Starting your own business is extremely appealing for a lot of reasons. Being your own boss, running things the way you want to, and doing something you love are key reasons why people seriously consider making the immense investment in time and money -- and taking on the significant risk of failure. This risk can be minimized if you actually know what you're getting yourself into. Here are 5 common misconceptions of starting your own business with a dose of reality to clear up any confusion.
1. If I have my own business I won't have to work as much. That is completely false, especially when getting your idea off the ground -- and turning it into profit. Expect longer hours, more tasks, and in all likelihood more headaches than when working under someone else. Even if you have staff, you still have to set them on the right course, deal with payroll, hiring and management, etc., etc.
2. I'll be able to set my own hours and create my own schedule. To some extent that is true, but a business' priorities lie with customers and clients. You, and your business, have to be there for them. And as head of a business, you have to be there for your employees as well, ready to assist at all times in any way necessary to keep your business running well. Running an online-based business allows some more flexibility, and to learn more check out these Great Resources for Online Entrepeneurs.
3. It will be easy to attract investors and customers to my business. Unfortunately, there's a lot of competition out there for peoples' dollars, whether those dollars be from investors or customers. You have to sell to both of these groups, and often, there is no such thing as an easy sell. Be prepared for some slow (and low on revenue) times and be prepared for lots of "no"s. To make yourself more attractive to investors and customers, just be prepared: have a polished, well-thought out plan to present to potential investors and have an equally thoughtful and high-quality product available for potential customers and clients.
4. The books will be easy. Taxes, payroll, and money management can be difficult. There are a lot of numbers to keep track of and (hopefully) a lot of money to be accounted for. Make it easier on yourself, if you have the resources, by getting an accountant and Human Resources personnel.
5. Business owners are rich and someday I will be too. It's a nice thought but the reality is that many business owners are just scraping by, hoping to keep their business and personal finances just barely in the black. Sacrifices will be necessary until the business becomes profitable, and unfortunately, many businesses never do. Starting your own business can be an incredibly rewarding and exciting venture, but it takes a lot of hard work and does not always lead to equal rewards.
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Joseph Gustav is a guest blogger for Pounding the Pavement, an up-and-coming outlet for career-oriented expression. An ambitious freelancer, Mr. Gustav also contributes articles about call center management careers for Guide to Career Education.
Friday, October 15, 2010
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Fitur dan Spesifikasi BlackBerry PlayBook
Research In Motion (RIM) telah memperkenalkan secara resmi produk tablet bernama BlackBerry PlayBook. Berikut adalah beberapa fitur BlackBerry PlayBook yang telah diungkap oleh RIM dalam Developer Conference 2010 (DevCon10) di San Francisco, Selasa (28/9/2010) dinihari WIB. Sebelumnya perangkat tersebut diprediksi bernama BlackPad ternyata PlayBook.Dari sisi piranti lunak, PlayBook akan menggunakan sistem operasi BlackBerry Tablet OS berdasarkan arsitektur micro-kernel QNX Neutrino. Neutrino telah banyak digunakan pada perangkat kesehatan, otomotif hingga router internet.
Piranti lunak PlayBook mendukung Flash 10.1, WebKit dan HTML 5, OpenGL (untuk grafis 3D seperti pada game), Adobe Mobile AIR, Adobe Reader, Java, POSIX dan BlackBerry WebWorks.
Media yang bisa diputar di PlayBook termasuk video hingga resolusi 1080p High Definition. Formatnya, mencakup H.264, MPEG, DivX dan WMV. Sedangkan audionya mencakup MP3, AAC dan WMA.
Berikut adalah beberapa spesifikasi perangkat kerasnya:
- Layar sentuh capacitive LCD berukuran 7" WSVGA dengan resolusi 1024 x 600
- Dukungan penuh pada multi touch dan gesture
- Prosesor 1 GHz Dual Core
- RAM 1 GB
- Kamera High Definition 3 Megapixel (depan) dan 5 Megapixel (belakang)
- Kamera bisa merekam video hingga resolusi 1080p HD
- HDMI Output (microHDMI)
- WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n dan Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR
- Konektor microUSB
- Ukuran 130mm x 193mm x 10mm
- Berat sekitar 400 gram
Semoga bermanfaat.
Monday, October 4, 2010
Josh Hare of Hops and Grain Talks About His MicroBrewery
Josh Hare of Hops and Grain Talks About His MicroBrewery
Where are you from originally?
I’m originally from Abilene, TX. Lived there most of my life until graduating from college.
What university did you go to?
I went to Abilene Christian University. Graduated with a degree in Eduction and a minor in Environmental Science. I also spent 3 years in the ACU College of Business Administration.
What brought you to Austin?
