Question for anyone who has started their own business

[nadine_mn]

Where do you start? How did you put your idea into action and make it real?


I mean I'm going to be honest - I can come up with some great ideas but when I start getting into details and specifics, I get overwhelmed quickly and say screw it. My strength is when I get really passionate about something, I can motivate others to get on board. And when we hit obstacles, I'm really great at finding solutions or work around and keeping people from getting discouraged. I'm not a person who has an idea, makes others do all the work then takes credit...I'm happy to do the work it's just I have a hard time with planning and details on my own.

So I know this is my huge weak spot...I need to hire someone to help me corral my ideas and make a business plan or to see what I need to do to see if my idea is doable. And to help me set realistic goals without doing my usual all or nothing approach. Do these people exist? Are their professional planners (other than wedding) or do I need to put an ad on craigslist for an anal retentive (wait no bad idea for Craigslist) detail oriented person?

I know there are a ton of things I need to do before I get to the "fun" part of my idea..I just don't know where to start, but I know I can't do it myself.

[tikka]

1. I think that the Small Business Administration has a program to help

[Sedona]

2. Ive started two successful.small buinesses

I started with a written.business plan.

https://www.sba.gov/starting-business/write-your-business-plan

[PoiBoy]

3. Learn to do a business plan...

Our local college has business plan classes in the adult education section, and the county works with a local non-profit to offer business plan development for little to no cost...

One of my instructors made a great point... if your idea can fly on paper, then you have a good chance of getting investors/financing and getting off to a strong start. If your plan proves to not be feasible, you haven't lost any money, only time and effort, and you'll have a more realistic understanding of what it will take to achieve your goal.

There are also online courses, I believe, but being in a class is really helpful in meeting others with the same goal of starting their own business, thinking through assignments and challenges together and having an instructor there to talk you through possible solutions.

Good luck to you in whatever you decide to do...

[nadine_mn]

6. great idea! thanks nt

[Tanuki]

4. Check out SCORE:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/SCORE_Association

"SCORE or the SCORE Association was previously known as the Service Corps of Retired Executives, but is now recognized as SCORE, "Counselors to America's Small Business." It is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that provides free business mentoring services to entrepreneurs in the United States. The organization also presents business workshops and seminars for a fee. Business mentoring services are provided by both active and retired business executives and entrepreneurs who donate their time and expertise as mentors to assist new and established small businesses. SCORE is a resource partner with the U.S. Small Business Administration. It is based in Herndon, Virginia.
..........
The SCORE Association was founded in 1964. In the 1970s, when SCORE chapters were formed, the organization expanded its services to offer workshops and seminars on a variety of business topics. In 1996, SCORE began providing small business advice via email to meet the changing demands of the information technology age. To date, SCORE has served more than 8.5 million
........
Face-to-face mentoring
SCORE has approximately 370 chapters throughout the United States and its territories and over 11,200 volunteers. Many local chapters also have branch locations throughout the regions they administer.

Online mentoring
SCORE began providing online counseling services on June 11, 1997. This feature of the organization, better known as Ask SCORE, garnered more than 1.6 million hits and more than 3,000 online counseling cases within the first 90 days. At its inception the site listed 140 online counselors. Today, there are nearly 1,500.
.......

Workshops
Workshops are usually PowerPoint presentations.

Developing a business plan
SCORE offers workshops on how to create and develop a business plan. There is also a workshop that includes a question and answer outline to help get into more detail when developing a business plan. This workshop's goal is to set the right starting points.
Marketing
SCORE offers different workshops to help market business. Some of these workshops include ways to find target markets and how to advertise businesses.

Finance and money
SCORE has many workshops that help keep financial systems in order. They include services such as "Preparing A Balance Sheet" to "Managing Your Cash Flow"
SCORE publishes a variety of print and interactive resources on its online Templates and Tools hub.[2] Additionally, various SCORE chapters publish and broadcast media to inform and educate their target audiences."..............

[nadine_mn]

5. Oh great info - thanks!

I will check them out!

[mythology]

7. I second this recommendation

[Raven]

8. Do a business plan.

Put it in writing.
Identify your market.
Have enough seed funding to allow for 6 months without a sale.
Get the word out through friends, family, social media...people love to support a new business.

Good luck!

[nadine_mn]

9. I need someone or something to keep me on track

Kind of like a life coach. I am starting to realize that having ADHD is great for multitasking and crisis, but routine stuff I just can't focus on.

I need help to keep me from going off on every distraction (shiny! squirrel!) - otherwise nothing gets finished - just I start lots of stuff.