OH MY GOD….Who knew starting your own business would be sooo much work. I know they say anything worth having is worth working for, but no one told me I would have to put this much work into it. I honestly came into this kind of naive. I thought I would just throw some ideas out there and get started doing what I wanted to do. Who lied to me??? This is a great deal of work. Now, I am not complaining, by any means, because I know what I want and evidently I have to do what I have to, to get it. So there is no complaining or whining from me at all. I just wish someone would have shuck me and said, Child starting your own business isn’t easy. Why couldn’t someone have done that for me? In a sense though, I am happy no one did cause I think it would have made me think twice about doing this. I guess I am happy that I just jumped right in. I am learning first hand what the difficulties are. Maybe that’s a good thing and then again, maybe not.I for one never really realized how much work actually goes into getting a business started. Looking in from the outside, people made it seem so easy. Not even up and running, just starting the wheels in motion has been a good deal of work. I am currently working on my business plan. For some reason I believed the stupid notion that as long as I knew what it is I wanted to do, in my head, there was no need for me to put it down on paper; create a business plan. Some one actually told me that though. That’s the crazy part. I didn’t just make that up in my own little head. Good thing I am surrounded with people who actually want to see me succeed and they told me the truth. No matter what kind of business you want to start or get involved with, from what I have learned, your best plan is to start with a business plan. For me, being able to put my ideas down on paper, will give me the space needed to tweak the numbers and ideas as need be. This business plan thing is a difficult thing though. Don’t let anyone tell you that it is a “piece of cake” cause it is not. It is really time consuming and a lot of research. I have been researching for a good while now and I am no where closed to being done. You would never guess the information you need to know in order to have a good business plan. You need to know you competition (of course), market share information, target groups, area statistics such as population and demographics. Then you have to break those up by race, income, religion, and gender. WHY!!!Now you would think being that I technically only want to throw upscale parties for a living, I wouldn’t really need to do any of this business planning stuff. But I do. I really do. And once I found out the whys behind doing it, it all made sense and became clear. In order to determine if your business will be successful, you have to do the math. In order to do the math and do it correctly, you have to do the research, no matter how many hours it may take, it has to get done. And when it comes down to it, the research is the easier part of it all. Putting it together is a whole other story…which I haven’t gotten to yet, but so I have been told. I honestly just wished that my business plan would just magically appear….who am I kidding?When I posted my first entry to this blog, someone asked me, “Why do you want to start this type of business with the way the economy is?” That question really made me stop and think. Why would I want to do this with things not looking so bright for the average American? So I thought about it.Who doesn’t want to be entertained? Who doesn’t want a night out where they could escape from all their worries of the everyday life? Who doesn’t want to have a good night out, even if once a month, with their girls or their boys? Who wouldn’t want to see the favorite artist perform in a not so crowded environment? Who couldn’t enjoy a good a laugh and an opportunity to make new friends? If you can tell me someone that these don’t apply to, I will rethink it. But I honestly don’t think that there is anyone out there who wouldn’t want this.And yes I know money may be tight for a lot of us, but if you think about it, you end up spending money to be entertained every week anyway. You go to the movies, eat out, have drinks w/ the girls, go to the club, or maybe just go for a drive. Either which way you look at it, you are spending money.So why not spend a little more and get what you pay for and exactly what you want; great entertainment, dinner, dancing, and good company all in one. You really can’t beat that, now can you?So I will continue on my journey to improve the nightlife in Orlando, no matter how much work I have to put into it. From the comments that I have gotten so far, this is really needed. And I am not going to get everyone all excited about what’s to come, and not go thru with it. That would suck for all of us. So it may be some time before I have my first event but make sure to stay tuned because it’s coming. Just make sure that you are there because you would want to miss it.
Being a business owner is a lot of hard work and sacrifice. What keeps me uplifited is always knowing who my ultimate provider is - GOD! I know that as long as I keep him first then He will always provide for me. Hey He provides for the birds everyday. Why wouldn't He provide for us whom He has created in His own image. Also remember God said He has given us dominion over everything. So keep moving forward knowing that at all times you are surrounded by God's Love.
Roberta, it really is work. A line Judge Hatchett loves to use is "if it were easy everyone and their mama would be doing it".
While doing your business plans, make sure you get your contracts in order, especially in the industry you are venturing into.
I was forced into being an entrepreneur after not finding a job after 2 years... a recruiter told me that my resume was intimidating. Well hey, I can't help it if I got skills, ya know?
