The end game

You don’t even want to start thinking about starting
a business from scratch.

But If you are stubborn, obstinate and believe you have something to prove,  nothing is going to stop you. If you are that determined and understand you are going to slog away for the next how-ever many years, looking for key people, implementing systems and processes and that this is one of the costs you are letting yourself in for. If you understand you are going to have to learn by making painful mistakes, growing a new business through sheer hard work and not having the sense to know when to give up; you might be one of the very few who make it through to the end.

But what must be weighed against that, are the sacrifices that have to be made along the way. The time not spent with your family, the tension, the stress, the disappointments, the responsibility.

Life is far too short and it’s a mistake putting off all the things you think you might want to do – the travel, the family time, the adventures. That is a clock that never stops ticking.  Reason enough to pause, reflect and take to heart the often cited conversation between the Greek Fisherman and the American Tourist.

But what are our options? What are the alternatives that one has?

The point at which this gets a little tricky. The point at which one starts asking questions about lifestyles, values and motives. Where one has to start questioning the meaning of words like success and achievement.

Value judgements, choices, independence, financial and personal freedoms.

Elusive and complicated stuff, if you let it be. But relatively simple if you treat it as such. Side-stepped and avoided merely by shifting the focus from starting ‘a business’ to ‘tinkering’ with a hobby, developing a personal interest, in whatever spare time is available.

The key to and the distinction of being in a position to work for oneself rather than starting a business where you end up working for everyone other than yourself.

Building a personal interest into a useful resource. One that can then be shared, generating targeted quality traffic that will add value to the mix. A viable, sustainable means of generating an income that can be grown into a business and a word of mouth network offering local know how and advice to those who are looking.

Simply by recognising that we have every reason to share what we know, make ourselves useful and contribute to a community build.

Shifting the focus

Why is it that branded fast food outlets and coffee franchises predominate in the High Street, while the independents battle it out in the back streets.

Online micro-business start ups

They are over-priced, over-sold,  over-rated and generally dreadfully dull. How do they get away with it?

Marketing they say. Branding they say.

Gobbeldy gook and jargon I have never managed to grasp.  There has to be a simple explanation. Why do we lamely accept that we need have to pay more for less?

Local independent restaurants and artisan food

Why should the best be so hard to find? Why should we have to compromise? For convenience and familiarity?