Monica O’Brien is a guest writer from Twenty Set, a blog about personal and professional development for millennials.
Young Go Getter: One of my friends graduated in June 2007 and was headhunted for a startup after posting his resume on CareerBuilder. He was 20 years-old and had a choice: do the startup or take the other, much safer offer at a larger company. He chose the startup and joined a team of nine employees who built robots for large firms – in the CEO’s father’s basement.
What I failed to mention is how I met my friend – we’ve been coworkers for the past four months. The startup company was doing great business by building the top robots in the industry – but went bankrupt five months after my friend started due to lawsuits from the CEO’s old company.
But my friend survived his first affair with a startup, and you can too – because startups aren’t that risky. Here are three reasons why…
You Can Find Another Job Easily
Startup goes under? Sure, it’s tough to see something you worked so hard at fail; but you’re awesome and you will find another job easily.
How do I know? Because if you’re not awesome and great at personal branding then you don’t get recruited for startups in the first place. So even if the startup goes under, you still have yourself and your fabulous skill set. Oh, and you have a startup under your belt, which makes for a pretty impressive resume builder.
So you can do one of two things:
* Get into another startup, which you already have the experience and connections for
* Reenter corporate where they are looking to recruit people with awesome resumes like yours (Hat Tip: Ryan)
Neither is better or worse. In fact, I have another friend who moved to Chicago from Silicon Valley last August. He worked for a few different startups, including this little one called Facebook, and now he’s an investment banker (of all things).
But that’s the great thing about careers these days – there is no clear-cut path to where you want to go. The playing field no longer looks like a game of Chutes and Ladders; it’s more like a football game, where there are lots of different plays that can score a touchdown.
Job Security Sucks These Days
The economy is not so good and companies are changing hands – this means that people can get laid off in a blink. This happens in the public sector when companies get acquired. This happens in the private sector when companies go under.
It doesn’t seem to matter where you work anymore; good people are let go from their jobs every day. It starts with a hiring freeze and progresses to layoffs, often around performance review time. Since job security in the traditional sense is nonexistent at most companies, you may as well work where you want and stop worrying. For many of us young go-getters, that’s a startup.
Working For a Startup is Like Starting a Business 101
I want to start a business someday, but pretty much every entrepreneur I know tells me I need to do a startup first. I’ll admit I thought this was dumb the first time I heard it; but 15-people-giving-me-the-exact-same-advice later? It would be foolish of me to think I know better.
So if you want to start a business someday, you have two choices:
* Stay in corporate America for awhile and then start a business with no entrepreneurship experience
* Do a startup (or a few), get experience starting businesses, then start your own business without repeating the same mistakes
Which one sounds riskier to you?
Why Working For a Startup Isn’t So Risky [Young Go Getter]
Category: Starting Up
Not long ago I took a trip to Tuscany and spent a week in a cooking class. Before the trip I spent time researching my options. I wanted to know who would be teaching the class, what courses and dishes would be covered, how hand-on the class was, if wine-pairings with the dishes would be addressed and if the class included trips to the local farmer’s markets to select fresh produce. Finding just the right cooking school was important to me because I would be spending a significant amount of money traveling to Italy and I wanted my experience to be well worth my time and effort.
For a woman interested in buying a franchise, evaluating the training a franchise business offers should involve even greater research – after all, this is about your future – not a vacation.
As part of your due diligence when researching a franchise opportunity, find out everything about the training a franchise system provides. A good training program should cover not only the product or service but also setting up the business, marketing, employee management, business procedures, reporting, etc.
The best way to find out about the scope of the training program is to ask existing franchisees. Find out what stood out about the training they received and what they feel could have been covered more completely. Ask them how prepared they felt when they opened their business and what ongoing training they have been provided.
Keep in mind that the franchisees you talk with may have been through various versions of the training program. Problems that existed at one time may have been fixed. Or, you may find that a training program that was fine in a company’s early days is now out-of-date. Be sure to include in your research franchisees who have had the same training you will receive to get an accurate assessment of its value.
