Building the Business That’s Right for You

Nov 15, 2010 by admin

By Jimmy Krug –

I was fortunate to have met a lot of older businessmen in my younger 20’s. During the late 1980’s and early 1990’s I was a part of a little brainstorming group. There were three of us. One was a Chiropractor, the other a Logistician for the government. Then there was me. In case you don’t know what a Logistician does, they work with numbers, percentages, etc.

All three of us were looking to build the perfect business on the side. At the age of twenty-one, I was the least established of the group.

All three of us were habitual opportunity seekers, although none of us quite realized that at the time. Opportunity seekers and business builders are, in my opinion, two separate breeds of people (much like gamblers and investors). One habitually looks for the big score while the other understands the need for an investment in time, energy and resources.

Here’s an example. Many years ago my father responded to a business opportunity ad he saw in the newspaper. When it didn’t yield the type of benefits he’d hoped for, he was ready to move on to something else. My grandfather, who was also an entrepreneur, told him that he saw potential in what he was doing and urged him to stay with it. He did, and what was once a “business opportunity” grew into an established business.

FAST, EASY MONEY

When you get right down to it, who wouldn’t want to make a nice chunk of fast, easy money? Quick, easy money, however, is usually generated from an established mechanism or system. And guess what? It takes time to build the mechanism or system.

If you’re in debt and need cash fast… it’s much easier to sell something you already have than it is to take money you can’t afford to lose and “invest it” in an opportunity. This is a hard pill for an opportunity junkie to swallow. If you’re an opportunity junkie, more often than not, your overnight return turns out to be nothing more than the stuff dreams are made of.

Air.

The opportunity that seemed alive and well within the sales material disappears in the light of reality – taking the cash with it.

Chasing “opportunities” when you’re in a financial crisis is a fool’s game and the list of people playing this game seems to get longer every day.

So what should you do?

I recommend building your perfect business.

When I say “perfect” – I don’t mean perfect in a literal sense… I’m talking about the business that’s right for you.

A business basically does one or two things. It either sells a product that people either need or want. Or, it performs a service that people/businesses either need or want. You can either create the product yourself (manufacture it), or buy a product that someone else manufactured. With service oriented businesses, you can either perform the service yourself… or you can pay someone else to do it.

When you strip away the outward facade, business is fairly simple.

What do you enjoy providing to others? Or better yet, what would you really like to be providing to others? What type of product? Is it something you really believe in? Is it something others need? Or does it fall into the want category? You’ve probably already noticed that you have more energy and enthusiasm being involved with certain products or services than you do others.

In my own case, I will naturally work harder in some areas than I will in others. In fact, in some areas, the work doesn’t really seem like work to me. Yes, it still takes time and effort, but the drudgery element isn’t there.

When it comes to building the business that’s right for you, it’s going take some energy and commitment, so you may as well get involved with a product or service that interests you as much as possible. Without that, you’re more apt to fall by the wayside if things don’t go as easily as planned. When it comes to real-life business, sooner or later things don’t go according to plan!

If you ask a lot of people who are currently considering starting their own business in the midst of today’s economy, they’d tell you the perfect business for them is one that makes “a lot of money.”

That’s a given. No one goes into business with the hopes of only making nickels and dimes. The question is, what type of business is within your reach – right now? Do you already have the resources necessary to take the next step? Do you actually have a plan?

BUSINESS PLAN AND MARKETING SOFTWARE

Palo Alto Software produces a program called “Business Plan Pro.” If you find yourself challenged in the area of creating an easy to follow blueprint for yourself, programs like these can help you. They also produce a program called “Marketing Plan Pro.” If I’d used a similar program when I was in my early 20’s, I could have saved myself from going through some of the trial and error process.

Software programs like these were designed to assist you in the planning process. In a lot of ways, they’re just like books and information products. The only difference is, you can plug your own information into the equations a lot faster and easier.

Jim Straw, my co-publisher here at Online Mentor Mag, also publishes courses that are based upon real-world experience in different areas of business. His products aren’t “get rich quick” gimmicks. They’re designed to help you build a business.  Like anything else, getting rich quickly can and does happen for some people, but that’s not the norm. Before his, mine, or anyone else’s products will be of any lasting benefit to you… however, you have to decide what type of business it is you’re going to build.

MOVING FROM ONE BUSINESS TO ANOTHER…

Many successful people ultimately get involved in a variety of businesses over the course of a lifetime. The difference between them and the compulsive opportunity seeker is – they become successful and establish themselves in one area before moving on into multiple business ventures and investments.

A friend of mine once told me, “The realization that I could be mediocre at a dozen or so things or great at one changed the entire course of my business and personal life.”

If you’re an opportunity junkie… this may be some of the best business advice you’ll ever receive.