By Marvin Ng

So you want to be an entrepreneur.  Where do you start?  The challenge of figuring out what you want to do and how to take those first steps is probably one of the key things keeping many would-be-entrepreneurs at their jobs, working for someone else.  Need that little push?  Here is an exercise to get you thinking. 

1. Take an entrepreneurship assessment.  There are quite a few online. One of my favourite is at <http://www.wd.gc.ca/apps/amianent.nsf>.  You will get to know yourself better.  You should understand what it takes to become a successful entrepreneur and then work on it.
2. Take stock of your skills.  Write down the things that you are good at or that you have experience in.  This helps you determine the line of business that you may want to start.
3. Take stock of your finances.  How much can you put into your business?  Do you have friends or family who may like to invest in your business?  Can you and do you want to quit your job and work on the business full-time?  This helps you decide how you may want to start your business and the initial scale of the business. 
4. Survey your network.  Write down the names of people that can work with you if you decide to set up a business.  Are people who can act as your mentors?  Are there people whose expertise that you can tap on while starting the business?  A strong network can help in a number of ways which includes making learning process less painful and less expensive, lowering your startup costs, and providing moral support.
5. Develop a plan to set up an imaginary business.  Make the exercise as realistic as possible.  For example, you would want to use real market data to determine the viability of the business.  You would also want to map out the actual steps to take to start up the business.  The objective is for you to visualize the process and get familiar with the process.

Once you are done with the exercise, take a step back and ask yourself.  Can you pull off the plan in real life?  If the answer is positive, the next big step is to for you to decide to take up the challenge and put your plans in motion!

COPYRIGHT(C) 2002 By Marvin Ng

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Marvin Ng provides how-to advice on start-up and business issues.  Visit http://www.startupcafe.com to get useful start-up advice and interesting business ideas.  Become a subscriber of our online e-zine and draw inspiration and ideas from the stories of other seasoned entreprenurs.  mailto:subscribe@startupcafe.com