Take a moment to review this document and find out if you've got what it takes to move from dream to reality.

Is Entrepreneurship For You?
There is no way to eliminate all the risks associated with starting a small business. However, you can improve your chances of success with good planning and preparation. A good starting place is to evaluate your strengths and weaknesses as the owner and manager of a small business. Carefully consider each of the following questions.

Are you a self-­starter?
It will be up to you - not someone else telling you ­ to develop projects, organize your time and follow through on details.

How well do you get along with different personalities?
Business owners need to develop working relationships with a variety of people including customers, vendors, staff, bankers and professionals such as lawyers, accountants or consultants. Can you deal with a demanding client, an unreliable vendor or cranky staff person in the best interest of your business?

How good are you at making decisions?
Small business owners are required to make decisions constantly, often quickly, under pressure, and independently.

Do you have the physical and emotional stamina to run a business?
Business ownership can be challenging, fun and exciting. But it's also a lot of work. Can you face 12­hour work days six or seven days a week?

How well do you plan and organize?
Research indicates that many business failures could have been avoided through better planning. Good organization ­ of financials, inventory, schedules, production ­ can help avoid many pitfalls.

Is your drive strong enough to maintain your motivation?
Running a business can wear you down. Some business owners feel burned out by having to carry all the responsibility on their shoulders. Strong motivation can make the business succeed and will help you survive slowdowns as well as periods of burnout.

How will the business affect your family?
The first few years of business start­up can be hard on family life. The strain of an unsupportive spouse may be hard to balance against the demands of starting a business. There also may be financial difficulties until the business becomes profitable, which could take months or years. You may have to adjust to a lower standard of living or put family assets at risk.

On The Upside It's true, there are a lot of reasons not to start your own business. But for the right person, the advantages of business ownership far outweigh the risks.

	You get to be your own boss.
	Hard work and long hours directly benefit you, rather than increasing profits for someone.
	Earning and growth potential are far less limited.
	A new venture is exciting.
	Running a business will provide endless variety, challenge and opportunities to learn.

What does it take to be an entrepreneur? Which personality traits make for success? Let's see if you have what it takes.

FICTION: To be an entrepreneur you must be born that way.

FACT: Anyone can learn to operate like an entrepreneur.

What are the similarities of successful entrepreneurs?

• persistence
• desire for immediate feedback
• inquisitiveness
• strong drive to achieve
• high energy level
• goal oriented behavior
• independent
• demanding
• self-confident
• calculated risk taker
• creative
• innovative
• vision
• commitment
• problem solving skills
• tolerance for ambiguity
• strong integrity
• highly reliable
• personal initiative
• ability to consolidate resources
• strong management and organizational skills
• competitive
• change agent
• tolerance for failure
• desire to work hard
• luck

Many entrepreneurs also had:

A role model to influence them early on, perhaps parents or other family members who were entrepreneurs, teachers or work associates. Two traits necessary for successful entrepreneurs are creativity and innovation.

WHAT IS CREATIVITY?

Creativity is the ability to transcend traditional ideas, rules, patterns, relationships, or the like, and to create meaningful new ideas, forms, methods, interpretations, ideas and ways to solve problems and new opportunities.

Characteristics of Creative People

• bright
• adaptable
• high self esteem
• challenge-oriented
• idea-oriented
• inquisitive
• curious

Can you improve your creativity? YES! How?

Gather as much information as you can (read, talk with experts, etc.) "brainstorm" over time. Just think about the problem or issue until an idea comes to you.

Is the solution reasonable? If so, try it. If not, keep thinking. Did it work? If so, great. If not, begin the process over again. Don't put barriers on your mind. Put these steps to use.

 

You need both sides of your brain when being creative because they compliment each other.

WHAT IS AN INNOVATION?

• something that is invented (ex. miniature golf) or
• something that is created from an existing idea or product (ex. Blacklight miniature golf)

Where do innovative ideas come from?

• unsatisfied customers
• demographic changes in society
• imagination
• vision
• problem-solving

Remember:

