“The distance between you and your dreams is often the length of a single idea.”  – Vic Conant

Commentary: Sometimes all it takes is a new idea or thought to make you look at the world differently. One business idea (intelligently acted upon) can change your life. In business, you only need to be successful once and you’re set for life. Always be on the lookout for the idea that could change your life.

As usual, Seth Godin gets it right with a fantastic article about doing things instead of whining about them.

Here’s some of the best excerpts:

Here’s a question that you should clip out and tape to your bathroom mirror. It might save you some angst 15 years from now. The question is, What did you do back when interest rates were at their lowest in 50 years, crime was close to zero, great employees were looking for good jobs, computers made product development and marketing easier than ever, and there was almost no competition for good news about great ideas?

Here’s what some people did while others whined:

• “While your company has been waiting for the economy to rebound, Reebok has launched Travel Trainers, a very cool-looking lightweight sneaker for travelers. They are selling out in Japan — from vending machines in airports!”
• “While Detroit’s car companies have been whining about gas prices and bad publicity for SUVs (SUVs are among their most profitable products), Honda has been busy building cars that look like SUVs but get twice the gas mileage. The Honda Pilot was so popular, it had a waiting list.”
• “While you’ve been wishing for the inspiration to start something great, thousands of entrepreneurs have used the prevailing sense of uncertainty to start truly remarkable companies.”

He concludes with this great line:

So stop thinking about how crazy the times are, and start thinking about what the crazy times demand. There has never been a worse time for business as usual. Business as usual is sure to fail, sure to disappoint, sure to numb our dreams. That’s why there has never been a better time for the new. Your competitors are too afraid to spend money on new productivity tools. Your bankers have no idea where they can safely invest…

You get to make a choice. You can remake that choice every day, in fact. It’s never too late to choose optimism, to choose action, to choose excellence. The best thing is that it only takes a moment — just one second — to decide.

“We don’t want to be rich, we just want to be richer that other people” - John Stuart Mill

Commentary: Small business owners tend to focus on money when we should be focussing on lifestyle. Acquiring more and more money is an endless game that never brings satisfaction. The best thing to strive for are the lifestyle of wealth: time-off, family time, not worrying about money, vacations, etc. When you focus on lifestyle, you’ll find that it takes much less money and requires you to focus on making your business run without you rather than requiring your constant attention in the pursuit of more money.

“Plans are only good intentions unless they immediately degenerate into hard work.” - Peter Drucker

Commentary: Sometimes the planning process goes on forever. Some people are obsessed with planning to a point where actual work never gets started. It is important that planning is effective, but as Peter Drucker states, it is imperative to get to work!

Entrepreneur Magazine has a great article on how to name your business.  Topics include:

• Brainstorming Business Names
• Making up a Business Name (words like “Acura”)
• Trademarks and Trademarking
• Filing your corporation, LLC or DBA paperwork.

Also see our page on picking a business name along with helpful name brainstorming software.

“If people knew how hard I worked to achieve my mastery, it wouldn’t seem so wonderful after all.” - Michelangelo

Commentary: One common thing about people who master a skill is that though they may make it look easy, nobody sees the thousands of hours practicing, refining, studying and hard work.

“Don’t worry, be crappy. Revolutionary means you ship and then test… Lots of things made the first Mac in 1984 a piece of crap - but it was a revolutionary piece of crap.” ~ Guy Kawasaki  

Commentary:

I think it is a myth that a new product that will solve problems or fill a need (especially a technology product) must be perfect before you launch it. Modern experience is showing that may not be true - lots of great products were buggy at first, incomplete when first launced: MySpace.com, Google, Xbox 360, etc. The key is to launch but then improve based on user-feedback.

1. A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new.

2. Education is what remains after one has forgotten what one has learned in school.

3. I am enough of an artist to draw freely upon my imagination. Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.

4. The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources.

5. The value of a man should be seen in what he gives and not in what he is able to receive. Try not to become a man of success, but rather try to become a man of value.

6. There are two ways to live: you can live as if nothing is a miracle; you can live as if everything is a miracle.

7. When I examine myself and my methods of thought, I come to the conclusion that the gift of fantasy has meant more to me than any talent for abstract, positive thinking.

8. In order to be an immaculate member of a flock of sheep, one must above all be a sheep oneself.

9. You have to learn the rules of the game. And then you have to play better than anyone else.

10. The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing.

~Albert Einstein

Forbes.com has examined the most profitable and least profitable businesses to start and the results are pretty fascinating:

Most Profitable Businesses to Start:

1. Accounting Services
2. Legal Services
3. Dental Services
4. Specialized Design Services
5. “Other” Health Practitioners (chiropractors, physical therapy, rehab, etc.)
6. Outpatient Care Centers (spas, family planning, kidney dialysis, etc.)
7. Insurance Brokers
8. Physicians’ Offices
9. Medical and Diagnostic Labs
10. Depository Credit Intermediation (small banks, credit unions,

Commentary:

No big surprises here, fully 50% are medical related and another 40% are legal, financial or accounting related. I believe this shows that professional training pays off due to the high barriers to entry for these professions - not anyone can setup a medical, legal or financial related business, it takes some training, certification and skill. The one surprise was “Specialized Design Services” but that job still takes quite a bit of training before starting.

The lesson being that previous training is necessary to get into the most profitable businesses and being defensible either via education or skill is an important aspect to consider when starting your business.

The Least Profitable Businesses to Start:

1. Community Care Facilities
2. “Other” Support Services (tradeshow organizing, wrapping gifts, etc.)
3. Beverage Manufacturing
4. Real Estate Related Services (appraisers, property managers, etc.)
5. Bakeries and Tortilla Manufacturing
6. Amusement and Recreation Services
7. Motor Vehicle Parts Manufacturing
8. Specialty Retailers
9. Beer, Wine & Liquor Retailers
10. Travelers’ Accommodations

Commentary:

While I believe Forbes.com’s numbers are accurate, take note of the fact that this list is not destiny. For example, there are many examples of hugely successful businesses under the “Least Profitable” list: Coca-Cola for #3, Rainbow Bread for #5, Disney for #6, Hilton for #10 (with lots of smaller local businesses in the other categories).

Just because most people in your sector are not profitable doesn’t mean you have to be! This list is more of a guide showing that a) professionals with advanced education or degrees are the most profitable and b) businesses with lots of competitors and low barriers to entry are the least profitable.

Lesson: Follow your passion in business, learn proper management skills and success can be yours regardless of the industry.

Sorry for the light posting lately, we’ve been a bit busy.  The reason we’re so busy is that January is the most popular month of the year to start a new company.  By starting your new company in January you can begin the year with your company in place and grow as needed.  May of our clients will start a company now and hold it “on the shelf” until they are ready to start building the business.  This way you do not have to wait for the state to finish filing your documents to start open bank accounts, apply for license, etc.

 Interested in starting now?  Just visit our Price Quote page for a quote.  You can place an order online 24/7.