Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

I have been a business owner for some time and I have had big success and some failures.  I went back to the security of a full time job, but I am finding it very unfulfilling. I was curious what first got you started and how you stayed focused through all the day to day mundane workings of the business world.  Now that I have deided to get back into it again I am so burnt out from my full-time job that I find it hard to keep my why in mind and stay focused.  Any advice would be great from somebody who has more expierience starting up business, I am a little rusty and just got started on the web.

-------------------------

Jewelry desighns using nature and gemstones
http://www.southpointstudios.com
My Email

My first job out of College was as a Construction Superintendent for a custom home builder in Austin. One of my clients was a young (40ish) guy names Doug Foreman. Doug and I built his 3 million dollar home over a year and a half and we became friends. Doug owned a company called The Guiltless Gourmet. One day I asked him how he got started and heres what he told me. He said to find an idea and think about it for a while. If after 60-90 days and after a bunch of conversations with friends and family you still think it`s a winner and you decide to go forward, then ask your self this? No matter what happens or what hurtles you must get over, no matter who tells you it`s not going to work, and no matter the number of hours and late nights are you going to keep going? If the answer is yes then go for it, but go with both feet in...part time rarely works.

thanks for all the great advice, sometimes its good to hear from somebody that has been there and done that

-------------------------

Jewelry desighns using nature and gemstones
http://www.southpointstudios.com
My Email

LOL! I like the part about the wife, and being onboard. :-D

I was a musician for the first half of my life, and I see how closely related they are to entrepreneurs. After all, a musician is pretty much on his (or her) own, most people tell them to get a "real" job, and there`s a gazillion other musicians in the competitive arena. Music is a passion and a lifestyle, and so too, many (if not most) end up divorced.

The question I always faced, whenever I got thoroughly discouraged with the music business, was pretty simple: "So...ya wanna work for a corporation?" For the most part, the answer was definitely a resounding no!

Then came the time when I was just exhausted, and simply wanted a mindless job that paid a steady salary. That lasted for awhile, but the problem is you can`t turn off your personality...your basic self. You can`t shut down your mind forever, really, unless you just go into a coma.

So there`s always that back-and-forth: a steady paycheck, versus the satisfaction and fulfillment of doing something creative. Sometimes it can only be resolved by trying both ways....maybe even repeatedly. But ultimately, each of us comes down solidly on the one or the other side of the equation.

Interestingly, in today`s world that steady paycheck working for a corporation seems to be getting increasingly more difficult to find. :-) So even the risk assessment of starting your own business begins to change.

My oldest friend of 25 years asked me the other day "Alan, what do you do for fun?" As a pilot for Southwest and he just couldn`t understand when I said, "I work for fun" 

Been there, done that, and heard the same thing...a LOT! Oh well, it just leaves more room for the entrepreneurial minded adventurer. 

Craig,