Do You Possess an Entrepreneur's Desire?

Leaving your job to become an entrepreneur sounds simple, but it takes a bit more than just making the commitment. Without out a doubt, you're energized by the passion you have to grow your small business.

That's an essential ingredient in business success. Once you break away from the old job, you're going to be excited to see the results. But then, without warning, your business encounters an obstacle.

New entrepreneurs can make the mistake of continuing with the same process without making adjustments to solve the problem. Or they get discouraged and start reading the job ads out of sheer panic.

When your new business runs into problems, don't give up - reach out! You need to find a mentor who can help you analyze the situation. An experienced entrepreneur has faced these problems before and knows that within each problem is a real opportunity to grow your small business.

When you get business advice from a successful entrepreneur, you're gaining the benefit of his or her experience as well feeling encouraged by a real life example of someone who shares your dreams and goals.

In getting the problem under control, you learn invaluable lessons in analysis and problem solving from your mentor.

You can take that knowledge and apply it the next time your business hits a bump on the road to success.

There will be more bumps. But the next time problems arise, you'll be better prepared to overcome them and you'll have a secret weapon - you can call your business mentor for advice!

What if you hired a contractor to build your home, only to find that he refused to use the blueprint?

He said it was too much trouble to follow a plan. He preferred to build your house according to how he felt that day.

That's not the way to build a house and you'd likely fire the contractor in favor of someone who would build according to plan. This is the same kind of mistake that entrepreneurs make in failing to develop small business strategies.

They don't want to take time to create a business plan or consult that plan when necessary. They just want to dive in and fly by the seat of their pants. No wonder so many small business owners sink in their own inattention to planning.

To grow your small business, you absolutely must have a business plan. Desire to succeed is wonderful, optimism is great - but without a plan, these are wasted emotions. If you think a business plan will tie your hands, you're wrong!

A business plan frees you to focus on the product or service, knowing that the basics are covered and the strategies are in place for you to be successful. A business plan also gives direction so that you're moving forward at a solid, realistic pace.

The business plan is as important to developing your business as the blueprint is for building a house. Like a blueprint, the small business plan describes what the business will look like in one year, five years, and ten years down the road.