This article speaks directly to your personality. I don’t discuss planning and budgeting but you should be aware that you will need to plan, plan, plan but don’t get caught up in “paralysis by analysis” and no matter how good your business plan you will not receive money from “angel investors” or banks unless you’ve already started your business and have a proven track record with a large upside – which you don’t have if you are a business startup.

First, here’s the quick synopsis of opening your own business

Register with your county or state as a business.

Start doing business.

Really? That’s all there is to it? Yes, that’s all there is to it. Unfortunately, its so easy that many businesses fail because they do exactly like what’s above. There are a few skills that complement success and generally you’ll either have those skills or will develop those skills over time. Here’s what you can expect.

You’ll work crazy hours.

You’ll be a salesperson.

You’ll always worry about your business.

You’ll become an expert on many things because you can’t afford to hire experts – especially in the beginning.

What many don’t realize is that you are always a salesperson. If you don’t like sales then having a business of your own is not for you. If you don’t have an outgoing personality you’ll need to develop one quickly. Whether you’re set up a booth at a county fair, open a retail mall location, or work from home you will be a “people-person”. You will network with others, attend events, and more. Sounds like fun? For many it is but remember while you’re somewhere having fun someone has to run the business. Here come the crazy hours.

If you’ve got customers or clients then you’ve got projects that you haven’t been working on while you’re out selling yourself and your company. So now after the fun is over you will begin your day’s work. Remember that while you were out networking you were creating your future (and probably spending money) but now you’ve got the present to think about. How do you pay your bills? What about the customer that is late with the payment? Now the worrying begins.

You’ve got bills to pay and customers to satisfy. You may have a payroll to meet or at least you’ll need to make ends meet. Is there enough cash flow or have you extended credit because you are new and the thought of work, any work was too much to pass up? How do you collect on unpaid invoices without offending and thereby cause other problems? Oh the fun never ends.

Lastly (for this article), you’ll need to learn how to be an expert. There’s nobody to do the day to day accounting but you or hopefully, a significant other so you’ll become a bookkeeper and bill payer. There’s nobody to design graphics for your marketing materials so you’ll learn software programs and design principles for creating brochures, flyers, …