I moved to Austin from Boulder, CO as an aspiring triathlete. I had a number of years experience in specialty retail and upon moving here, met with a local entrepreneur and opened a specialty running store in East Austin called Rogue Equipment. I served as the general manager of the store for two years before leaving to open a microbrewery.
What is the idea behind your startup?
The idea behind my startup is to provide handcrafted beer and dog treats to the people of the Hill Country making sustainable decisions both in terms of the environment and the business. All of our beers are packaged into aluminum cans, the most recyclable container on the planet. We handcraft our dog treats form the malted barley that has been used in the brewing process. Brewing has stripped the grain of it’s sugar but a significant portion of fiber and protein still remain.
What need does it fulfill?
There is an underserved craft beer market in Austin with absolutely no brewery packaging their product in cans. Many of the outdoor activities and festivals that take place in Austin prohibit glass. Craft beer in cans is seeing incredible sales growth and many attribute this to the ease and portability of aluminum cans.
What exactly does your product do?
My products provide a high-quality local option that saves energy and supports locally by allowing great margins for retail and restaurant establishments.
Who is it for?
The beer is for anyone of legal drinking age looking for a full flavored, handcrafted beer. The dog treats are for anyone looking for a healthy and local alternative to many of the sugar and preservative filled dog treats that are currently on the market.
What was the most challenging aspect of starting up a business?
The most challenging aspect of starting the business has been the fundraising. There have been many economic factors that have made it fairly challenging to find investors. Because we chose to avoid any debt financing and offered a fairly low entry investment option it has required a substantially larger amount of meetings and presentations that would have otherwise been required.
What is the next step for you and your startup?
The next step is to raise the remaining investment capital to cover operating expenses during the first year. The equipment has been purchased and the warehouse space has been secured. Both of these pieces will come to fruition in December and the brewery will begin operating in January of 2011.
What advice do you have for entrepreneurs?
My biggest piece of advice is to get to know the community that you plan to market to. Get to know your customers and find out what communities they are a part of. There is sure to be a common thread. Lastly, utilize social media to the utmost. It’s free and an incredibly effective way to create a personal connection with your customers.
What Austin-based resource have you found to be the most helpful and why?
I have found many of the local Austin websites and discussion forums to be very helpful in researching my target market. There are a number of magazines that cater to the active community and these have been very helpful in the start up phases.
Where are you from originally?
I’m originally from Abilene, TX. Lived there most of my life until graduating from college.
What university did you go to?
I went to Abilene Christian University. Graduated with a degree in Eduction and a minor in Environmental Science. I also spent 3 years in the ACU College of Business Administration.
What brought you to Austin?
I moved to Austin from Boulder, CO as an aspiring triathlete. I had a number of years experience in specialty retail and upon moving here, met with a local entrepreneur and opened a specialty running store in East Austin called Rogue Equipment. I served as the general manager of the store for two years before leaving to open a microbrewery.
What is the idea behind your startup?
The idea behind my startup is to provide handcrafted beer and dog treats to the people of the Hill Country making sustainable decisions both in terms of the environment and the business. All of our beers are packaged into aluminum cans, the most recyclable container on the planet. We handcraft our dog treats form the malted barley that has been used in the brewing process. Brewing has stripped the grain of it’s sugar but a significant portion of fiber and protein still remain.
What need does it fulfill?
There is an underserved craft beer market in Austin with absolutely no brewery packaging their product in cans. Many of the outdoor activities and festivals that take place in Austin prohibit glass. Craft beer in cans is seeing incredible sales growth and many attribute this to the ease and portability of aluminum cans.
What exactly does your product do?
My products provide a high-quality local option that saves energy and supports locally by allowing great margins for retail and restaurant establishments.
Who is it for?
The beer is for anyone of legal drinking age looking for a full flavored, handcrafted beer. The dog treats are for anyone looking for a healthy and local alternative to many of the sugar and preservative filled dog treats that are currently on the market.
What was the most challenging aspect of starting up a business?
The most challenging aspect of starting the business has been the fundraising. There have been many economic factors that have made it fairly challenging to find investors. Because we chose to avoid any debt financing and offered a fairly low entry investment option it has required a substantially larger amount of meetings and presentations that would have otherwise been required.
What is the next step for you and your startup?
The next step is to raise the remaining investment capital to cover operating expenses during the first year. The equipment has been purchased and the warehouse space has been secured. Both of these pieces will come to fruition in December and the brewery will begin operating in January of 2011.
What advice do you have for entrepreneurs?
My biggest piece of advice is to get to know the community that you plan to market to. Get to know your customers and find out what communities they are a part of. There is sure to be a common thread. Lastly, utilize social media to the utmost. It’s free and an incredibly effective way to create a personal connection with your customers.
What Austin-based resource have you found to be the most helpful and why?
I have found many of the local Austin websites and discussion forums to be very helpful in researching my target market. There are a number of magazines that cater to the active community and these have been very helpful in the start up phases.
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