The document provides guidance on selecting and evaluating a business idea to start. It recommends deciding if you have the characteristics of an entrepreneur, determining what business and location, and whether to start full or part-time. Key steps include developing a list of potential business ideas related to your interests; conducting a comparative evaluation of top options; and getting qualified by working in the industry. The overall message is to thoroughly research and analyze options before committing to an idea.

1. Deciding on a
?

2. • Characteristics of a Successful Entrepreneur
• Step-by-Step Approach
– Decide if you really want to be in business
– Decide what business and where
– Decide whether to start full-time or moonlight
• Selection Strategy
• Things to Watch Out For
• Required Activities
– Comparative Evaluation
– How to Evaluate a Specific Business you have in
Mind
– "For" and "Against" List
– Get Completely Qualified
• Decision Time

3. The Business Plan

4. • What is a Business Plan?
• Why Prepare a Business Plan?
– What to avoid in your business plan
• Business Plan Format
– Vision statement
– The people
– Business profile
– Economic assessment
• Six Steps to a Great Business Plan
• Business Plan's Necessary Factors
– Understanding your market
– Healthy, growing and stable industry
– Capable management
– Able financial control
– Consistent business focus
– Mindset to anticipate change

5. Characteristics of a Successful
Entrepreneur.
• Guts:
o you must have an
entrepreneurial instinct.
o You must have an overwhelming
desire to have your own
business.
o You must have the guts and
dedication to be completely
devoted to your goal.
"Be able to sustain a financial commitment to whatever business you start."

6. • Brains:
o Plan to start before you start
it – Common sense combined
with appropriate experience is
the necessary brainpower.

7. • Capital:
o You will need seed money of your own plus
sufficient cash to maintain a positive cash
flow for at least One year.
(In some cases you don't need starting capital
to hire other people because you might start
by doing everything yourself)

8. Step-by-Step Approach
Decide if you really want to be in business:
You will be putting some (not all, hopefully) of your net worth at risk. You will
run the risk of becoming eccentric, meaning creating a life that is out of balance,
with working hours taking away from other pleasurable activities. There may
be levels of stress you have not experienced as an employee/employer.
Decide what business and where:
Once you have decided you have the characteristics of a successful
entrepreneur and that you definitely want to be in business, then you must
decide which business is best for you and where to locate that business.
Selection strategy is covered later on in this Session.

9. Decide whether to start full-time or moonlight:
There are some interesting advantages and some pitfalls in starting as a
moonlight business. (That is, a business you start in your off hours while
still working at your current job.) More often than not, the advantages of
starting as a moonlighter outweigh the risks:
• Your full-time job won't suffer if you maintain certain conflict of
interest disciplines, including compartmentalizing your job and
business into completely separate worlds.
• You can avoid conflict of interest with your job by choosing a business
that is appropriate for moonlighting, such as: single products, real
estate, specialized food, e-commerce, direct marketing or family-run
operations.
• There are great advantages for operating a family business. The family
can run the business while you are at work. You have a built-in
organizational structure. You can teach your family the benefits of
being in business.
But there are also some pitfalls to consider in starting a moonlight business:

10. • There is a temptation to spend time at your job working on
your moonlight business. That is unfair to your employer
and should not be done under any circumstances. (You
may need a family member or some trusted person to
cover emergencies when you are at your job.)
• Another problem may be competing with your employer,
which, again, is not right. Think of how you would feel or
handle this employee if you were the boss.
• Any kind of conflict with your regular work can jeopardize
your job and your moonlight business.
• Overwork and mental and physical exhaustion can also
become a very real problem for moonlight entrepreneurs.

11. Selection Strategy
Selecting the wrong
business is the most
frequent mistake
that start-up
entrepreneurs
make. Here is a
checklist to help you
select a successful
one:

12. • Take your time and wait for the
business that is just right for you.
• Don't tackle businesses that may be
too challenging. It is better to identify
a one-foot hurdle than try to jump a
seven-footer.
• Try to identify a business that has
long-term economic potential, then
FOLLOW.
• Look for a business that will grow in
today's and tomorrow's markets.
• Businesses to avoid are "commodity"
businesses where you must compete
entirely on price and in which you
must have the lowest cost to survive.
"As the saying goes, fail to plan and you are planning to fail."

13. Things to Watch Out For:
• Impatience
• Do not let overconfidence short-
circuit you from analyzing your
selection of businesses carefully.
You must not fear of hearing the
negative aspects; it is much better
to be aware of them and face them
early on.
• Be realistic. Do not become lured
by high rewards. They will come if
you choose the right business and if
you understand every aspect of the
business before you open its doors.
"To get ahead in this business you do everything to get the job done."

14. Required Activities
The most common mistake and the most costly one is not picking the
right business to begin with. This is the time for soul searching.
IF YOU HAVE NOT DECIDED ON A BUSINESS, DO THIS:
•On the top of a blank sheet of paper, write an activity you like to do
(make this the heading). Do a separate page for each activity or interest
you have.
•On those same sheets list as many businesses you can think of that are
related to that activity.
•On the same sheets list all the products or services you can think of that
are related to that activity. Use your imagination and think of every
possible product or service you could do.
•Make a list of businesses that do better in bad times (one may be
appropriate for you). Some examples might be pawnshops, auto repairs
and fabric stores.

15. EXAMPLE
Let's assume you end up with three potential businesses: towing
service, selling used cars and auto repairs. You can now make a
comparative evaluation using the following check-list (or better
still your own checklist) with a 1-10 scoring system: This kind of
analysis can help you gain objectivity in selecting your business.
Towing Selling Auto
Objective
Service Used Cars Repair
Can I do what I
6 3 10
love to do?
Will I fill an
8 5 10
expanding need?
Can I specialize? 7 8 10
Can I learn it and
9 8 9
test it first?

16. How to Evaluate a Specific Business you
have in mind.
• Here are some questions to help clarify your thoughts:
• Is it something I will enjoy doing?
My favorite activities are: __________________________
I like to serve people by: ________________________________
• Can I be so good at a specialized, targeted need that
customers will think there is no close substitute?
• Can I handle the capital requirements?
• Can I learn the business by working for someone else
first?
• Is this a product or service that I can test first?
• Should I consider a partner who has complementary
skills to mine or who could help finance the business?

17. Once you have decided what business you want
to start, do this:
• Write down the names of at least five successful businesses
in your chosen field.
• Analyze what these five businesses have in common and
make a list of reasons that make them successful.
• Talk to several people in your intended business. Don't be
afraid of the negative aspects of your intended business.
Instead, seek out the pitfalls:
• Analyze the competition that are not doing well and write
down the reasons.

18. Get Completely Qualified
Before you start, get completely qualified:
• The best way to become qualified is to go to work
for someone in the same business.
• Attend all classes you can on the subjects you
need, for example: accounting, computer and
selling.
• Read all the appropriate "how-to" books you can.
• Don't be afraid to ask questions or seek help from
the most successful people in your intended
business.

19. Decision Time:
• What could you sell or what services could you
perform that would make money and you would
enjoy?
• To complete this session you should have decided on a
business or at least selected a business you think
would be best for you.
• To get the most benefit out of the next sessions you
should have a definite plan in mind.
Session Two will show you how to prepare your business plan.