Making Your Dream a Reality in Business

“We all have [dreams] and they’re a great motivator to living a bold life.”  Who hasn’t fantasized about turning their passions into a thriving, successful business? That being said, not all have the courage to go out and make it happen.  Quitting a corporate job and becoming an entrepreneur is often a scary proposition and it takes time, patience, fortitude and perseverance.  There are many ways that you can make your dreams a reality in business and I will outline some for you below.

First off, look at your passions.  Think about what you already like to do or problems you see in the marketplace that you think you could solve better.  While it might take time and research, look into ways you can provide solutions to others through products or services that you feel may not already be offered to a wide audience.  Often, those services may already be offered but that’s no reason to be deterred.  Think about how you can do it better.

Plan ahead.  While it might be an overwhelming challenge to sit down and write out your thoughts on a business model, it needs to be done or success won’t follow.  Make a business plan of what you want to achieve, who your potential clientele will be and how you can actually make your business profitable.  Do the research and the math as difficult as it may be.

Don’t be afraid to ask for help.  Start networking.  Find a mentor to help guide you or ask former colleagues or friends for advice.  Asking others opinions isn’t something to be ashamed of.  In fact, it’s really very helpful and often the best route to take.  Getting advice is key and someone you know might have a better understanding than you do of how to make your business a success.  Bouncing ideas off of people and asking for feedback is a great place to start.

Stay motivated and work hard.  Don’t let your inspiration slip away.  Often starting up a new venture means you have to step away from other things that give you pleasure like spending time with your friends and family, going to the gym or meeting up with people for after-work drinks.  There’s no reason you can’t work those pleasures back into your life once your business is up and running but in the beginning, you might have to face the reality that they need to be put on the backburner for a while.

Write it down.  Dreams turn into reality when they’re well-thought out and put to paper.  While it might sound strange in this digital age of computers and iPads and other electronic devices, try long-hand and lists.  Get a dry erase board and hang it on your wall.  Keep a pen and paper on you at all times and jot down thoughts as they arise.  Paper lists allow you to cross things off as you start to think certain ideas might work but you can always refer to it later and see what you have indeed thought of before and then maybe it will allow you to revisit it and think of how you might improve upon it and actually implement an idea you thought was faulty to begin with.

While it might not sound like fun, imagine the worst case scenario and try to overcome it.  Write down your fears and describe your possible failures.  Keep asking yourself what’s the very worst that could happen and figure out ways to avoid it.  Then ask yourself a key question: If something did go wrong, what’s the worst that could happen?  Creating your own business takes a lot of starts and stops so always be thinking, re-evaluating and re-inventing yourself.

Stick with it at all costs.  Don’t let the fear of failure hold you back.  Hold onto your dreams and keep fighting for them.  Do everything in your power to stay focused and you’ll find there’s no reason you can’t make your vision a reality.

Create habits.  Set aside time each day to go over your business plan.  Continue to revisit and revise it.  Staying focused takes a rigorous schedule but set one each day and keep it in place.  It’s easy to get discouraged but if you make time every day to go over your goals and ideas, you can indeed turn them into a thriving business.

Try bringing others on board.  While you might have visions of going it alone, sometimes getting a business partner is the best way to go.  This way, you have to minds working on a goal and two sets of eyes going over every idea and speed bump.  Don’t get greedy and think: “Well, if I bring on a colleague, my profits might be less in the long run.”  That’s often not the case.  Your success and finances can often grow with an additional person to help and be there to go along for the ride.

Don’t be afraid to reach out to others for financial backing.  Sometimes you have to swallow your pride in order to make your dreams a reality.  If you know you can pay it back down the road, there’s no reason you can’t ask someone close to you for a loan.  If they give it to you, this might inspire you as you’ll feel you have someone in your corner that believes in you and your dream.

While going it alone in the business world is often a scary proposition, there’s no reason you can’t turn your passions and dreams into a reality and successful new venture.  Take the advice I’ve offered above to heart and you’ll find it might indeed be helpful in your long-term success.

If you have indeed become a successful entrepreneur, what are some of the best things you did to turn your dreams into a reality?  Was it something I mentioned here today or did you take a different route?  Leave a comment and let me know your thoughts.  Let’s start up a conversation and bounce ideas off each other!

Here are some articles you might want to check out about making your dreams a reality in business:

“Make Your Dream Business a Reality”: http://smallbusiness.foxbusiness.com/starting-a-business/2013/09/16/make-your-dream-business-reality/

“How to Make Your Dream Business a Reality”: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/217422

“Turning Your Business Dream into a Reality”: http://www.theguardian.com/small-business-network/2013/oct/11/turning-business-dream-reality-tips

Until next time…