I Want to Start My Business But Not Sure How . . .

Custom Author and Energy Magazine Issue Fields

  • Nov/Dec 2012

Blog pic stat bizNine times out of ten, if you ask for business start-up advice, you will be told that the best thing to do is to start with a Business Plan. Even though we know there are many successful private practice businesses that were started without a Business Plan, it is an excellent way to get clear and focused on just what you want your business to be. You can be creative: make it simple or complex and as personal as you wish.

What exactly is a Business Plan? Truthfully, there is NO one way to define or create one. Business Plans are as varied as the personalities of those who produce them. The main reason to produce a Business Plan is to add definition to your Vision. Therefore, you want to be sure that you first have a Vision – see yourself in business doing what it is that you love to do. The Plan then becomes the map of how you are going to manifest your Vision and make it into a successful business. An important feature of this map then is that it be a “living document.” That will keep it relevant as you rethink, redesign, expand, contract, go with the flow and/or change direction entirely.

Since most of us start our businesses after some years in a career that we enjoyed at one time but is no longer one in which we want to be engaged, it is also important that we be sure that the business we manifest is one that matches our desires. That’s the beauty of a Business Plan, aka “living document” – you can meditate on it, experience how it feels when you set it aside and come back to review it, share it with your supporters (friends, peers, family), play with it, rework it, even use it to get investors and more. Also, even after years of doing business, your Business Plan can be used to maintain and/or expand your business; help you obtain expansion funding; give you a boost of inspiration and/or motivation when you need it; show you just how much progress you’ve made, help you get around barriers and even boost your confidence. For examples of Business Plans you can search on the internet or go to your neighborhood bookstore and flip through the many business start-up books that are there but then it needs to become personal.

The key component to a successful business, beyond the Plan, is TAKING ACTION! Just planning a business does not make a business happen. Yes, there is risk but there is also a very good chance that if you are clear about what you want your business to look like, you will be successful. You can use your Plan as a mirror – you will find out a lot about yourself – what makes you comfortable or uncomfortable. As healers, we have an added tool = INTUITION. As you contemplate your Vision and create your Plan, be sure to check-in and follow your gut – if it feels right GO FOR IT!! Enjoy the adventure and let it unfold.

Originally published in Energy Magazine: Nov/Dec 2012

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