Arrive Magazine - January/February, 2010

“Research the business, the marketplace, the fundamentals—because maybe what you think is not true,” says Jim Malski, a consultant with Action-COACH in Westport, Conn. “Better to find out now. Talk to people in your industry. Network with your accountant or attorney.”

And make good use of the Internet. For starters, do a Google search on your industry and the business name you’re

contemplating to see what you turn up. There are places such as the Small Business Online Community—where Rieva Lesonsky, founder of GrowBiz Media, serves as an expert—that can be a good place to get and give information.

“Some people, when they start a business, get paranoid that someone is going to steal their idea,” Lesonsky says. “That’s crazy. You need to talk to family, friends or the online

community. You don’t have to tell them everything. Talk to someone in a di;erent state who’s not competition.”

Plan, Plan and Plan Some More

You’ve done enough research and feel confident that there is a market to support your dream. Now you need a strategic plan, a road map.

“You can’t have a shotgun approach,” says Alicia Arenas, a business consultant

1. Are you running away from something or running toward something? People who decide to start a business are often running away from jobs they don’t like, or from the hassle of finding a job after a layo;. These

“forced entrepreneurs” are getting o; on the wrong foot. Success starts with a defining vision.

Know why you’re doing what you’re doing, says Mitchell York, president of

Executive-to-Entrepreneur Coaching in Sayville, N. Y.

Are You Ready to Go Solo?

no track record, you will need investors, vendors and employees to buy into your vision. The first thing you need to practice is your 30-second elevator pitch, advises Jay Kayne, chair and director of the Institute for