I officially started my own business six months ago. While I've had my own professional practice employment for nearly ten years, it was always couched inside a larger firm, and in fact I was technically an employee of that firm. But now I'm on my own.
Until a full year has gone by, I won't have a clear view of what start-up decisions I made that I could've and should've done differently. Like anything else in life, I know that with the experience I've had, I'd be better at it if I had another chance.
Having said that, I can make a few conclusions about starting a new venture.
It takes more time than you think. There are so many unforeseen tasks, things like vendor contracting, record keeping, compliance, accounting, etc. These things must be taken care of at the same time you're trying to work on activities that actually generate revenue. So plan on plenty of extra hours. (The fact I haven't been spending as much time on this blog is directly correlated to this time-suck.)
It costs more than you planned on. There are a lot of one-time, initial start-up costs for any business. Sometimes it's expenses on which you didn't plan. Other times it's expenses that you planned for, but which cost much more than you thought. Regardless, there's a good chance you've under-budgeted for these costs, so I might include a sub-heading to this section that says, "...so make sure you have a good banking relationship."
It takes a lot of self-motivation. When you start your own operation, you aren't going to be motivated to work by other people, whether it be management or peers. Nobody and nothing are going to be pushing you to accomplish anything. You have to get up every day with a plan and ready to work, all without any guarantee of success. You aren't going to accomplish the above-mentioned items without being self-motivated.
In summary, it isn't easy being the butcher, baker and candlestick maker. I hope the next six months don't offer too many more lessons about starting a new business.
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