CEO Corner: Tips for creating your own business

By Kirk Shroyer

Build your business around your strengths – not a hypothetical business plan or based on some trend you have been studying. Know what you do, and make sure it’s differentiated, needed and quality.

Focus, focus, focus. Learn, learn, learn. Do a minimal number of things perfectly – do not engage on everything that looks like an opportunity. We love the optimism, but it’s not realistic.

Say it in 30 seconds or don’t say it at all. Keep working on the specifics about who you are, what you do and how to explain it (at various levels and to various people). Don’t stop striving on this until you can say it in 30 seconds or less.

Know what you don’t know. Be brutally honest with yourself (be honest with others, too, but diplomacy is critical when communicating with others). In other words do not wing it. Business is NOT easy these days. Do NOT go it alone. Align yourselves with resources that have a proven track record. Talk to every successful person you know.

Act like a startup. Forget about the nice car, nice office, expensive tenant improvements, expensive meals …  your wallet is your company’s lifeblood. Run out of reserves and your business is done, regardless of how good you are and how good your offering is.

Work under pressure and stay calm under fire. You will be tired, you will be stressed, someone will push your buttons, some will try to take advantage of you, some will simply be dishonest. Character, quality, temperament, modesty, appropriately responding to the 100 things that will come your way each day – these are not a slogan; they are a way of life.

No one will give you money. There is no free lunch. No favor goes without consequences. Know what start-up capital you need. Have assets to secure loans. Have contingency money available – you will need it. If you think you need a large amount of money to start the company, you better already have it or you won’t get it.

Be healthy. Mentally, physically, emotionally. You will be tested on all levels more than you know. You will be much more productive when you exercise, eat right, rest and avoid using drugs and alcohol.

Don’t believe your own bologna. Study and learn. Be honest. Know where you stack up against the competition. If you haven’t studied the competition in depth, you shouldn’t be starting your own company.

Know your limits. Know how to start. Know how to get into the business world. Work very hard. AND have part of the plan designed to know when to call it quits. How much time, money, effort and emotion will you invest to make it go? How do you know if it’s working? Know when to call it quits if it doesn’t work.

Challenge yourself. If you aren’t ready for 80- to 90-hour weeks, keep your day job.

Kirk Shroyer is a business coach and owner of the Maricopa Business Center.

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This column appears in the May issue of InMaricopa.