to find useful tips they may be helpful to me and other
solo entrepreneurs with doing business.
When I ran across these Top 10 Geek Business Myths, it
reminded me why I'm still currently running the
What Would Have Helped You? survey for
solo entrepreneurs and small business owners.
The post is from 2006 but remains true for anyone looking to operate a
small business. Read them and see if they ring true to you too in starting your
business: Top 10 Geek Business Myths
I've been working on the back office tasks for the new membership site for
The Solo Gazette. Not having created a membership site before, I decided to do
what every successful entrepreneur does and went looking for others who have.
I gave 4 options a trial run and ultimately I chose Membership Site Owner.
Though the first one, Teaching Sells was where I started, it became clear that it was nice but not necessary at this stage.
Though it's very comprehensive and offers a great deal of helpful tips, TS is geared to those who have both the free time and skills needed to pull it off right now. For me it was going to be a long learning curve that's not needed.
And that brings me to something you may want to consider before buying or joining anything related to your business.
Not everything pitched as being for micro or small business is going to be
right for your solo venture.
Being in business for yourself, it always seems to be more you
don't know or some expert claims you need to be successful.
Some of it is necessary, but it may not be needed right at the
stage you are.
For example, too many times those starting a home based solo business go into debt with the latest software, fastest computer or laptop, best Ergonomic furniture and fanciest business stationery.
They have been told by SCORE counselors, family, friends and some
small business 'expert' that all that stuff is necessary to succeed in
their business.
You and I know better. It's 'nice to have' but isn't needed to start and
operate your business.
What's necessary is get started with what you have, find your first paying customer and making your very first (dollar, rupee, peso, dinar, or whatever) coin of the realm!
You operate from home, what do your customers care that your desk chair
just happens to be that 10 year old bean bag that helps your bad back?
The point is to know the difference between what's
nice-to-have and what's absolutely needed to get the job done.
If your business is strictly online, having a website that is easy
to navigate, fonts that are easy to read (12 is better than 8, trust me
on this one) and getting traffic so you can sell your product or
service is what's needed.
Getting on page one of Google, adding a bunch of widgets and hover ads
is nice - but doesn't put food on the table. I see too many new to
how the online business world really works trying all sorts of weirdness
that doesn't do what's needed - Get Card Carrying Buyers to the site.
I've added a widget or two here in the past, remember Blog Rush? Do you also
not see it anymore. Because those of you who are regulars here know it was
a 'test'.
I hope this short article has helped you in not stressing over what your business doesn't have.
If what you have is working, then you can begin testing something new. But don't start changing things just because some expert or talking head says you need to change it. Not even Georjina Sinese.
That's it for today and I leave you with this:
If you break your neck, if you have nothing to eat,
if your house is on fire--then you got a problem. Everything else is inconvenience.-- Robert Fulghum
