Taking the plunge and becoming an entrepreneur is akin to making a giant leap into the abyss. You might be the most orderly, anal-retentive organizer or logistician and may have a clear picture in your head about how you are going to achieve independence and satisfaction. Do you know how to make God laugh? Tell him you have a plan and in this case tell him that you are going to be a successful entrepreneur! You undoubtedly have a lot of adventure ahead of you as many of your predecessors will testify. Your plan is nothing more than a constant work in progress and you will certainly end up putting more time, effort, emotional and physical work into your own business than you would working for anyone else.

Whatever idea you have for a business, think really long and hard. Are you just pandering to your own needs and likes, trying to create a business around your hobby because you are interested in it, or are you truly creating a solution to a problem for potential clients? Unless you’re able to solve the problem and have some kind of unique approach as well, the sad truth is you are probably going to get swallowed up among the competition. What is your unique selling proposition?

Aim to always give more than you get back when you start off, as part of your creative interpretation of your business environment. Social proof dictates that people will only want to do business with an organization that they really understand and trust. When you get customers, treat them like pure gold and make sure that you get positive testimonials and feedback. Be prepared to go way beyond the line when providing value.

Unless you have the luxury of a lot of time and a pot of money behind you, the sad truth of being an entrepreneur is that you’re going to have to be head cook and bottle washer, becoming adept at everything. Outsourcing will only be a dreamland, and you will find that your time is really stretched thinly. There are certainly not enough hours in an entrepreneur’s day, so be prepared to work at a minimum 60 hours a week. Are you ready to work seven days a week? Due to time constraints, you will soon find that each hour is worth more than money and you have to be careful that you do not spend too much time on operational issues, while devoting too little to onward development.

Your business model must be realistic and once you get going you should be able to document its potential according to the amount of time that you are spending, the value per hour of work that you are currently achieving and the potential based on a very realistic and reasonable projection. Always be very honest and realistic, however and understand that you need to allocate a certain amount of time every week to annoying issues that will eat into your productivity.

Anchor yourself well and remember that there are always ups and downs in the business. You know what they say – if it were easy, everyone would be doing it!

Adam Toren, Co-Founder of Young Entrepreneur, specializes in improving the profitability of under-performing businesses with a unique and ‘bottom line’ program. Adam, along with his brother, have started, bought and sold several companies over the past years. They currently own and operate a successful publishing company and several online companies.

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