Here's another piece of advice:
Hook-ups, no! Believe in your skills and what you offer and don't feel shame for charging for it. Friends and family especially pay full price; if you're discounting, discount for ALL. Especially in dealing with any facet of the entertainment industry, once you start giving it away, people will expect for it to be given away, and tend to respect you a lot less.
Barter, yes, but only when it makes sense. And when you barter, raise your rate... think about it this way. If someone is paying you in cash, you can use that money where ever and when ever you want. When you barter, you are limiting what, where and when you can use that income. A good attorney friend hipped me to that one. It doesn't have to be an exorbitant increase, just a little inflated. And even bartering requires an agreement.
Be sure your agreements clearly spell out what is expected of you and the people you do business with.
Know your strengths and weaknesses when it comes to certain tasks and outsource the weaknesses whenever possible. It costs more to clean up messes.
I'd be more than happy to provide support if you'd like...
btw - the more people try to talk you out of it, you'd probably be wanting to do what you're doing.
~Rikki
How exciting, It's good to see you sharing your experiences, we've all been there before, but let me also share with you the 1 thing I wish I would've done when I had some money, I don't care how much is going good, PLEASE, get a LOC, a line of credit, despite the amount the bank gives you, 1,000 to 50,000, just get one, because you will have good and bad days, tht's just life, but you never know when or how things will work out, I've had soooooo much money come thru my company, but no one told me to get a LOC, I asked so many women for advise, they NEVER said keep your cash and use your LOC, at 1 time I have over 100K in my business acct, no one at the bank, business assoc. said girl get you a LOC, so, I always tell people of color they gotta do it, besides the LLC and attorneys & branding, you need to have a LOC, it can be used for anything, paying bills, food, events, it's used like a credit card and the sweet part is you only pay on what you use.
I wish you all the success that life has for you, ;
KEEP PUSHING!!! LOL... I love this post. It's soooo true. People on the outside looking in never understand how much work it is to be your own "boss"... I was blessed to meet a sister who was the owner of a Bed&Breakfast on Martha's Vineyard. I asked her how the experience was... u know... then, I wasn't a Business Owner... just trying to figure out what I wanted to do... her words... and they STILL stick with me today... "just know this... when you're your own boss... that means your are EVERYTHING~ Meaning for me, when a toilet breaks down, I'm now a plumber... it's not all glamorous.. but it is rewarding. It's extrememly hard work!" So.. .on those days when I don't know where to start and if I will ever finish...I think about her... and I keep PRESSING ON!!!
Comments
While doing your business plans, make sure you get your contracts in order, especially in the industry you are venturing into.
I was forced into being an entrepreneur after not finding a job after 2 years... a recruiter told me that my resume was intimidating. Well hey, I can't help it if I got skills, ya know?
Here's another piece of advice:
Hook-ups, no! Believe in your skills and what you offer and don't feel shame for charging for it. Friends and family especially pay full price; if you're discounting, discount for ALL. Especially in dealing with any facet of the entertainment industry, once you start giving it away, people will expect for it to be given away, and tend to respect you a lot less.
Barter, yes, but only when it makes sense. And when you barter, raise your rate... think about it this way. If someone is paying you in cash, you can use that money where ever and when ever you want. When you barter, you are limiting what, where and when you can use that income. A good attorney friend hipped me to that one. It doesn't have to be an exorbitant increase, just a little inflated. And even bartering requires an agreement.
Be sure your agreements clearly spell out what is expected of you and the people you do business with.
Know your strengths and weaknesses when it comes to certain tasks and outsource the weaknesses whenever possible. It costs more to clean up messes.
I'd be more than happy to provide support if you'd like...
btw - the more people try to talk you out of it, you'd probably be wanting to do what you're doing.
~Rikki
How exciting, It's good to see you sharing your experiences, we've all been there before, but let me also share with you the 1 thing I wish I would've done when I had some money, I don't care how much is going good, PLEASE, get a LOC, a line of credit, despite the amount the bank gives you, 1,000 to 50,000, just get one, because you will have good and bad days, tht's just life, but you never know when or how things will work out, I've had soooooo much money come thru my company, but no one told me to get a LOC, I asked so many women for advise, they NEVER said keep your cash and use your LOC, at 1 time I have over 100K in my business acct, no one at the bank, business assoc. said girl get you a LOC, so, I always tell people of color they gotta do it, besides the LLC and attorneys & branding, you need to have a LOC, it can be used for anything, paying bills, food, events, it's used like a credit card and the sweet part is you only pay on what you use.
I wish you all the success that life has for you, ;
blessings;
Royal T