Starting A Business? Be Honest With Yourself For Success

This time of year a great many people are thinking about starting their own business. There is nothing like an exciting business idea to kick off the new year in style.

Unfortunately, most of the new businesses we'll see this month won't make it through the next quarter. Why? In most cases the business idea was solid, it just didn't fit the true needs of the owner. To help ensure longevity and success, there are a few things to keep in mind.

First, be honest with yourself about what you expect to get from a business AND what you're prepared to give the business. You may be concentrating on the parts of the business you really like -- like earning a large income -- and ignore aspects you won't like -- like selling to customers and completing paperwork.

Yet, in the average business, selling and office administration take up most of your day. To really succeed in most businesses, you have to LIKE selling and customer service. If you don't do those things well or don't have the proper attitude, you simply won't be able to stick around, much less reach your aggressive income goals.

Even if you don't mind spending time on all aspects of the business, you may not have the time to commit to it. Most of us have to keep working jobs while we work on a new business. Sometimes we simply don't have time to succeed.

Fortunately, you can easily outsource the things you don't like to do while concentrating on the things you do. You can have an outside service prospect for new customers. You can even find others to sell for you such as marketing call centers, affiliates, and partners.

There are services that will handle many of the customer service and office administration tasks. A contract bookkeeper can maintain your financial records working just a few hours a week, even from his or her home or office.

Most importantly, make sure you use automated online tools. Autoresponders, lead creation systems, and online ordering and payment processing can literally automate many aspects of your business. This is how thousands of online business gurus earn fabulous incomes while traveling the world, and working just a couple of hours one morning per week.