If you’ve ever read about or reflected on Zen philosophy and the Law of Attraction, you realize that pursuing and achieving goals is more of a journey than a destination. If you don’t find the journey itself to be engaging and motivating, then there’s a good chance you’ll lose your momentum and quit.
Having faith is also a component of making progress in life and getting ahead: faith in yourself… faith in your unlimited potential… and faith in unseen forces that motivate, inspire, and propel you forward every day.
Did you ever see the Christmas classic movie Miracle on 34th Street? A line spoken by the character Fred Gailey distills the essence of what faith is and why it’s so fundamental to our existence:
“Faith is believing when common sense tells you not to. Don’t you see? It’s not just Kris [Kringle] that’s on trial, it’s everything he stands for. It’s kindness and joy and love and all the other intangibles”
When it comes to pursuing any goal or dream, I think a lot of people get so overwhelmed by all the details and tasks they have to do, that they get discouraged and stop trying. Not only do they undermine themselves with their own self-defeating thinking, but they also allow themselves to be influenced by the negativity from others.
The best, most concise advice I’ve ever heard, thus far, is Nike’s brilliant three-word slogan: “JUST DO IT!”
Granted, it’s possible to create problems for yourself and others by taking those words too literally. For example, it’s not wise to just plunge into an undertaking or pursuit without giving it a little thought and consideration.
In my opinion, the underpinning of that philosophy is that entrepreneurs need to be action-oriented and spontaneous, but it’s also vital to base your spontaneity on planning, research, personal integrity, ethics, and other values. If that sounds like a contradiction, then all I can say is “Life is a paradox! — so deal with it ;-)”
Clarify and Live By Your Values
Speaking of personal values… If you’re not sure what your values are — or if you feel they need clarification — then check out these free worksheets from Russ Harris, the author of the book The Confidence Gap. He lists and describes 58 personal values and provides exercises to help guide you in your quest to identify and live by your own set of personal values.(Note: I’m not affiliated in any way with the author or publisher of this book. I’m just passing along this resource because I believe it’s useful. BTW… I did read the book The Confidence Gap, and I’m ready to read it again! Like many self-improvement/personal development books, it contains strategies and ideas that need to be reinforced. If you read any self-help book just once — especially if you don’t take notes — it probably won’t change your attitudes, negative belief systems, and behavior patterns. While it may be true that “old habits die hard,” they can be changed and replaced with productive ones. One of my favorite motivational quotes is “Persistence breaks down resistance!”)
The minute you fully grasp the power of persistence , you’ll no longer be searching for the secret of success.
Recommendation: If you’re looking for more inspiration and motivational quotes, visit Brainy Quote.com. (I’m not affiliated with them, but I love their website! It’s meticulously organized, contains a wealth of meaningful quotes, and is presented in a lighthearted and visually appealing way.)
Steps to Starting a Business
So getting back to the title of this blog post, the four most basic steps to starting your own business are as follows:
- Do some self reflection to make sure you have the tenacity, motivation, personality, and initiative to start your own business. Most people are much more suited to working for someone else than being self employed.
- Decide what type of business you want to start, based on your interests, talents, passions, skills, and financial resources (and needs).
- Create a plan and implement it (Oops! That’s actually two steps, if not much more!)
- Persist until you succeed and then keep going … assuming that you’re finding the work and the results you’re producing to be fulfilling, rewarding, and personally satisfying.
But, What Business Should I Start?
The question “What business should I start?” is something only you can answer. Everyone has a different work ethic, marketable skills, knowledge, ambition, financial needs, money to invest, and opportunities.
Since that question is a stumbling block for many entrepreneurs, I’ve created a list of small business ideas that will hopefully help you narrow your focus and identify some possibilities worth pursuing.
- Cleaning business, such as housecleaning, office cleaning [Business manual]*, janitorial services [How to get started*]
- Photography business [Learn wedding photography techniques*]
- T-shirt business [Get 700 T-shirt designs*]
- Consulting business
- Catering
- Landscaping
- Dog walking/pet sitting business
- Lawn care/lawn mowing [Tips and techniques*]
- Online business
- Construction business
- Real estate
- Clothing business
- Food truck business
- Tutoring business
- Vending machines
- Website business
- Event planning business [Steps for getting started*]
- Jewelry business
- Painting business
- Retail
- Trucking/transportation business
- Ebay business
- Cupcake business [Startup plan*]
- Bookkeeping
- Craft business [How-to get started info*]
- Credit repair business
- Handyman business [Startup manual*]
- Party planning business
- Property preservation business
- Recycling (metal, plastic recycling, etc.)
