The Birth of a Business

The birth of a business is an exciting time, just like the birth of a baby.  It marks the beginning of the realities of business ownership, both positive and negative.  Even the greatest business ideas had to be fed, changed and nurtured through their early months and years in order to become viable and self-sustaining.  Long days and sleepless nights often become the pattern of new business owners.  The danger of getting stuck in this phase of business development is real.  There is an unspoken question that will be asked of a new business owner in the first two years of operation.  Are you going to direct, control and change the business or is the business going to direct, change and control you?  Understanding the start-up phase and the requirements of a new business allows the new owner to have a specific plan and timeline for getting the business to the next level, which is self-sufficiency.

 

Self-sufficiency rarely just happens for a business, it is planned, designed and managed.  There are several things that can get in the way of business development and keep it from reaching this level, many of which have to do directly with the owner or entrepreneur.  Ego is the most glaring.  If a business owner truly does not believe that anyone else can do what he/she can do, or is doing then the business will be limited in its ability to grow and reach self-sufficiency.  The fact of the matter is that the skillset required to grow a business is very different than the skillset needed to technically run a business.  The two rarely exist within the same person at a high level.  Self analysis, or self measurement tools, like the ones offered by the Kolbe Corp., can give the new entrepreneur insight into strengths and weaknesses that they may not have identified for themselves.  The key is having the ability to be honest with yourself about your strengths, and more importantly your weaknesses, and hiring to compliment and/or augment those abilities.