Entrepreneurship is not child’s play. You will need a business mind with an eye for finesse and acumen to avoid all the pitfalls of managing a business venture on your own. Following is a list of guidelines that should be in every entrepreneur’s arsenal in order to be successful. Without engaging in these guidelines, insufficient foresight can flush all your hard work and efforts down the drain.

• The first and perhaps the most important thing that every entrepreneur should bear in mind is that regardless of what you do you will end up needing twice the amount of capital that you have projected for your business. Perhaps this is due to the fact that your budget forecasts might have had a shortfall because you had failed to see a few costs or had just omitted them as not applicable to your concern. However, be ready with extra cash to support any financing needs that may arise.
• Relentless passion for your work is a prerequisite to a successful entrepreneurial venture. No matter how passionate you are about your work or how ardently you undertake each and every project, trust me it won’t be enough at the end of the day. You will always end up with the realization that had you put in more hard work, things would have worked out just right. The one thing that can assure your success is authentic,sincere zeal for perseverance.

• Human capital is that asset, which has the power to make or break your business. Therefore, you should put your utmost effort and time in cultivating the 100 best customers in your company, as those are the people that pave the path to success. Catering to your human resources will bring in better business results than any promotional activity can.

• Most importantly, as an entrepreneur you need to digest the fact that your business venture will be the toughest thing that you would have had undertaken in your whole life. You will be drained out of energy and resources, and will be constantly running to make sure that everything is going on in a smooth flow. Remember, your relationships will be under a lot of strain as most of the time you will be busy with the business management. Your family relations will be extremely strained. Weak supporters will opt out of your life.

Lastly, if you have the perception that like everybody else you can wrap up work and go home at 5 pm then you will be better off staying as an employee for someone else. Keep a job rather than running a business. To achieve greatness and sustainability in entrepreneurship you will have to put in all that you have and more.

Chris Voss is someone that I read & follow his blog regularly. You should too. One of his blogs brought me back to the early 1980’s. It was a time in my life that I made a choice that would effect me positively for the rest of my life.
 
I was passionate about wanting to succeed in life, but I was bitter and frustrated & needed some serious guidance and direction.
 
So I went to the Yellow Pages and looked up the Dale Carnegie Courses in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. My mentor would become Jim Winner, the local sponsor in Baton Rouge for the Dale Carnegie Courses. And it was then that I would be introduced to the poem below. Print the poem, put it in your wallet or purse. Read it regularly. Meditate on it. Let it become absorbed into your being. And over time it will have great meaning for you. I promise.
 
Chris in his blog states:
 
I was watching a show on Bill Parcells, the successful NFL coach. He talked about how he’d always carried this poem with him. It’s very inspiring and I hope you enjoy it.
 
“The Guy in the Glass” by Dale Wimbrow, (c) 1934
 
When you get what you want in your struggle for self,
And the world makes you King for a day,
Then go to the mirror and look at yourself,
And see what that guy has to say.
 
For it isn’t your Father, or Mother, or Wife,
Who judgement upon you must pass.
The fella whose verdict counts most in your life
Is the guy staring back from the glass.
 
He’s the fella to please, never mind all the rest,
For he’s with you clear up to the end,
And you’ve passed your most dangerous, difficult test
If the guy in the glass is your friend.
 
You may be like Jack Horner and “chisel” a plum,
And think you’re a wonderful guy,
But the man in the glass says you’re only a bum
If you can’t look him straight in the eye.
 
You can fool the whole world down the pathway of years,
And get pats on the back as you pass,
But your final reward will be heartaches and tears
If you’ve cheated the guy in the glass.
 
Source: Theguyintheglass.com
 
-Take a moment to look into a mirror. Do you like the person you are inside? How does it make you feel? What can you improve?
 
“Make Marvelous Happen!”  Let me know how I can help?
 Peace, Love and Gumbo!
Marvin LeBlanc, LUTCF, CNP