• look for new ideas
• keep it simple
• start small
• try, try, try again

Assessing Your Skills, Education, and Experience

After completing the Entrepreneur Test, you probably have a better idea of how you compare with other entrepreneurs. However, this is not the complete picture. Your skills, education, and experience also provide you with tools that will help you should you decide to start your own business. The first step in your assessment is to make an honest appraisal of your personal skills and education. You should list everything, especially if you are unsure what type of business in which you want to become involved. Don't list any faults or doubts here. This is a place to remember all of the things that you know how to do well (no skimping on personal praise). After you have identified your personal skills and education, focus on your business knowledge. If you know what you are interested in, list what you know about the field or industry. If you are well versed, simply outline the general areas. If you are not sure, you should list everything. Concentrate on specific business information rather than general life experience. All experience will be useful, but we can only use the business experience when we are making a decision about what skills you may need to develop in order to run your business. The next step is to evaluate your decision making abilities. When you own your business, you are in charge, and many decisions will have to be made based on what you think. Not all of these decisions will have to be made immediately, but some of them will have to. If your normal response is to give problem solving to someone else, then you will probably have difficulty with running a business. Reflect on your life experiences. Write down two situations where you solved a problem and the decision you made worked well. Then write down two situations where the decisions you made did not work so well. Be sure to write down what you learned from these situations. Last, but certainly not least, identify your entrepreneurial skills. As we mentioned earlier, a lot of Successful entrepreneurs have a lot of initiative and also take risks, and they have learned from making their own mistakes. Taking a clear look at your source of motivation and your belief in yourself will help you to be prepared for the challenges that come with owning your own business. Probably the three most important factors on the road to Success are: the ability to be flexible, the willingness to change with the market as technology advances, and the ability to trust yourself. If you have all of these, you are more than halfway there. Once you have completed your assessment, you may want to review all three areas to determine where you are at this point in time. By evaluating and understanding the whys and hows of what you have or have not accomplished up to this point in your life, you can better use this knowledge to your advantage, now and in the future. The following questions will help you do this. Remember, the more honest you can be in answering the questions, the more useful the information will be to you. What do you feel are your main strengths? What do you feel are your more serious weaknesses? How do you think someone else might answer the above two questions about you? What talents do you possess and in what situations have you been able to use them? How would you personally define the idea of having a job or being employed? Now, things are already starting to make sense or you are beginning to have doubts. Either way, listen to your feelings and trust yourself. In the end, these are only tools for you to use in your evaluation process, nothing more and nothing less.

KNOW YOURSELF

Not everyone is cut out to be an entrepreneur. It takes a special talent. Some owners of small businesses have it and some don't. Before you invest time, energy, money and a piece of your heart, it's important to do some serious self-analysis. To answer such questions as: Am I prepared to work hard and make sacrifices? Am I self-disciplined? Do I have management ability? Am I experienced enough in this field? What do I want out of life? Are my goals realistic and attainable?

Studies have shown that entrepreneurs are persevering and not easily defeated. They thrive in a challenging environment and have a tremendous need to be in control. They turn diversity into opportunity. They are risk takers. They welcome responsibility, and they are willing and able to make decisions.

Moreover, successful entrepreneurs are patient and able to wait out the sometimes slow beginnings of a business. They also are able to learn from their mistakes, trust their own judgment and have an optimistic outlook.

Take a good look. Do those traits describe you? "Know yourself and be willing to work 60 hours a week. Starting a business is one of life's biggest commitments," advises Roy Nordman, director of Emerging Business Services Practice for the San Francisco office of Coopers & Lybrand.

Small business owner Nancy Wansick, of Wansick Graphics, echoes those sentiments: "My business has become my whole life. Day becomes night and work has become play."

It's obvious: you have to love your work. And if you choose a business that meshes with your personality (the answers to the above questions should tell you about your personality), those extra hours spent won't be as difficult. The key is to identify what you enjoy doing the most and then find a business opportunity that makes use of your skills and interests.

Business Plan Basics

A business plan precisely defines your business, identifies your goals, and serves as your firm's resume. The basic components include your industry detail, a marketing strategy, team members biography (who the key players are and any relevant experience) a pro-forma income statement, and a cash flow analysis. It helps you allocate resources properly, handle unforeseen complications, and make good business decisions. Because it provides specific and organized information about your company and how you will repay borrowed money, a good business plan is a crucial part of any loan application. Additionally, it informs sales personnel, suppliers, and others about your operations and goals.

Plan Your Work

The importance of a comprehensive, thoughtful business plan cannot be overemphasized. Everything hinges on it: outside funding, credit from suppliers, management of your operation and finances, promotion and marketing of your business, and achievement of your goals and objectives.

"The business plan is a necessity. If the person who wants to start a small business can't or worse, won't put a business plan together, he or she is in trouble, and will likely not find funding, and therefore will never get their business idea off the ground." says Robert Krummer, Jr., chairman of First Business Bank in Los Angeles .

Despite the critical importance of a business plan, many entrepreneurs drag their feet when it comes to preparing a written document. They argue that their marketplace changes too fast for a business plan to be useful or that they just don't have enough time. But just as a builder won't begin construction without a blueprint, eager business owners shouldn't rush into new ventures without a business plan. It is the least appealing (and for many, frustrating) part of the whole "new business" process - but it is where it all starts.

Before you begin writing your business plan, consider four core questions:

• What amusement services, and product does your business provide and what needs does it fill?
• Who are the potential customers for your product or service and why will they purchase it from you?
• How will you reach your potential customers?
• Where will you get the financial resources to start your business?

Writing the Plan

What goes in a business plan? The body can be divided into four distinct sections:

1) Executive summary
2) Description of the business
3) Marketing
4) Finances
5) Management

Addenda should include, supporting documents, and financial projections. Although there is no single formula for developing a business plan, some elements are common to all business plans.