Your Business is An Idea Now; Stay Active and Make it Real

Starting a business can be rough. There are so many decisions to make it makes your head spin. The worst part about starting a business, most of the times anyway, you are all alone; just you and your vision of what you want to do. At least people think they are alone. Most of the times there are so many services, individuals, and organizations there ready and willing to help you. The problem with those is that, we, Joe Common usually do not know about them because we are not usually out to start a business.  It is more than high-time you get acquainted with the services you need in order to succeed.

New business owners, start ups, or people with great business ideas are usually struggling to get past the first hurdle; the concept. The fact is a lot of people who say they want to start a business don’t know exactly what niche they want to fill. They may see a need and decide they want to fill it, but the actual niche escapes them. Still there are others who know exactly what they want to do and how to go about it. These just lack the resources and quickly fold under the pressure of obstacles. That is the exact niche Alphaxiom was created to fill.

We realized that Entrepreneurs have the will but sometimes do not know the way. There are so many great business minded individuals that would otherwise have created essential businesses if the resources they needed was a bit more transparent. Personal experiences while developing the concept for Alphaxiom, fusion, and omnipresence has taught us that the way and resources are not readily known and in some cases available. The owners that put this together definitely had to scrounge and do a lot of searching. We want to share that experience with you and will be providing information relevant to start ups and small business owners; not just the services.

The one important thing business owners need to be aware of while starting a business is a simple thing that needs no one to set for them; goals. By setting small goals you will help yourself to open the business world to you. The goals should be minimal at first so you get a clear picture of what you want. By setting goal and accomplishing them you set your mind on a path to keep yourself focused during the harder times. It may sound a bit out there when you first read it, but with time and effort you will begin to see the value of accomplishing small goals. Just be sure the goals all have something to do with your business.

Actively seek out opportunities to learn; the more you are actively involved in your field of choice the better. Sometimes that means doing some work for free, yes I said FREE and I do mean it. To get experience and insight sometimes you have to bite the bullet and just do something for nothing. The more exposure you have to what you desire the more you will know it is what you want to do and how to go about doing it. Business doesn’t happen overnight and the ideas do not usually come overnight either. It takes time and in some cases repetition and some failure to get it done. Fact is, there is not teacher like experience.

Start doing things to make your business happen. Believe me when I tell you that you will never have the energy to get your business going unless you start taking steps. Research is one great way of going about doing something. I take nothing away from learning from someone else. There are still many other things you can do to help yourself become accustomed to the environment you will be entering. Actively seeking ways to move forward with your business can be a hassle because of all the setbacks and negativity that may come from people you know. But staying the course even when it seems like everyone is right is exactly what you need to do. Consider any negativity your reason for success. If you can prove to the naysayers that you can, they may be your best source of word-of-mouth advertising.

Develop some good habits because starting a business is not easy nor is it simple; but it is not rocket science. Those good habits are going to shape you for the next step of your life as a business owner. There are a few things you can do:

    Set Simple Goals that pertain to your business
    Actively seek out resources that you think you may need
    Stay focused on your business by doing little things to keep you in gear
    Develop a tough skin
    Actively talk about your business with any and everyone
    Do some free work pertaining to what you are planning to do
    Research, research, research
    Network with other people
    Repeat, reuse, recycle those actions

You want to be as active in doing something business related as possible. Your actions are what is going to keep your business idea from staying in your head. Grab your dreams and make them into a tangible business by getting involved with your dreams. Dreams are how small businesses are born.

Outsourcing is not the Enemy

Outsourcing is a confusing issue for business owners. One complaint is that it costs money to outsource what could have been done in-house. That is absolutely true. But the problem with that truth is that it hides the true intent of outsourcing. To be honest, outsourcing is not the enemy it is made out to be. Fact is outsourcing some work is actually good for business in many ways. Yet another fact to consider is that outsourcing a project may be very cost effective. It can also save you time hiring a specialist for one task. But let me highlight a few pros to choosing to outsource work.

One consideration is outsourcing means you will be able to save money by not hiring an employee to fill a role. The money that comes to hiring, training, giving benefits, plus adding bonuses can be spared and put to good use. Often small business owners will go hire an employee who specializes in a particular task in hopes of getting the person in question to add value to the company. The employee will now cost the regular salary plus the cost of any and all benefits, which include but are not limited to sick days. Outsourcing eliminates the need for a permanent hire and or benefits associated with the permanent hire. All you end up paying is the one fee agreed upon when you enter into a contract; no need for benefits.

The savings in a regular salary plus benefits can have huge implications on the bottom-line as well. Consider that a thirty thousand dollar a year employee can cost the company upwards of 90,000 per year. When you outsource a project you pay a onetime fee to the contractor you hire. You can have other jobs go through the same freelancer and do not have to give them any type of benefits. Best of all; you are not paying them when there is no work to do. When the contract is over it over it is the end of the story.

