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The Dream of Your Own Business - Your Kodak Moment
You have a dream to be the star in your very own show. To open the door to your veryown business, and to be able to say that as a Solopreneur you own it. To be the bossand be able to make the decisions that you know you are able to make that will leadyou to a successful career. But after getting started you soon discover that ittakes more than a dream to hang out a neon sign. What about the glue that will holdthe foundation together?
Imagine Dennis the Menace outside, dressed in multiple warm layers, smuglychallenging the cold and Mr. Wilson. When he comes inside you peel away the scarf,the mittens, the boots, the coat and the sweater to reveal the appeal of the wigglykid within. So, too, to become a successful business owner youÂ'll strip aside anassortment of layered obstacles. Some will be more difficult to pry loose thanothers. But in the end, with the obstacles gone, you have the dream.
How strong is your level of confidence for what you hope to achieve with yourconcept? How much time are you willing and able to devote to making yours astandout endeavor? If youÂ've ever planted a garden, or tried to lose weight, or togrow your hair to your shoulders, you know they all take time, hard work andperseverance. Just like starting a business.
What about your current financial means? Have you set aside funds for unexpectedcosts, or for expenses for new hardware, software, memberships, and registrationfees? Even the pennies for everyday expenditures that pay the regular bills and putfood in your fridge must be noted and tallied in a column of your proposed financialledger.
What is your plan for your business? Who will you try to reach? What actually willyou do? How will you do it? You must be better than those around you. Can you seeyourself up till all hours late at night or early in the morning? Do you have thefull support of your family, because initially your first efforts may seem toendlessly take you away from them?
Who do you know? As part of your plan, youÂ'll want to pursue ways to network andmeet like-minded individuals. You may be known as a Solopreneur, or IndependentContractor if you will, but in reality you canÂ't do it alone and truly succeed. Athome, seek out your local Chamber of Commerce, the Rotary, or other area businessclubs. On the Internet, join Virtual Assistant (VA) organizations and message boardssuch as VAN http://www.VANetworking.com. Then set aside a good portion of your timeto immerse yourself in reading those forums and the board's archives. Ask questions.Observe! And be like the largest sponge on the rack; absorb.
For what you intend to do, how much experience do you have? Do you REALLY have?Starting a VA business is more than assigning  lip service to a credible idea, orgetting up one day and deciding to say youÂ're a business owner. YouÂ're really goingto have to exert yourself. And then labor some more.
Karen McGreevey, one of the aspiring and successful virtual assistants on the VANForum, relates starting a business to the following:
Drive, determination, and experience: check.
Family support and financial set-asides: check.
As Tawnya Sutherland founder of VAN states, Â ItÂ's easier to believe in yourself whenyou are already a winner. To become successful as a VA, you've got to believe youare already holding the winning blue ribbon even though you are still standing onthe starting line waiting for the gun to fire.Â
Diana Ennen of Virtual Word Publishing http://www.virtualwordpublishi ng.com, thepublicity rep for VAN states, Â Motivation is the key to success in your business. At the VANetworking Forum IÂ've seen so many aspire to become successful in their ownbusiness and then achieve it with the help of a forum that supports them. ItÂ's agreat winning combination.Â
So stop dreaming and start achieving today. Take the steps necessary to become thesuccess you want.
***Tawnya Sutherland, founder of VAN, http://www.VANetworking.comis an active contributor to many Virtual Assistant organizations online and theauthor of The Virtual Assistant Startup System. SutherlandÂ's virtual assistantbusiness, Mediamage Business Solutions specializes in Internet Marketing. Articleis free to be reprinted as long as authorÂ's bio remains intact.