Ask current franchisee if they received a training manual and if the information is updated periodically. Also ask if the franchisor offers other training resources such as conference calls, webinars or intranet sites. Ongoing training is important for many companies who adjust their business with changes in the marketplace. If this applies to the business you are reviewing, find out what they do to keep each franchisee up to speed.
An addition source of training may come from periodic conferences held by the franchisor. Besides providing additional education about the product or service, conferences offer franchisees an excellent opportunity to connect and network with other franchisees in the system. A network of peers is one of franchising’s invaluable resources so be sure to ask if this is an opportunity the franchisor provides.
Although this is less of a problem today than in the past, some industries may have an “old boy’s club” mentality among franchisees. You will be able to tell by reading the UFOC if there are other woman franchisees. Include some women in your due diligence calls so you can get an idea of the business culture and the prevailing attitude towards woman franchisees.
Many franchisors will have field support personnel who are available to be at your site during your grand opening and at periodic intervals during your first year in business or longer. Having someone right there to answer your questions may help calm your first-day jitters so find out if this a serviced provided by the franchisor.
If, after your franchise investigation process is completed, you don’t feel the offered training will adequately prepare you to run your new business, it’s time to step back and look at other opportunities. As reported in the August 2006 Franchising World magazine, a recent study by FRANdata found nearly 2500 franchise concepts in 18 different industries and almost 900 of these concepts were started over the past three years. You don’t have to compromise – if one company does not have the training you are looking for, there are sure to be many other companies who can meet your needs.
I’m happy to report that the cooking school in Tuscany exceeded my expectations and I left there able to prepare a number of authentic and delicious Italian dishes. Had I not researched the available schools so thoroughly, I might have been very disappointed with my choice.
To get full value for your investment in a franchise business, the training should answer all your questions and set you up as a confident and successful owner.
Franchisee training should include:
• Everything you need to know about the product or service
• Everything about using/protecting the brand
• How to find your business location
• How to negotiate a lease
• How you complete the permits and buildout
• How to find, hire and manage employees
• How to market your product or service
• How to keep books and records for the business
• The reporting requirements and processes
• Where to get the equipment needed for the business
• How or where to buy supplies and inventory
• How to get help when you have a problem
Kimberley Ellis is the President of Bison.com, a leading online resource for franchise and business opportunities. She has been quoted as an industry expert in USA Today, Wall Street Journal and a variety of local and regional publications regarding trends in business and franchising. Kim combines her entrepreneurial spirit with a diverse background in marketing and operation to help others succeed in franchising.
This article is contributed by Sam Carpenter, author of the new book, ‘Work the System: The Simple Mechanics of Working Less and Making More’.
Whether you’ve established a small business, are in the midst of launching one, or simply considering it for the future, it’s certain you want at least one thing out of this investment: success.
Starting, and running, a small business isn’t a cakewalk. It’s hard to believe, but over 50 percent of small businesses fail in their first year and 95 percent fail within the first five years, according to the U.S. Small Business Association. Starting a business is risky for most, but success can come for those who proceed with logic and discipline.
Here are five common mistakes people tend to make when starting up a small business – and how you can avoid them:
1. Business owners don’t create documented procedures for the day-to-day operation.
It’s a simple equation: Systems = freedom. A “working procedure” is a documented description of how to perform a task. Having it prevents random problems and ensures the task is performed exactly and consistently. Procedures help you delegate, improve your scheduling ability, and allow you to work smarter and accomplish more with less effort. Thus, work less and make more. It’s ironic, but by implementing documented system procedures, your employees are free to be creative because they don’t have to “wing it” each time they perform their job duties; everyone operates at a smoother pace because there is a proven, working process. Everyone knows what to do and what to expect. Your people don’t have to be mind-readers or fortune tellers.
