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.)

Update: I’ve recently begun devoting more attention to the topics of personal development, human potential, and spirituality in a new blog (about life) called Mastering Life Takes Time!

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:

1. 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.
2. Decide what type of business you want to start, based on your interests, talents, passions, skills, and financial resources (and needs).
3. Create a plan and implement it (Oops! That’s actually two steps, if not much more!)
4. 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.

1. Cleaning business, such as housecleaning, office cleaning [Business manual]*, janitorial services [How to get started*]
2. Photography business [Learn wedding photography techniques*]
3. T-shirt business [Get 700 T-shirt designs*]
4. Consulting business
5. Catering
6. Landscaping
7. Dog walking/pet sitting business
8. Lawn care/lawn mowing [Tips and techniques*]
9. Online business
10. Construction business
11. Real estate
12. Clothing business
13. Food truck business
14. Tutoring business
15. Vending machines
16. Website business
17. Event planning business [Steps for getting started*]
18. Jewelry business
19. Painting business
20. Retail
21. Trucking/transportation business
22. Ebay business
23. Cupcake business [Startup plan*]
24. Bookkeeping
25. Craft business [How-to get started info*]
26. Credit repair business
27. Handyman business [Startup manual*]
28. Party planning business
29. Property preservation business
30. Recycling (metal, plastic recycling, etc.)
31. Import/Export
32. Home health care
33. Cellphone business
34. Marketing
35. eCommerce
36. Wedding planning business
37. Computer repair
38. Personal training
39. Web design business
40. Baking  business/ cake business/ bakery/ cookies
41. Blog business
42. Daycare center [Helpful tools: Daycare management software*]
43. Fashion business
44. Marijuana business/medical marijuana
45. Pest control [Startup manual*]
46. Shoe business
47. Restaurant [Strategies and techniques*]
48. Tax business
49. Window cleaning
50. Carpet cleaning
51. Candle business [Learn how to make candles*]
52. Delivery services
53. Franchise business
54. Gift basket business [Startup tips and resources*]
55. Graphic design services
56. Greeting cards
57. Hair salon [Professional hair styling video tutorials*]
58. Gym, fitness club
59. Home staging business
60. Manufacturing
61. Medical transportation
62. Photo booth business [How to get started*]
63. Recruiting/staffing/employment business
64. Rental business
65. Welding
66. Interior design
67. Pressure washing
68. Contracting business
69. Distribution business
70. Dog breeding [Intructional guides and videos*]
71. Dropship business [Resources: Tools, data, marketplaces*]
72. Furniture: woodworking, sales, retailing, manufacturing, etc.
73. House flipping
74. Life coaching
75. Limo service
76. Massage business
77. Pizza business
78. Plumbing services
79. Printing business
80. Property management
81. Rental property
82. Screen printing
83. Virtual assistant business
84. Candy business [Info on candy bouquet business*]
85. Dog grooming
86. Flea market business [What you need to get started*]
87. Freelance business
88. Hotel business
89. Junk removal
90. Medical billing [Resource: medical coding study guide*]
91. Party rental [Startup manual*]
92. Real estate investment
93. Sewing business
94. Spa business
95. Art business
96. Home inspection business
97. Interior design
98. Paintball business
99. Party bus business
100. Social media business
101. Web hosting
102. Wine business
103. Soap business
104. Bail bond business
105. Carpentry
106. Crime scene cleanup
107. Floral business
108. Lending business
109. Locksmith services
110. Non-medical home care business
111. Non-emergency medical transportation*
112. Personal chef services
113. Resume writing
114. Snow removal
115. Vacation rental
116. IT consulting
117. Swimming pool cleaning/maintenance
118. Roofing business [Startup kit*]
119. Accounting services
120. Car dealership or used car business [How-to videos]*
121. Lead generation business
122. Lingerie business
123. Music business [Record label business plan template*]
124. Party business
125. Security guard services
126. Tour business
127. Web development business
128. Background check business
129. Financial planning
130. Senior care business
131. Sign business
132. Solar energy/solar panel business
133. Home remodeling
134. Linen rental
135. Princess party business [Business guide*]
136. Answering service
137. Sports business
138. Gymnastics business
139. Moving company
140. Repossession/ repo business
141. Trash business
142. Video game business
143. Balloon  business
144. Mobile oil change business
145. Entertainment business
146. Charter boat business
147. Horse training business
148. Roadside service business
149. Safety consulting
150. Silk screening
151. 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.