneurial Success: 1. Do you know the difference between what you want and what you’re good at? 2. Do you know what drives you and what gives you satisfaction? 3. Do you know what your values and priorities are, what your organization’s values and priorities are, and can you identify the differences between the two? 4. Having measured the differences between what you want and what you’re able to do, what drives you and what satisfies you, and between your values and those of your organization, are you able to overcome those differences?

13. Action Step 5: “Inc. Yourself” • Define success for yourself. Do you measure success in dollars? How many? • What other ways do you measure success? • Being able to enjoy a certain lifestyle • Dealing with friendly customers who appreciate your service • Power, recognition and/or fame • Being able to live and work where you want • Providing employment and training for others • Being the best business in your area • Having time to enjoy your children and hobbies • Participating in teamwork and/or building a legacy • Early retirement • Making people’s lives safer and better • Helping others directly or indirectly

14. Action Step 5: “Inc. Yourself” • Let your imagination take over. • Where do you want to be in 5 or 10 years? • What do you want to be in 5 or 10 years? • What do you want – personally, socially, spiritually, financially and as a lifestyle? • What are your material needs and wants? • You can predict your future. • Mesh the information with your imagination and go for it! • Only you can make it happen.

15. Be Passionate Maintain Focus Work Hard Enjoy the Journey Trust your Gut Instinct Be Flexible but Persistent Rely on Your Team Focus on Execution Have Integrity Give Back 10 Success Factors

16. Action Step 6: Survey Your Friends About Business Success • Ask your colleagues about businesses they consider successful • Discuss the signs that indicate business success and the reasons behind success • Have a “devil’s advocate” group list unsuccessful businesses and point out the reasons for business failures • Begin to recognize success and failure factors • Stay sharply tuned to successful enterprises

17. Action Step 7: Interview Entrepreneurs • Interview at least three self-employed people • Make a list of open ended questions such as: • Whatwere your first steps? How did you arrange financing? • If you had it to do over, what would you do differently? • What part does creativity play in your business? • What are your tangible and intangible rewards? • What was your best marketing technique? • What portion of sales to you spend on advertising? • Did you hire more employees than expected? • What makes your business unique? • How do you use social media? • Did you write a Business Plan? Do you wish you had? • Are gross profits what you expected? Would you do it again?

18. Think Points for Success • We are entrepreneurs. Work is fun. We seldom sleep. • Stay flexible. • Change is accelerating everywhere, and change provides you with opportunities to follow your dreams. • To find the doorway into your own business, gather data and keep asking questions. But make a decision! • Sales propel your business forward. • Get reckless on paper before you get reckless in the marketplace. • Brainstorm. • Draw mind maps. • Confirm your venture with numbers and words. • Write a Business Plan. • Follow your passions. • Leap! If you fall, get back up, recoup, and leap once more!