I strongly believe every human is unique and possesses at least one good idea. I have seen employees with brilliant ideas and plans; but they just don’t know how to give up their job security to pursue their entrepreneurial career. Starting a small business and earning an extra income has always been the dream of many employees but the problem is only few ever dare to quit their job and start a business.
I was motivated to write this article because I have come across so many employees with plans on starting a business but they just don’t seem to be making headway. Year in year out, these same employees are still keeping their jobs. They are afraid to quit their jobs because of the uncertainty associated with building a business.
Without the element of uncertainty, the bringing off of even, the greatest business triumph would be dull, routine and eminently unsatisfying.” – J. Paul Getty
If you are employee reading this business article and you are contemplating starting a small business part time. Deep down inside you, you know you really need to quit your job but you can’t just find the guts to quit due to fear and self doubts. If this situation above best describes you; then my honest advice to you is this:
“Don’t start a business yet because you will definitely fail.”
Instead, I will advice you first clear your fears or self doubts because with either of these in you; you are failure bound. In retrospect, I want you to know that the biggest corporations of today and the billionaires of today started part time.
Bill Gates started Microsoft part time in Harvard’s dormitory. Mark Zuckerberg, Michael Dell, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, David Filo and Jerry Yang started their business part time in the dormitory of their various academic institutions. Amazon was started by Jeff Bezos in a garage just as Apple was also started in a garage by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak.
Robert Kiyosaki started his Nylon and Velcro wallet business while still an employee of Xerox; and Ray Kroc of McDonald’s developed his business idea while working as a salesman. Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, Oprah Winfrey started by building a business part time.
If these successful entrepreneurs and drop out billionaires can achieve the feat, I see no reason why you can’t do the same. So in this article, I will outline an easy step by step guide to starting your own business part time. If you are ready, then let’s proceed.
Now based on the challenges faced by these employees and aspiring entrepreneurs, I have decided to outline an easy step by step guide to starting a small business part time. These business building or startup steps are the exact steps taken by successful entrepreneurs and drop out billionaires who started and built great businesses. So if you are prepared to go through the entrepreneurial process of starting a small business part time; then below are seven steps to starting a small business part time.
How to Start a Business Part Time With No Money
“Getting rich begins with the right mindset, the right words and the right plan.” – Rich Dad
The first step I will recommend for anyone wanting to start a small business part time is to develop the entrepreneurial mindset. The reason is because starting a business requires a certain kind of mindset; the entrepreneurial mindset.
“There is little difference in people but that little difference makes big difference. The little difference is attitude. The big difference is whether it is positive or negative.” – W. Clement Stone
Remember that building a business will require you give up your job security someday and therefore, you will be transiting fully from being an employee to becoming an employer. So you have to be mentally prepared for the business challenges involved with start.
“Nothing can stop a man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goals; and nothing on earth can help a man with the wrong mental attitude.” – Thomas Jefferson
Starting a small business, either part time or full time entails being responsible or accountable and to successfully achieve it, you must develop the required entrepreneurial skills such as negotiation skill, communication skill, leadership skill, sales skill and so on.
“Dream more than others. Think practical.” – Howard Schultz
The next step to starting a small business part time is to write a strong business plan for your business idea. If you are serious about starting a small business part time, then a business plan is a necessity because it’s going to be a key factor to the future growth of your business.
“A business idea is just another idea. But an idea backed by a strong feasibility, a thorough business plan and a smart business team is no longer an idea. It’s now a solid business opportunity worth pursuing.” – Ajaero Tony Martins
Your business plan must contain a thorough analysis of how you intend starting a small business part time and how you intend to grow the business. You will also have to decide where to locate your business.
3. Look for an ambitious goal oriented business partner
The issue of finding a business partner when starting a small business part time is indeed a tactical one that must be treated with utmost caution. Some entrepreneurs have good stories to tell with respect to business partnerships while others have tales of woe.
“Our success has really been based on partnerships from the very beginning.” – Bill Gates
Before choosing a business partner, you must make sure your prospective business partner shares the same vision and aspiration with you. He or she must understand the intricacies of the proposed business and must be willing to put in equaled effort to ensure the survival of the business. Most importantly, your business partner’s strength must complement your weakness. One smart rule of thumb in forming a business partnership is to jointly sign a partnership dissolution agreement just in case things don’t go as planned.
