Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

I`m 25 years old, and I`ve always known I wanted to work for myself. At this point I haven`t got a clue as to what I want to do. But since I`m VERY sure I`ll oneday start a business, I was wondering how I could already start preparing for the big day.

Are there any things that every business owner should be able to do, or is there something I must already start doing?

I would really like a small business, which would already teach me something, but haven`t got a clue as to what I could do. Ow, and I`m from Belgium.

There`s always a way to start a business at just about any age. The classic analogy of the lemonade stand became classic because so many kids have created just that, a lemonade stand.

Another principle of preparing yourself is experience. To that end, you can figure out a business that might be part-time, then jump in and start swimming. Since you have a regular job and paycheck, you won`t necessarily have to make a living from this new business. But it`ll sure teach you a whole lot about what you want to learn.

Highschool kids have been doing business for years, sometimes with paper routes, other times babysitting, and so forth. You have a lot more options, being older than 21 and a legal adult.

I did a quick look at franchise opportunities. Not because you should run out and buy into a franchise, but to get a list of overall categories. Those break out into specific opportunities. The point is to get you started thinking along the lines of "what can I do that might form a basic small business?"

Even if you set up an "errand" company, where you find 5 customers who can`t or don`t want to go to the store to buy groceries, you can have a business of doing their shopping. If you do a good job, you`ll get repeat business. That`s a business.

Whatever it is, you`ll learn a great deal about profits, costs, accounting, customer service, reliability, quality service, open markets, competition, marketing and promotion, and the list goes on.

Great advice from everyone. My 2 cents:

1. Complete as much school as you can. Pay particular attention in math class, as math is the basis of accounting.

2. Go to work in the industry that you would like to pursue. In other words, go to work for the competition. Let them pay for your education – much better than having to pay for your own mistakes.

3.  Save as much money as you can to help fund your business when you go out on your own.

4. Finally, and it may not be for years, write a business plan and take the leap.

Good luck!

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That`s another good point, brought up by KevDev: Starting a business can happen at any time in life, and more than one time. It`s not like you "have to be a success by the time you`re 30," y`know? :-)

Long ago, I ran across a saying that really sank in and that I`ve kept in mind all my life: "Live each day to the fullest."

Another, related saying: "You`re right where you`re supposed to be. It may not be where you want to be, but it`s where you`re supposed to be."

Life is an adventure and an experience. So many people dream up some vision of what life is supposed to be, then they spend years and years waiting for that version to take place. In the meanwhile, they`re frustrated, angry, and generally annoyed. Why? We can have all the frustrations we want, simply enough.

Instead, why not enjoy your health, go have adventures, and hold in your imagination that you`d like to "somehow" one day own your own business. Let "the boys in the basement work on it," as Steven King would say. As you work with your subconscious, you`ll discover opportunities and find yourself going in directions that seem ridiculous at first.

But as time passes, you`ll see that all the pathways you`ve taken make sense. Yet another saying is that "hindsight is 20/20." People often use it to speak of regrets they have, but it also can work to show you why you`ve been doing what you`ve been doing. Everything is grist for the mill, and your experiences all matter.

You don`t have to get everything done in the next year. :-)