Thinking of starting a business?  Here are some questions to ask yourself before you do.

Am I running away from something or towards something?

Very often people start their own business as a result of something negative that happened to them in the employed world. They may have been made redundant, fallen out with their boss, their career has stalled or they’re just not be enjoying their job and more. This is what I term running away.

Others may be starting a new business because of an inspirational spark, a deep seated desire to achieve something or a positive change in their mental attitude that gives them the urge to just go out there and take on the world. This is what I term running towards.

If two businesses were started at the same time – one by someone running away and one by someone running towards -which do you think is likely to be the more successful?

Starting a small business can be hard work and only those who a really dedicated to the task can expect to succeed. Those who have a positive mental attitude towards what they are doing tend to be the more successful – they don’t get downhearted so easily and they are driven forward by the vision they have of a successful outcome.

That’s not to say that everyone who is running away fails. Some people have such a dogged determination that are able to overcome anything. However, these people are more rare than you might think and its the running towards people who have the best success record.

Before starting a small business, think carefully – are you running towards or away?

Are my business skills matched by my technical skills?

There’s a big difference between being able to fix computers and running a business that fixes computers. This subtle difference is often missed by embryonic small business owners.

“I’m the best mechanic in town, why is my car repair business failing?”. It’s probably failing because the owner is concentrating on the wrong part of the business. With a background in fixing cars the owner is probably reverting to type and concentrating on the technical element of the business – the thing they know.

What the owner should be concentrating on are the things that will make the business succeed – the marketing, advertising, sales, cashflow, accounts and all that other boring, bureaucratic stuff.

And the irony is that, as the business gets deeper into difficulty the owner will probably be taking refuge in what they do best – the technical side of the job – thinking that will help. In most cases it doesn’t.

So, before starting the new business of your dreams make sure you know and understand the difference between doing the technical work and running a business. Get some training in how to run a business, study other successful businesses, get a mentor and be ready to sit on your hands and not get over-involved in the technical side of things.

What’s my attitude towards telemarketers and other sales people?

Regardless of whether you’re buying a franchise or setting up your own small business from scratch you will need one skill over all others – the ability to sell. Sell yourself, sell your business, sell your products.

What is your natural attitude to someone who tries to sell something to you? Do you get excited by the idea of being sold to, or do you immediately feel suspicion that they might be trying to rip you off? Like running away/towards your attitude to sales people probably reflects a lot about our personality – and therefore your ability to sell.

Sales skills can be taught like many other skills, but, like other things in life, those who have a natural skill or affinity to an activity will do better than those who have to fight to learn.

Summary

So, before setting up your small business have a long hard think about these questions to determine your suitability for running a successful small business. A negative answer to any of the questions does not mean that you should not start your own business but it will help you to be more aware of your weak areas that you may have to work on.