Write a Career Plan - If you want to be truly entrepreneurial, you need to treat your career like a business. Curt Tueffert recommends writing a career plan modeled after traditional business plans. The national sales director for Digital Consulting and Software Services in Houston, he teaches an advanced professional selling course at the University of Houston. He tells his students to incorporate themselves. "The final assignment is to turn in a blueprint for your sales career, everything that you've learned in class and all of your abilities and outside experiences," Tueffert says.
Franchises - Would you love to run a business, but want a template to work from? The following franchises are top-rated by Entrepreneur Magazine and Success Magazine:
- Pillar to Post (home inspection)
- Kumon Math (tutoring)
- American Leak Detection (gas/water leaks)
- Great Clips (haircuts)
- Handyman Connection (residential repairs)
- We the People (paralegals helping people complete basic legal documents)
- Jackson Hewitt (computerized tax prep)
What You Could Do Today
Before you decide to do any investing, be sure to carefully check out franchises. Talk with a half-dozen randomly selected franchisees before investing.
Avoid Burn-Out
One of the biggest threats to the long-term success of a home-based business is burn-out. To avoid burn-out, stay passionate about what you're doing, set regular business hours and work just those times. Don't allow yourself to get into the habit of working every evening and weekend, too.
The long-term economics of your solo business should influence how you parcel out your energy supplies. Adopt a matching component to your "To-Do" list -- it's a "Won't Do" list. Consider it an umbrella classification for things you've decided you won't do any longer, won't tolerate any more, or have just outgrown. It helps clarify boundaries and reinforce understanding that your energy as an entrepreneur is a limited and valuable resource.
As projects get added to the "To Do" list, the "Won't Do" list should also continue to grow. What might be on this list? Two credit cards you rarely use --cancel. Subscriptions to magazines that keep ending up piled on the floor -- eliminate. Office furnishings no longer needed -- donate. Books that are outdated -- recycle. You will find that the streamlining is energizing. Before you add anything to your "To Do" List, contemplate what might balance it by being added to the "Won't Do" list. If you haven't created a "Won't Do" list yet, do so. (I guess that means putting "Make a 'Won't Do' List" on your "To Do" List!).
“The person who goes farthest is generally the one who is willing to do and dare. The sure-thing boat never gets far from shore.” - Dale Carnegie
Doris Appelbaum is Founder and President of Appelbaum's Resume Professionals, Inc. She is an international career consultant, resume writer, educator, speaker, and trainer. Email resume for FREE critique. Doris can be reached at (414) 352-5994 - 1-800-619-9777 - dorisa@execpc.com. - (414) 352-7495 (fax). Visit her company’s website for career and military transition advice: http://www.applebaumresumes.com.