Another rule of thumb is to consider using a legal hedge such as Limited partnerships; it will save you a lot of stress in the long run. If you are a die hard entrepreneur, you may decide to go it solo, but with respect to starting a small business part time; it will be in your best interest to find a business partner whose time schedule will cover for your absence. Most successful businesses that started part time were all hinged on partnership. Examples of such businesses are Microsoft, Intel, Apple, Yahoo, Google, MySpace, Facebook, YouTube and HP.
“Starting a business is like building a ship and embarking on a voyage, armed with a plan, a map and a team. You have to sail with uncertainty against storms and unpredictable weather. If your ship sinks, it’s either you quit or you swim back to shore, build a new ship and sail again.” – Ajaero Tony Martins
The fourth action step to starting a small business part time is to start the business. I always emphasize this because most employees dream of building a business but fear holds them back. They keep planning and waiting for all lights to go green before they start the business; without knowing that all lights will never go green.
In the book “Rich Dad’s Before You Quit Your Job: 10 Real-Life Lessons Every Entrepreneur Should Know About Building a Multimillion-Dollar Business,” Robert Kiyosaki said that there are three components to starting a business. One is the right plan; two is the right team and three is the money. In that, Robert Kiyosaki explained that rarely do these three components come together when starting a business. But the most important point he made was this:
“It’s the duty of an entrepreneur to grab one piece and start the business, the remaining two pieces will be found along the way. Finding the remaining two components may take a year or more than 10 years; the point is, start with what you have.” – Robert Kiyosaki“You stick it out. You’ve just got to.” – Steve Case
A good rule of thumb in the world of entrepreneurship is to start with what you have and pick the rest along the way. Even if you have insufficient capital, just start with what you have. Whenever you are filled with the fear of starting a small business, just remember that Amazon, Apple and Ford Motor were started in a garage. Google, Yahoo, Dell and Facebook were started in the dormitory.
The fifth action step to starting a business part time is to schedule your time. Are you going to build your business at nights or after work hours or on weekends? You will really have to sit and think it out. For your proposed business to stand, you must allocate time to build it, and stick to that time. I know some successful entrepreneurs who kept their day job and built their business at night. All it takes is a ruthless determination on your part.
“The best thing to invest in your business is your time. To schedule, plan and use time effectively, know your turf and know your objectives. Assess the obstacles and opportunities, then devise your strategies.” – The Mafia Manager
If you have a business partner, this is where he or she will come in handy. Delegating some duties to your business partner will free you up and help you strategize towards the growth of your business. Just make sure that the business tasks are evenly shared between you and your business partner and each one of you should be accountable for the given task.
After kick starting your small business, the next step will be to set a target time to quit your job. Definitely, you are going to quit your job someday and go full time into building your business. You can set your target exit date to be either based on your business growth, a certain level attained in business or any other benchmark you feel suits you. Regardless of the benchmark of your choice, just make sure you set a time to quit your job and focus on your business full time.
Building a business is not a day’s affair, it’s an ongoing process. For your business to survive, you must keep re-investing in it until it needs you no more. One of the major characteristics of successful entrepreneurs is delayed gratification. This is the one big difference between employees and entrepreneurs.
“I did 30 Minute Meals for five years on local television, and I earned nothing the first two years. Then I earned $50 a segment. I spent more than that on gas and groceries, but I really enjoyed making the show and I loved going to a viewer’s house each week. I knew I enjoyed it, so I stuck with it even though it cost me.” – Rachael Ray
As an entrepreneur, you must learn to live without income from your business until your business grows big enough. It is called “working for free.“
As a final note; these are my seven step action plan to starting a business part time. Before I drop my pen, I want you to know that building a business while still keeping your day’s job is not impossible.
So I encourage you to take a step of faith and begin planning today. With a strong business idea and a dedicated entrepreneurial spirit, success will be yours. Remember, Bill Gates started Microsoft part time in Harvard’s dormitory
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