2. Owners don’t delegate – they are “doing the work.”
The reason a business owner can work a few hours a week, or take an extended vacation without stress, is because they have created systems, implemented written procedures with supporting documentation, and have learned to delegate. I know, I know. You’re zealous, dreamy-eyed, and proficient at what you do, and as the leader of an organization, you’re committed to doing whatever it takes to get your new business off the ground. Successful people don’t work harder; they work smarter. This means focusing on what you do best, and delegating the rest. Ask yourself what you enjoy doing least for your business. Perhaps that’s bookkeeping or making phone calls to potential clients. Then, imagine literally giving away these tasks. Get rid of the “I am Superman” attitude and hire people who are trustworthy and qualified to take much of the weight off your shoulders.
3. Owners don’t use time wisely.
Biological Prime Time is when your brainpower is at peak capacity. People function at maximum effectiveness about six hours out of a 24-hour day. It is important to understand this interesting facet of human performance, determine precisely when your prime time occurs, and then use it wisely. Six hours out of a 24-hour day is not much. Presuming you wish to reach your goals sooner rather than later, it is best the tasks that contribute most to your primary goals are performed during your prime time hours and you protect those hours from interruption. Also, don’t start your day without a to-do list. Make a list of tasks and categorize them into business-building activities, client activities, and personal items. Then, prioritize, remove distractions, delegate, and stick to your plan.
4. Owners see their job, life, and business as “holistic.”
You must change your fundamental perspective to see the elements of your world as separate, linear systems. See that these systems can be perfected, one-by-one. Understand that by perfecting a primary system’s sub-systems, the primary system will be perfected – and, although you are taking a non-holistic approach, your end product – your business – will be a highly efficient, entirely holistic, “Primary System.”
5. Owners don’t have a strategic objective or set of operating principles.
A strategic objective is short, usually a single page in length. It defines overall goals, describes methodology, and prescribes action. It gives direction for making major and minor decisions. It’s an essential instrument for a business and for personal life. General operating principles are a two to three page collection of “guidelines for decision making” that are congruent with the strategic objective. Essential for the work environment and in a simplified and shorter format, they also guide one’s personal life. Two examples of simple operating principles are “Do it now,” and, “choose the simplest solution.”
Sam Carpenter, author and speaker, is president and CEO of Centratel, an elite quality telephone answering service, and author of the new book, Work the System: The Simple Mechanics of Working Less and Making More. Success in life, business, and relationships can be yours, too. Sam’s approach is not mystical or esoteric; it’s simple, mechanical, and attainable. Visit http://www.workthesystem.com to purchase your copy of Work the System.
Categories
Reasons for Failure
Startup Spark: You created your business this year, but now, looking back, you wonder if it’s all been a waste of time. Here are just some of the reasons your business maybe failing – and best of all they’re easily corrected!
And although these hints are for online businesses, if you own a brick & mortar place of business, many of these apply to you too.
1. You don’t offer free original content. People use this to understand you and get to know you as an expert they can trust,
2. You don’t use a signature file on your e-mails. It’s a selling opportunity that’s often missed.
3. You don’t have your own domain name. Even in this day and age using a domain that isn’t yours (such as tripod) is just bad and makes you look less serious about your business.
4. You don’t test and improve your ad copy. Testing is the key to finding out what works.
10 reasons why your business may be failing [Startup Spark]
Categories
Solid Basics
Startup Hints: Many of us in the nine to five business world dream of setting up shop and striking out on our own. Being free from the rigors of corporate life certainly does have its charms, but it is important for any would be entrepreneur to understand just how important a solid business plan is to their success.
Without a good business plan, it will be next to impossible for your new business to raise the startup capital it needs, attract experienced and qualified business partners, or find the money needed to expand.
It is also important to remember that some types of professions lend themselves for easily to the entrepreneurial lifestyle. One profession that definitely has this potential is that of accounting, and there have been many successful businesses started to offer accounting services to willing clients.
The Importance Of A Solid Accountant Business Plan [Startup Hints]