Running your own business is probably one of the most rewarding things you can do. The chance to ‘be your own boss’ and in control of your life is something many people desire.

And more and more people are taking this decision, as it gives them the chance to live out their own dreams.

But making the decision is not enough in itself. It has to be the right decision and that means it has to be the right business for you.

Don’t fall into the trap of skipping this part of the process thinking you can just ‘wing’ it and make it up as you go along.

Why It’s Important To Get This Right

Choosing the wrong business for yourself and if relevant, your family, is undoubtedly going to result in at the very least the wasting of two precious commodities; a waste of your money and a waste of your time.

You also run the risk of putting yourself off of one of the most rewarding experiences of all; running your own business.

So, let’s take the time to get it right. Follow these tips and you will end up with a business that suits you and the business will end up with an owner that suits it. What could be better?

Financial Status

Your current financial status will obviously have a tremendous affect on the type of business you are able to buy.

It is therefore important not to stretch yourself financially. No matter how attractive a business may appear to be, always exercise caution and consider all of the possible negatives as well as all of the possible positives.

Make sure you take into account unforeseen expenses, how much will this business really cost to buy and to get up and running the way you want to? Are there likely to be any hidden costs?

If you need to borrow, can you borrow? From whom and at what rates?

Choosing the right business for you means that it has to be within your budget to start with.

Know Yourself

‘Know Yourself’ might sound like the kind of thing that Obi Won Kenobi might say in Star Wars, but it’s actually great advice when it comes to choosing the right business for you.

Your first step will be to honestly appraise your own experience and your own skills in order to determine which direction you should be looking in. Get all of this written down.

What Can I Do

When analyzing your personal skills break them into three categories; business skills, trade skills and people skills.

Business Skills

Business skills cover your understanding of the basics of running a business. They include banking and finance, book-keeping or recordkeeping, sales and marketing.

Identify your strengths and weaknesses.

People Skills

People skills, believe it or not, cover how you get on with people.

How will you get on with your staff? You will need to be able to motivate and control your staff. To train them and to discipline them when necessary. You will need to hire them and fire them.

People skills also cover your interaction with your customers and potential customers and also your suppliers. Do you have sales skills or negotiating skills?

Again, know your strengths and weaknesses.

Trade Skills

Trade skills cover your specific work experience skills. Are you a carpenter or an accountant? Are you a trained chef or a hair stylist? What is your trade, what can you do?

Look at what you could turn your hand to and also include any non-work skills that you have acquired through hobbies or sports. Black belt judo, fine embroidery, first aid and counseling skills.

Get a list of all the specialist skills that you and your team possess.

Experience

Add to your written list any work or life experience that could benefit your new business.

I have previously been involved in a small business. I had four weeks management experience covering when my last manager was on holiday.

I work with handicapped kids in my spare time. My first job was as a dog trainer.

These are all relevant experiences that can affect your ability to successfully run your own business, so add them to your list.

What Do I Want To Do

This is your wish list of things that you would like to spend the rest of your life doing.

Write down what you love. Is it the outdoors, the countryside? Is it working from home with your family? Do you love closing sales? Do you love dealing with people? Are you creative? Do you enjoy communicating?

If you enjoy what you do then it stands to reason that you are going to be coming to work highly motivated and happy.

This can be one of the single biggest reasons for people choosing to buy their own business, and is there a better one?

Next week we are going to finish of this important exercise by looking at how your personal characteristics can affect your choice of business to buy and how you should be the master of the golden list of minimum requirements.

Until then, spend some time working through the list above so we can finish off next week.

This article was written by Brian K Fitzgibbon CPA.

Brian is an experienced accountant and small business consultant. He runs his own business, lectures extensively on small business topics and has checked out and valued many hundreds of small businesses for buyers.

Brian is also the author of the highly acclaimed and invaluable
"How To Value A Business And Buy It Without Fear"
A do-it-yourself guide for first-time and experienced buyers alike.

To download a FREE Chapter from Brian's book please follow this link: "HowToValueBusiness.com"

January 30th, 2009 | Tags: buy a business, buying a business tips, choose right business, what do i want to do | Category: articles | Subscribe to comments | Leave a comment | Trackback URL  |