Make your own luck.

One of my pet hates is when people, usually jealous people, constantly refer to someone else's business success as "luck". It's as though the person has simply bought themselves a lottery ticket and hoped for the best.

What these envious people fail to see are the countless hours and hard work that successful people put in daily to get where they are in life.

I am a firm believer in people making their own luck, and thus, creating their own destiny. Whilst I believe there is such a thing as "being in the right place at the right time", in most of these cases the person involved is being proactive in the first place by getting themselves to "that right place".

The path to business, personal or life success requires a lot more than simple "luck". It involves continual hard work, time and effort, persistence, patience and dedication to name a few traits.

So, instead of being the type of person who takes the easy option and attributes plain old luck to being the reason why someone is so successful, try putting in a few hard yards yourself and create your own luck to reach success.

What do you think?

Do I want to own a business or own a job?

What's the difference I hear you ask? PLENTY is the answer.

The thought of running your own business can bring a lot of excitement to someone who is bored with their current situation and is looking for a change.

What most people don't realize are the sacrifices that many business owners make on their path to business success. I can assure you that it's not all easy going. Why do you think there is such a high incidence of businesses failing in the first few years of operation?

A business owner who has to be in attendance the whole time for it to continue to operate isn't in fact a business owner at all. They are a job owner.

Likewise, someone who can't take any time off work for a holiday without having to close the whole place down is also a job owner. At least an employee still gets holiday pay when they go away, unlike the business (job) owner. Not to mention all the overheads (eg. rent) that still need to be paid whilst you're away not earning an income.

This has probably been one of the most difficult obstacles for me to overcome in my business, made all that more difficult due to the personal nature of my physiotherapy and clinical pilates business.

Fortunately, by choosing the right people and through careful planning, I can now enjoy not having to go into work on weekends, taking some mornings and afternoons off during the week to spend time with my family, and having a business still operational whilst taking some time off to rest on holiday. I can't emphasise enough the importance of these work and life choices.

So, before you take that plunge into the unknown world of a business owner, ask yourself what you want to be: a business owner or job owner.

FREE event for young entrepreneurs.

I've recently been notified of the following upcoming event for young entrepreneurs. Check out the details below:

GLOBAL EDGE: YOUNG ENTREPRENEURS REVEAL THEIR SECRETS

Want to take your business idea to the world and make millions?

Come and meet Andy Cassell – Manager of Jet, The Vines and Youth Group and co-owner of Ivy League Records, Scott Farquhar, winner of the 2006 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award and co-founder of Atlassian, global software company, and Leesa Fogarty one of the founders of the international swimwear label MaraJoara.

Find out how they took their ideas to the global stage and created thriving businesses.

Join us for this FREE event with a twist on Wednesday, 26 September, 2007 from 5.15pm-7pm at the SOUND LOUNGE (Seymour Centre), corner City Road and Cleveland Street, Chippendale.

Hosted by the Department of State and Regional Development. For more info and to register to attend, email: timothy.medway@business.nsw.gov.au

Goal setting - where do I set the bar?

One of my favourite sayings is "Set your goals high enough to inspire you, yet low enough to encourage you".

In my opinion this saying holds very true for someone looking to start out on a new business venture or someone wanting to grow their existing business.

There is no point setting goals so far beyond reach that you are never going to come close to achieving them. All this will do will discourage you to continue on with your business ideas.

Equally, there are also problems associated with not setting your goals high enough. This can lead to boredom and the possibility of missed opportunities.

Of course, the level at which you set your goals is going to vary from person to person and business to business. A big part of being a successful entrepreneur is knowing where to set the bar.

Let me know your thoughts on goal setting.

101 Ways to kickstart your business.

This is the title of a new book by Herald-Sun journalist Claire Heaney. Claire is the editor of the Business Owner segment that features entrepreneurs and business owners each Thursday in the newspaper.

The book is described as "real people sharing real business success stories".

I have been fortunate enough to have been selected to feature in Claire's book. My GripSox success story is featured as Way #76 "Innovation".

I highly recommend the book to both new business start-ups as well as those wanting to grow their existing business.

