1. MYTH "BE YOUR OWN BOSS"
Most people hear "Be your own boss" and relate it to being able to kick back in a chair and give orders while others work. This is soooo false.
First, as a small business owner you will have to work harder and longer than anyone else in your company. *If* you are fortunate enough to be able to pay an employee or two, you will basically indirectly be working your schedule around theirs; "Michelle needs Friday off", "Ken is sick and calling in"; as you being "Your own boss" you have to plan on working every day: open till close and then some. Which brings us to point #2...
#2 "MAKE YOUR OWN HOURS"
False! False! False! The truth is that no matter what biz you're in, you have a product that needs to be SOLD. The average millionaire wakes up at 5am! You need to start selling at the crack of dawn and sell until your eyes can no longer stay open. Can you call that "Making your own hours"? - uh, only if "your own hours" equals 20 hours a day!
#3 TONS OF MONEY
Well, when you start any biz you have a TON of COST. Even if you *think* ya don't, you will. Let's say I want to do something as simple as reselling makeup I purchase at the Dollar Store. First I need to go to the Dollar Tree and purchase 50 pieces of name brand makeup. Does this cost $50? NO. You had to pay for gas to get to the Dollar Tree, plus you likely paid tax on your items. Let's assume this costs $60 now.
Then you will have to get a space to resell the makeup. Let's assume you find a craft show that allows you to resell the items for only $20 a week (which is unheard of, FYI). Now you will have to drive to the craft show plus pay $20 for the week; gas expense plus rent.
You are currently at a total cost of about $85. BUT...
Your customers will need bags to put their purchases in. Maybe you can recycle plastic shopping bag, if you don't mind a semi-tacky presentation. OR you can purchase bags. Assuming you can purchase 25 bags for $1.50, you will need 2 orders of bags; $3. PLUS account for the gas (or shipping cost) associated with purchasing the bags.
At this point you could call it quits on the expenses and start selling, BUT if you plan to continue to sell these items you likely want business cards to get repeat customers ($13.00 plus).
TOTAL EXPENSES; about $120. I bet you didn't plan for that when you planned to buy only $50 worth of makeup!
Now, on a larger scale; if you want to operate a very small store, you will need showcases (used are $100 - $300 each), lighting ($300 - $1700), pricing guns, tags for the pricing gun, tape, etc... We're talking about $10,000 plus in expenses!
So anyone who tries to tell you that you will be "rich" off a small business...LOL!!! IF you have a successful business AND you don't have to borrow money to open it, you MAY be able to start writing yourself a very minimal check after a year or two. YES, you likely will make profit during the first year (providing you don't start with DEBT) BUT the profit will need to be reinvested!!
#4 JUST HAVE EMPLOYEES WORK
If you don't take a single other piece of advice from this entire website, PLEASE hear me on this one:
An employee could give a f*ck less.
You may get lucky and find a good employee, but they're only good for so long.
Reality; this is a corrupt world. p
People lie. People steal. People cheat.
Employees that are left in charge to "run the show" will eventually run it right into the ground. Why? Because at the end of the day its not their business. They will do the bare minimum to keep their job and nothing more. An employee isn't truly interested in "growing the business". An employee doesn't care if you open a second location or if you can afford a trip to Paris. An employee cares about getting a paycheck. End of story.
With employees you're damned if you do, and damned if you don't. If you're too nice they'll take advantage of your kindness and in time, walk all over you.
If you're "the asshole boss" they'll look for ways to screw you over for being a d*ck.
Bottom line; like the old saying: "If you want something done right ya gotta do it yourself".
ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW:
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And our final myth is;
#5 SELLING IS EASY / THE PRODUCTS "SELL THEMSELVES"
No, no, no and no. "Selling" might be "easy" to some people but the economy is down and unemployment is high. During the summer people go vacationing. In addition, as a small business you will forever have to compete with big businesses who can afford $5,000 for a billboard, $10,000 for television commercials, etc.
So as far as products "selling themselves" - nope; YOU have to give superior customer service and sell YOUR products.
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