Anyone Can Start A Business?

Starting a business requires three things to make it work:

• Time
• Money
• Energy

If any of those are less than the others, it can dramatically lower the chances of success - and it has nothing to do with the strength of the business idea or the strength of the founder.

Being able to allocate time, money or your efforts towards your business is a privilege that many potential business owners feel they don't have and it stops them moving towards their dream of starting their own business.

But there is always a way to start.

This newsletter, we delve into the potential solutions to limited resources.

Give Me Just A Little More Time

You know about the 24/7 culture of the world today? In reality, you have far less time. Once you account for sleeping, eating, bathing, work or childcare, you are lucky if you have even half of that time per day. This is even worse if you are also having to work a full time job.

So you start going to bed later, getting up earlier, eating on the go, not eating at all - all to try to claw back some time for the business.

When time is short, you need to do two things:

• Be prepared
• Be patient

Prepare your time, so that the free time you have available can be effective more immediately. Even better if you can break down each of the activities you need to do by how long you think it will take you - this allows you to slot in some work in between other chores or activities, making each moment count. Be warned - seeing your to do list of building a business can be fairly overwhelming at first - the quick answer is that you have to do everything all of the time. But as you start ticking things off your list, you start spotting a pattern, a trend of how the work ebbs and flows. Certain tasks become regular, and you start seeing ways to go even quicker.

Patience is the key - if you only have a short time each day or week to work on the business, then it moves forward but less quickly than if you could give it every moment of your day. It is better to make a little progress each day, shift the needle that little bit more, than wait for a lot of time to come around, and get frustrated that you can't even make a start. Start, and use the time you have to push forward.

Money For Nothing

Yes if you had an inexhaustible supply of money, you could make things happen in your business - but for most of us, that lottery win is never going to happen.

I always think there is a certain wisdom that comes from having to bootstrap your business, using the smaller sums of investment and revenue that you can get hold of to reinvest and build. And increasingly, investors want to see founders who have made the most of the money they already have, rather than waiting for the first fund raise to go through.

• Know your costs
• Know your options

When you are told to create a fully costed model, it can be daunting - there are so many costs that you will either not predict, or know how much it will reasonably cost. But if you are able to create a reasoned, informed view of your costs, then you can have a much better idea of how much it is really going to cost to get started. Sounds obvious, yet many founders put barriers to entry in place, such as needing a fully designed website or their own offices. If you have the funds available, then absolutely, go for it - but if you haven't, you can do without these things in the beginning. Anything you spend has to be able to show a path to revenue and the costs that you have originally in mind as being essential - may actually not be so. With free trials, and free platforms available, you might be able to launch much earlier than you thought.

Save, Borrow, Raise - your options are pretty clear but some may feel more accessible than others. Saving your own money takes time, which may or may not work to your timelines. But, you would retain full control over your business and create it however you wanted. Borrow money from friends or family, or from a financial institution can be emotionally and mentally challenging. Convincing yourself that your business idea is going to be successful can sometimes be tough - but convincing others may feel impossible. Organisations such as banks may require you to create revenue first and usually need a couple of years' accounts at least - but you may be able to find someone who trust you and knows that you will give it your all who you can come to an arrangement with. If you can continue to manage the relationship successfully, it can be a great solution. Otherwise, it is time to look for investment. Bearing in mind that many investors still want to see founders put in some of their own money, and may have many stipulations on what their money can be used for, it doesn't offer the freedom that many hope running their own business will give them.

Work smarter not harder applies especially to how to use the funds you do have available - focus on generating revenue to give yourself more options.

Keep On Moving

You have some free time, you have a healthy bank balance and you know what you want to use it for - and yet you've gazed at your screen for the last twenty minutes, conscious that you are going to run out of the little time you had, with nothing to show for it.

Getting motivated to take action - the so-called founders mindset - can be in just a short supply as time or money. If you are running around for the rest of your day, the urge to rest instead of focusing on your business can be all consuming. And you realise that you can make some pretty bad business decisions if you are trying to make your choices quickly, rather than thoughtfully. The alternative though, is a paralysis of action from overthinking, over analysing and being overwhelmed by how much there is to do.

Out of the three resources you need for your business, your own enthusiasm and energy is the only one that you can't be handed by others - you may have help carving out some time, and you may have some investments offered - but nobody can 'give' you the drive for your business.

Too tired, not inspired - if you are physically drained, then your brain will not function at its best. Make time for proper rest and understand that giving yourself time off is just as valuable as working on your business actions. Eat well, nurture your body and that will ease your mind. If your brain has to focus on keeping you awake, it can't tell you the best choices for your business.

Passion leads to performance - you can't build a business with heart if your own heart is not into it. You don't necessarily have to have a life long dream, and think about every waking second, but you do need to focus on building a business that feels right for you to be the one to build. Why you? Why now? And why this? The more you can connect your mission and that of your business, the easier it is to get inspired to work on it. Picking a business that feels easy but nothing really to do with you in particular can be hard to drive forward - mainly because you're not really sure that you're the one to do it.

NEW PRODUCT ALERT! Introducing The Startup Edge - Training on the Startup Mindset for Big Business

I'm very excited to be introducing a new training offering called the Startup Edge - a workshop designed to help bigger more established organisations to behave more like start ups - be more agile, flexible and with it, more innovative.

Having worked in corporations for 24 years throughout my career, and now working intensively with start ups, I recognise that they can teach a lot from one another. Start ups can benefit from the way corporations can scale up and down to deal with a changing market, and this is what I work on with them during our strategic work.

But equally, I can see how corporate thinking can stifle creativity and innovation, and how our teams are not empowered to work towards a common goal as much as just 'following the rules'. Having worked with hundreds of start ups every year, I wanted to offer larger businesses a perspective on what could be learnt from starting a business in today's market and what it could teach them to do differently.

If you work for a business that is drowning in bureaucracy or process, or have a leadership team that is tired of paying consultants to tell them their next move, then why not see if The Startup Edge is what you are looking for?

Get in touch at https://www.yourstartuppartner.com/training

Adviser In Your Pocket

You always need someone who is there for you when you need them.? In business, this is particularly true - there are times when running your own business can feel lonely and that feeling gets worse when you also have to make key decisions.

Adviser In Your Pocket is that other pair of eyes on your business, to discuss through your potential options and help you make the right calls at the right time.

An adviser available, when you need them, how you need them.? Sometimes it is quick answer to a question that can help you get unstuck and ready to move forward again.? Sometimes you need a longer conversation, a breakdown of the context so you are more comfortable that you are making the right decision. But it is always reassuring to have another pair of eyes on your business, particularly ones which can help guide you through.

Great advice at the right time.

Adviser is the subscriber platform of Your Startup Partner. It replaces the original subscription of a session plus access, and is now a ton of online resources for you to learn how to think, feel and act like a business owner and includes being able to talk with me directly if you need more specific advice for your business! And instead of it costing as much, the monthly subscription starts at just ￡5 for content access only!

There is new content being added all of the time along with seminars and live events as well as access to our exclusive Slack community. If you had an award-winning, international adviser and speaker with over 25 years of business experience in some of the biggest organisations in the UK and beyond - what would you want from them?

Register here: Adviser In Your Pocket