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Who hasn’t dreamt at one time or another of being their own boss? You get to set your own schedule. You can make the rules. No one looks over your shoulder. You run the whole show! It’s an admirable goal and starting a business is a common New Year’s resolution. Do you think 2011 is your year to go out on your own as an entrepreneur?

Characteristics of Small Business Owners

How do you know if you’re cut out to be an entrepreneur? Here are some common characteristics of small business owners to give you something to think about.

1. They are risk-takers.
2. They are disciplined.
3. They are confident, both in themselves and in what they’re selling.
4. They are financially savvy (or at least financially competent).
5. They are persistent and don’t give up easily.

Does that sound like you? Don’t worry if you don’t have all of these characteristics. Not all successful entrepreneurs do. But if you do, consider it an edge and a sign that you might have the kind of background and personality that lends itself well to successful entrepreneurship.

Essential Steps of Starting Your Own Business

If you’re sure that you’re cut out for running your own business, next you need to think about all of the work involved in the startup process. While it’s impossible for a single article to cover everything you need to know about starting a business (there are countless full books on the subject, and it varies depending on where you live and the kind of business you want to start), here are some of the basics. These are some essential steps to starting your own business that will get you moving in the right direction.

Business Planning is Essential to the Startup Process. - Credit: BigStockPhoto.com

1. Come up with business ideas that you’re passionate enough about to pursue.
2. Do basic market research to make sure a demand exists and the market isn’t oversaturated.
3. Check with your state and / or local government to discover any regulations, fees, or registration requirements that might impact your new business.
4. Decide on a name for your business and do a trademark search to make sure the name is available.
5. Decide on a business format (sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation, etc.) and officially register your business.
6. Develop a business plan, including financial projections.
7. Develop a marketing plan that will help you drive sales and get the word out.
8. Use your business plan to help you secure business financing if necessary.
9. Scout locations if you plan to run a traditional business, or prepare your home office if you want to launch a home business.
10. Set up a Web presence for your new company as well as any other applicable marketing collateral (business cards, brochures, flyers, etc.).

Remember, this is just a small sampling of the steps you’ll need to take — and the hard work involved — to launch your own business. Knowing the work you’ll have to put in, do you still think 2011 is your year for starting a small business? If not, that’s okay. It just gives you more time to plan and think things over before you are ready. But if you think you’re up for it, there’s no better time to get started than right now!

Are you planning to launch a business in 2011? If so, what kind of business do you want to start? Will you pursue a freelance career? Set up a mom-and-pop shop in your local community? Launch a Web-based business? Leave a comment and tell us about your plans and what you’re looking forward to (or dreading) the most in the startup process.

When you form an image of the quintessential American Dream, what do you see? If you’re like many of us, owning your own business is a part of that picture. In a world seemingly controlled by corporate greed and avarice-driven, overpaid corporate executives, our role as “the employee” is less appealing than ever before. For many, the security that comes from a steady paycheck is wildly overrated. Employees are feeling more undervalued every day.

The motivation behind wanting to follow the dream of business ownership is as unique as the entrepreneur himself, but there are several things every entrepreneur seems to have in common:

Flexible Schedule. Whether you’re a single parent or a happy bachelor, being able to determine your own schedule is appealing on many levels. Let’s face it, no one likes being told what to do. Most “jobs” require adherence to someone else’s predetermined schedule. Traditional 9 to 5 jobs are confining. Running a new business is demanding and the hours may be long initially, but having the ability to work when it is most convenient cannot be undervalued. Setting your own schedule allows you to more easily juggle the demands of work life and home life.

Control. Control over your own schedule is one thing. Some employees these days work from home or already control their own schedules – outside sales positions are a perfect example. Nonetheless, they’re still forced to answer to someone else and expected to help to achieve goals that may not mirror their own. Control over what you do during the time you are working is incredibly appealing to entrepreneurs. Being able to decide for yourself what work is to be done, what type of customer you want to serve and how to approach the day-to-day operation of your business is tantamount to an entrepreneur’s personal & professional happiness.

Financial Independence. Let’s face it, we’d all like to be independently wealthy, but for most of us winning the lottery just isn’t in the cards. A steady paycheck has always been a benefit of working for someone else. As with anything else, the apparent security of a steady paycheck has an opportunity cost. Are you really being paid what you’re worth? Is the amount of effort required to meet the demands of your position commensurate with your pay? For an entrepreneur, the more you work, the more you can potentially earn. That potential can be a great motivator.

Less Nonsense. And by “nonsense”, I’m referring to the corporate bureaucracy, office politics, bickering, nepotism, etc. Entrepreneurs believe typical corporate shenanigans to be unproductive and detrimental to productivity, creativity and ingenuity. As a small business owner, you call the shots. You make the rules. And you have the opportunity to decide how to run your business, as well as the best way to motivate yourself and your staff. No more empty mission statements and corporate dog & pony shows.

