Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

It sounds to me as if you`re not so much worried about being qualified, you`re just getting stage fright about being The One In Charge---out there in front, having to take final responsibility for your own decisions. ;-)

You can *get* qualified in a very short time, given that you already have the engineering skills. Remember that old movie...I can`t remember the title, where there`s a newscaster who says, "What I already know, nobody can teach me; what I don`t know, I can learn."

Reverse your above scenario, and imagine that you`re going around telling people that because you know where to put a septic system, they should hire you. The only obstacle is that you have no idea how to BUILD a septic system! What would you do?

Furthermore; which do you think is the more difficult learning curve; to design septic systems that work, or to understand proper location and layout?

Being "qualified" to run a business hinges entirely on your concept of competence. There`s another well-known phrase in business management: Hire to your weaknesses. Another good one is, "Do what  you do best, delegate the rest."

But the hardest of all thing for someone contemplating starting their own business is being in the spotlight. Most of us have been taught to "share" from as far back as we can imagine. We`re not supposed to be proud, selfish, or stand out. That`s all "ego," we`ve been told, which is a terribly bad thing. :-) No it`s not...!

Running a business is partly about understanding money, partly about understanding customer relations, and a great deal about making decisions. When you`re a business owner, you`re "it." There`s nobody you can blame, gripe about, or complain to---you`re the boss. :-)

I really like hearing other views on my dilemma

As I think Mark Twain said, I remember when I was in my teens, my dad sounded kind of dumb. I was amazed at how much smarter he got over the years. :-)

The bottom line is your father`s right: get your first job, do it, and you can deal with the details at that time. You can forecast *some* of the details now, being prepared for what you can pretty well assume will happen.

But the key to starting a business isn`t knowing ahead of time all the details and problems. It`s knowing that you will solve the problems, adapt to changing circumstances, and that you can almost always find what you need when you know what it is you need.

From what you`ve written, it sounds as though your target market is going to be installers, sales companies, and builders. You would perhaps have a business-to-business (B2B) product, where you`re a commercial service primarily offered to professional installers.

After you`ve done some of that, you might then hire your own installers and start selling direct to the public.