You can order your own copy of the book through Wilkinson Publishing.

My GripSox article that featured in the Herald-Sun in July 2006 is also available online.

If it was easy, everyone would be doing it.

There are numerous different figures written about the failure rates of small to medium sized businesses. Typically they report that somewhere between 30-50% of all new businesses fail within the first three years.

While this may shock some of you who are "champing at the bit" to become your own boss, the harsh reality is that not everyone is cut out to run their own business.

People who are used to their "cushy" 8 hour day, regular holidays, free weekends, sick pay, holiday pay etc. are rudely awakened when they start out running their own business. For new business owners, their new work choice becomes a 24/7 operation.

Believe me when I say that even when you're sleeping, it is not unusual to be contemplating the forthcoming business day in the back of your mind.

Not that I'm aiming to break the spirit of you "budding entrepreneurs", but it is important that you think all things through before perhaps leaving your existing, secure, family friendly job.

Don't get me wrong. I wouldn't trade being my own boss for anything. The key thing to ask yourself is "do I want to own a business, or own a job?"

Business owners and wannabe business owners- let me know your thoughts.

Budding Entrepreneurs on the recommended list.

Thank you to all of you who informed me that my blog was listed in The Australian newspaper (27 July 2007) as one of the best business blogs to read.

The article, "Interactive beats static" by Ed Charles was very interesting and gave some good insight to the benefits of having a blog.

You can read the full article on line now.

Thank you for supporting my blog. I hope you find some of my posts beneficial on your journey to business success.

Take some (calculated) risks.

I don't think I have had a year go by in my business yet that hasn't required me to take some kind of risk. Whilst I wouldn't class myself as the biggest risk taker on the planet, one thing I do know is that at some point in time you have to take a risk to succeed in business.

Risk taking may take many forms. It may be your initial decision to commence your own business, taking on a business partner, hiring new staff, relocating premises or some of the many other every day businesses decisions you make.

The key though to this risk taking is to make them calculated risks. By this I mean you must first assess the situation carefully and then decide whether the risk is worth taking. At the end of the day, most decisions are made based on the possible consequences that may arise from making such a decision.

When it comes to my own business decision making I always ask myself "what's the worst possible thing that can happen as a result of this decision I am about to make?" If I can deal with these consequences then 99% of the time I'll proceed with such a risk.

What risky decisions have you made in your life or business?

Don't be a "gunna".

Throughout the day I often have people ask me how I got started with my own business. My simple reply to them is that I had an idea and a vision for my future. Pretty simple really!

Unfortunately this alone is not enough to run a successful business. You actually then have to go and "do" something.

I know of several friends and clients of mine who, every time I speak to them, tell me of their next big business venture. I think with one of my clients, I've heard of perhaps 6-7 different ideas in the past 12 months alone. To this day I don't think any of these ideas have actually got off the ground. These people I refer to as "gunnas".

I'm sure you all know of a "gunna" or two. They're "gunna" do this; they're"gunna" do that; they're "gunna" change the world or "gunna" be a millionairre.

Whatever you do, don't become a "gunna". Nothing infuriates me more than people who live and act like this.

I would much rather see people have a crack at getting one (perhaps two) ideas off the ground and seeing how they turn out, than listen to someone who changes with the wind from day to day.

It's all well and good to have a million different ideas, but at some point in time, you actually have to do something.

In the words of the great John Kennedy (the football coach, not the President):
"Don't think, do something!"

What have you done recently?

Be ready for knock-backs.

In a recent post I mentioned what I believe to be some of the traits of an Entrepreneur. One of these is that Entrepreneurs are "determined".

This trait is very important as I guarantee there will be many set-backs and knock-backs along your journey to business success.

What you think may be the best idea ever invented, others may not. These "others" are quite often the exact people you rely on for your idea to take off and become a successful business reality.

This is where determination is required. You have to be determined not to give in; determined not to be offended by rejection; determined to push on and get through the rough times.

Unfortunately, not everyone can be so steele minded and often they give in. Don't let yourself be one of these people. Instead, constantly tell yourself that this is all part of the process to business success, and, before too long, your determination will be rewarded.

Let me know your thoughts.