Maximizing Potential. One of the biggest advantages of owning your own business is the ability to take advantage of your full range of skills. Most employees don’t have a high level of control, responsibility or influence. As an entrepreneur, the responsibility for everything from answering the phone to paying the electric bill falls on you. Entrepreneurship provides a unique opportunity control your own destiny, utilize a wide variety of skill sets and develop those skills to their full potential.

Ownership. No one can dispute that ownership is a great motivating force. When your own personal and professional reputation is at stake, you tend to be willing to work harder to protect and build that reputation. Corporate mission statements often claim to encourage employees to take ownership of a situation and take initiative, but anyone who has spent any time within the corporate structure understands how stifling and restrictive that environment truly is. Within the corporate structure, decisions are made in the board room and forcibly carried out by front line employees. Entrepreneurs have an owner’s stake in literally every facet of the business and therefore have the incentive to do whatever work is necessary to create the most productive, effective and efficient work environment possible.

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Entrepreneurs might not always look at jocks thinking that they have much in common. But they do. In fact, you could even look at athletes as a type of entrepreneur — ones offering a service to fans (that service being entertainment). Here are seven qualities needed to be successful in both areas, and some things business owners can learn from athletes along the way.

1. Hard Work

Successful athletes don’t get that way due to sheer luck. Even natural talent isn’t enough in most cases. Success comes from hard work (think marathon training or football training camps). Practice and hard work on a regular basis make sure that an athlete is fully prepared when it really counts. The same is true in business. You can’t rely on luck. You can’t rely on business sense alone. Does having that help? Absolutely. But it’s the combination of business intelligence and consistent hard work that will set you apart from the competition. When it comes to business, you don’t have the luxury to quit trying to be better, ever.

2. Persistence / Endurance / Resilience

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Just as it isn’t easy for athletes to constantly push themselves to their limits (and beyond them), you’ll occasionally struggle in business too. It’s a simple reality — if you don’t push yourself and challenge yourself to do more, your business isn’t likely to grow. Some goals might be simple to meet or exceed. Others won’t be. Whether or not you overcome those situations will set the tone for your business. You have to stick with it even if you get frustrated at times or if you’re not seeing the progress you want. It’s just a sign to re-evaluate things and come up with a new strategy. Then you pick yourself up and get back to business. Even though you might not have the applause of the crowd behind you when you limp off the field, your ability to get back on your feet is equally important.

3. Dedication / Drive / Passion

If an athlete isn’t passionate about what they’re doing, it can show in their game. They won’t be performing at their optimum levels (and fans notice!). Your fans — your customers — will notice too. If you aren’t dedicated to your business, then you’re not dedicated to them. People are drawn to others who are passionate about what they do. If you’re lacking drive in your business, you may be unintentionally making your competition look that much more attractive. If your passion isn’t there anymore figure out why. Then work to get it back!

4. Confidence

Even with passion and hard work you won’t always succeed. You have to believe you can succeed! When an athlete has no confidence in their abilities, they run the risk of choking — coming up short when their team or fans are depending on them. Business owners can choke too. You can fail to make the right decisions for your business or your customers. You can undervalue your own products or services, leaving the door open for the competition to position themselves better in the marketplace. It’s vital that you believe in yourself and what you’re selling. If you don’t, then maybe it’s time to start selling something else.

5. Risk-taking

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Athletes take risks with every performance. They know there’s a risk of humiliating themselves. They know there’s a risk of injury. Yet time after time, they keep taking risks. They understand that things might not always be perfect, but that to grow in their field or sport they can’t be complacent. Neither can you! You can’t set your business apart if you never take a risk. By not taking any risks you’ll doom yourself to an eternity as a follower, and not an innovator in your field. Maybe you’re okay with that, but the most successful entrepreneurs generally aren’t. Launching a business in the first place is a risk, so even if you might feel a bit squeamish about taking a chance on something new once in a while, you do have it in you!

6. Accountability

I certainly won’t say that all athletes are fine examples of people who hold themselves accountable for their actions. But many are. If they make an error they have fans, a coach, and sometimes a team to answer to. No one’s going to let every mistake slide, so they have to learn to own up to them, learn from them, and take those mistakes as opportunities to improve. In business you’ll make mistakes too. All businesses do. When they happen, don’t ignore them. Instead analyze them and why they happened, and figure out how you can avoid similar business mistakes in the future. Sometimes finding the right path to business success involves a lot of wrong turns, and that’s okay.

Being a business owner isn’t really that different from being an athlete. Both are striving towards specific goals. Both want to improve over time. And both operate under the microscope, with other people watching and judging their every move. As an entrepreneur you can learn a lot from athletes (and they can equally learn a lot from you). Who knows? Maybe the next time you’re kicking back watching a game, you’ll find a bit of unintentional entrepreneurial wisdom in the mix.