- Import/Export
- Home health care
- Cellphone business
- Marketing
- eCommerce
- Wedding planning business
- Computer repair
- Personal training
- Web design business
- Baking business/ cake business/ bakery/ cookies
- Blog business
- Daycare center [Helpful tools: Daycare management software*]
- Fashion business
- Marijuana business/medical marijuana
- Pest control [Startup manual*]
- Shoe business
- Restaurant [Strategies and techniques*]
- Tax business
- Window cleaning
- Carpet cleaning
- Candle business [Learn how to make candles*]
- Delivery services
- Franchise business
- Gift basket business [Startup tips and resources*]
- Graphic design services
- Greeting cards
- Hair salon [Professional hair styling video tutorials*]
- Gym, fitness club
- Home staging business
- Manufacturing
- Medical transportation
- Photo booth business [How to get started*]
- Recruiting/staffing/employment business
- Rental business
- Welding
- Interior design
- Pressure washing
- Contracting business
- Distribution business
- Dog breeding [Intructional guides and videos*]
- Dropship business [Resources: Tools, data, marketplaces*]
- Furniture: woodworking, sales, retailing, manufacturing, etc.
- House flipping
- Life coaching
- Limo service
- Massage business
- Pizza business
- Plumbing services
- Printing business
- Property management
- Rental property
- Screen printing
- Virtual assistant business
- Candy business [Info on candy bouquet business*]
- Dog grooming
- Flea market business [What you need to get started*]
- Freelance business
- Hotel business
- Junk removal
- Medical billing [Resource: medical coding study guide*]
- Party rental [Startup manual*]
- Real estate investment
- Sewing business
- Spa business
- Art business
- Home inspection business
- Interior design
- Paintball business
- Party bus business
- Social media business
- Web hosting
- Wine business
- Soap business
- Bail bond business
- Carpentry
- Crime scene cleanup
- Floral business
- Lending business
- Locksmith services
- Non-medical home care business
- Non-emergency medical transportation*
- Personal chef services
- Resume writing
- Snow removal
- Vacation rental
- IT consulting
- Swimming pool cleaning/maintenance
- Roofing business [Startup kit*]
- Accounting services
- Car dealership or used car business [How-to videos]*
- Lead generation business
- Lingerie business
- Music business [Record label business plan template*]
- Party business
- Security guard services
- Tour business
- Web development business
- Background check business
- Financial planning
- Senior care business
- Sign business
- Solar energy/solar panel business
- Home remodeling
- Linen rental
- Princess party business [Business guide*]
- Answering service
- Sports business
- Gymnastics business
- Moving company
- Repossession/ repo business
- Trash business
- Video game business
- Balloon business
- Mobile oil change business
- Entertainment business
- Charter boat business
- Horse training business
- Roadside service business
- Safety consulting
- Silk screening
- Professional organizer [Resource: Business guide and advertising templates*]
I’m sure you’ll agree that there’s no shortage of startup business ideas, only a shortage of self confidence, training, marketable skills, motivation, knowledge, and startup capitol. Many of those barriers are easily correctable, while others require tenacity, persistence, and sometimes help, mentoring, support, participation, and money from other people.
Need Help Starting a Business?
Just remember the words of 17th century English poet John Donne, who wrote that “No man is an island.” The moral of the story is, if you need help, support, or mentoring, don’t be afraid to seek it out.
BTW… Free mentoring, helpful in formation, and other small business help is available from government agencies, such as SCORE, the U.S. Small Business Administration, and various state small business development agencies.
Inspirational Business Quotes
Even though I wouldn’t describe myself as a religious person (I’m more “spiritual” than “religious,”) I do find some of the verses in Matthew 7:7 to be very inspiring:
“Ask, and it will be given you. Seek, and ye shall find. Knock, and the door will be opened for you.”
(I did a little minor editing, there, but there are dozens of different versions and interpretations of those wise words.)
Anyway… Thank you for checking out my latest entrepreneurial thoughts, musings, and business ideas.
I invite you to “follow”, link to, “like” or recommend this blog to others if you found value in the information and ideas I’m offering.
Best of luck in all your entrepreneurial pursuits!
–Joel
Blogger, freelance writer, entrepreneur
Send me an email
*Disclaimer: I am a compensated affiliate for most of the entrepreneurial, inspirational, and marketing materials, books, templates, software, and courses that are linked to in this blog.