The workmanship to outsourced work can also be better than a hired employee. These people often see the work you are providing them on a regular basis. They can offer detailed addition to your project based on their experience. What you may get from a freelancer when you outsource is the perfected craft that may have taken years or months.

When you hear about outsourcing give it some serious consideration. There are companies and individuals that could be better served by doing jobs for you. Outsourcing not only helps you save, but offers a variety of ways one can go about handling projects. I would advise a company considering outsourcing to do their research and give it some serious thought. You could be creating a lasting relationship with a really good resource.

Time to be About Your Business

 Still stuck on finding funding for your business idea, still pining away because you haven’t had the get up and go to start your business, or is it that you just don’t know what to do or where to go, or even how to go about it. Many entrepreneurs never get started because of these simple things, never mind the friends and family members who are constantly in your ear about doing something practical instead of opening a business that will fail. But then again why did you have that dream of owning a business in the first place? Did you have it so you could fail? I bet not!

When a business fails before it begins, it is usually explained in one reasoning or another, typically one of those above. The person with the idea gets talked out of it, they don’t know where to go for resources, they don’t know what to do, or they simply just give in to all the naysayers because they are trusted friends or family members.

As for the naysayers; heeding good advice is not a bad thing… but when it comes to business most of the people you know Unlocking Success(roughly 90%) have already set in their mind that working for someone else is the only way to make money. In this case, good advice would come from someone who understands or at least encourages you to do some research or get your dream of owning a business started. The others, though well meaning, are looking out for your best interest, by using their own fear of failure, or their own views of success. Where they think they are helping you, you could in fact help them by showing them another way of making money. You could create business partners within your community who will inspire the next generation of business owners in your circle. It is important to find the answers you need in their advice, but it is critical that you decide even with the fear that builds up because of their advice, to move forward the best way possible. We are here to help with that if necessary, but do not give up on your dreams because of someone else fear. I will finish this exposition as this: All those people that are in your ear about business and doing something practical; your parents, friends, neighbors, whomever – they all work for someone like you! Who once had a dream and decided to act on it regardless of those they loved and their advice. So don’t just dare to dream, become the dream!

Looking for resources or money to start your business? Some can be found right here on the pages of Alphaxiom. Simply scroll your mouse-pointer over the “Small Business Resource Center” and visit any of those pages for the resources you need. We have funding (yes, Money), marketing, visitors you can advertise to (if you have an online site), Communication, and others. If you don’t see what you want simply hit the contact button and ask a question, we will find you what you need and it may not even cost you a dime. We just want you to at least try. Ask questions, ask questions, ask questions!!!! Don’t just read the blog we put up and think we don’t have the time to answer your questions or help you seek out resources we haven’t been able to get yet. Alphaxiom was put in motion to help the entrepreneur succeed. A little sobering truth, Alphaxiom was started by a business student and Indie Author who wanted to help enterprising people, of the like-minded nature. First as a blog, hence the blogging platform, which slowly began morphing into a full website full of resources to help you turn your idea into a business. So ask away, any question.

Procrastination is one of the biggest dream-killers of all time. Sitting around and pining away while saying you’ll get to it, while never getting to it. That is procrastination. It can cost you months, if not years, and some depression as you realize time is going by and you haven’t done anything or enough. The best thing you can do is start tasking on your dream, one thing at a time until you build steam, or at least until your mind comes out of its depressive haze. When your brain is locked in, let’s call it “loser ville”, it will feel like you have failed, and therefore doesn’t need you to try. You can also develop a massive fax-ego, where you tell yourself that you will be successful, all while doing the minimal work to get done. Failure will come in the guise of lost time and you will blame everything but the fact that you’re not working enough. Again, the best thing you can do is to start working on your business plans or marketing one piece at a time until your mind works its way out of the funk that it’s in.

To summarize the thoughts here:Getting your business started is up to you and only you. The advice of others, though well meaning can have a negative impact on you and your dream if you don’t decide for yourself what you need to do. It’s called an informed decision; that takes into account advice, research you do, action on your part, and anything you Do in order to try to get things moving. A well informed decision does not mean listening to someone because you trust them. Even your best friend who will pull you from a burning house cannot decide your future success. So don’t you dare give up on your dream until you have tried and succeeded or failed on your own terms. You never know unless you try. Live with that mantra.

Remember, Alphaxiom is here to help. Ask ask ask any question that you have, no matter how foolish it may seem to you. You or someone else could benefit from that question, via a blog post or an answer. Visit Alphaxiom ages for business resources or ask, visit us often for updates and subscribe for more information on business building and organization.