Do You Have What It Takes? (to be an entrepreneur)

[PressurePros 248]

The recent questions about going full time, slowing business trends, and mentions of The "E" Myth have spawned this post. I already know its not going to be short, so grab a beer and come back.

There are questions you need to ask yourself daily.

• Did I start this business for the right reasons?

• Did I develop a sound business plan that promoted growth?

• Am I sticking to that plan?

• Am I enjoying this business or am I consumed by it?

Did I start this business for the right reasons?

Did you really look at the statistics of business failure rate? Of one thousand Grime Scene members with less than two years on their belt, 40 potentialy will remain in business in ten years. Nine hundred and sixty of you are going to fail ! (I just made a quick sign of the cross for discluding myself) These numbers reflect a national business average. I am willing to bet this profession has an even higher turnover rate.

Obviously no one goes into business to fail, but poor planning and undercapitalization are insidious destroyers of a business. What lured you in? Was it the promise of ditching the boss and working for yourself? Was it the promise of making $100/hr? Did it just look easy and like something you would enjoy? These all can play a role in getting you off the pot and making something happen but if any of those are your real reason for starting, all you really did was start your business with one foot in the grave with your other foot on a banana peel.

Did I develop a sound business plan that promoted growth?

Business plans are obviously crucial. Don't have one? I think you know which corner I am going to point you to. Please go stand with the other 960 candidates.

If you have a business plan in your head and 'wing it' as you go. Take one step closer to that morgue-bound crowd.

If you do everything you can and project profit by taking "whats left over".. shake hands with the corpse next to you.

If you plan on staying laborer, salesman, estimator, bookeeper and secretary.. there is an empty table in the autopsy room with your name on it. Of course, initially, you will have to be all these things but try sustaining that frenetic pace for a long period..won't happen.

Did you buy yourself a job? I hear many guys saying its fine to start off with a 2 gpm machine and a shoestring budget. These guys are the classic "technician" (Gerber's term). They work their ****** off for mediocre pay and are worried about "screwing" people. They are classically the nicest guys you wanna meet and they work til they drop. They undersell themselves on profit, defy F.M.V of service, may have one helper and have no plans of growing beyond a comfort zone.

I am willing to bet that almost all of these same guys that give the low budget advice are still working in the field eeking out a decent living but not going anywhere (some are happy with that) If I wanted comfort and stagnation I would have stayed in the corporate world.

I am not trying to be mean or judge the way anyone runs their business. My goal is to make you ask yourself.. am I a business entrepreneur or a job owner? Entrepreuners continually seek and execute new ways to make more profit. Job owners put their time in, make their living and are uninterested in growth. The problem with a job owner is, all his eggs are in one comfortable basket. If his market sours, his business and liveliehood are in major jeopardy..

Am I sticking to the plan?

Are you faithful to the plans you have set? Do you stick to budgets or does the emotional excitement of building a new rig become your controlling source? Does your marketing effort jump haphazardly? Have you faced your weaknesses (mine is paperwork) and set about a plan to compensate for this? A bad salesman will never become a good salesman without guidance. Have you sought that guidance yet?

Have you really achieved each level of growth upon which you planned? At the same time are you dynamic enough to respond to changing markets? Can you weather adversity or again, are all your eggs in what you think is a comfortable basket?

Am I enjoying this business or Am I consumed by it?

Ahh, this one hurts. Business excites me. Sales excites me. Negotiations. Maneuvers. Markets. Numbers. Analysis. Marketing campaigns.. blah blah blah. If you want to talk any of these with me be prepared for long conversation. Sometimes it is hard for me to separate myself because business ownership does not stop at 5 pm every day. I love it. Its probably an addiction becuase it is a constant source of adrenaline.

I also face the fact that at the pace I am going right now, I am facing problems that can spiral quickly. I have tried to pull from field work. I have allotted more time with my children and Christine. Though I am enjoying what I am doing and it is for the benfit of my children and personal retirement, knowing when to unplug is the last crucial element of being a successful business owner.

This is the one upon which I have to work harder.

[Camelot 68]

Holy crap...that was awesome. Just read it out loud to my wife...she's carving my headstone...LOL

[carbs 14]

That's an excellent post! I think this is a good qualifier to read before you write a business plan (which is my personal achillies heel) to see where you would lineup as an business.

[TNT Pressure Washing 14]

Thats a great post Ken. It really puts things into perspective. I got a friend that needs to read that.

[R L S 14]

Good post.

My biggest problem is "un plugging" but after my wife "explained" the other day that I dont "unplug" I am most certainly working on that.

[DustinC 64]

Awesome Ken,Why not write a book?I'll buy one!

[Don M. 14]

[Of one thousand Grime Scene members with less than two years on their belt, 40 potentialy will remain in business in ten years. Nine hundred and sixty of you are going to fail !

Of the 40 that succeed I wonder how many of them have another business they do as well besides just pressure washing?

[PressurePros 248]

My ultimate goal after making Restore-A-Deck a household name, after franchising PressurePros in at least 30 markets, after selling off any other business interests and property is to tour the country and give speeches for $10,000 a pop and consult for Fortune1000 companies. I'm sure a book will fit in there somewhere. I can dream, right?

Don, I'm not sure if there are ways of tracking that. I'm sure the numbers are just reflective of corporate dissolvement and companies no longer paying taxes. But, if you look at it from a business perspective, a guy that sells his business and moves on has still failed. You can't sell your garden variety pressure washing business for any real money because it has almost nothing tangible. I know some may argue with that but based upon my models and what I would pay for a company you better have been showing $250k in revenue for quite a few years before I would consider it worth anything.

[The Cleaner 14]

My ultimate goal after making Restore-A-Deck a household name, after franchising PressurePros in at least 30 markets, after selling off any other business interests and property is to tour the country and give speeches for $10,000 a pop and consult for Fortune1000 companies. I'm sure a book will fit in there somewhere. I can dream, right?

Don, I'm not sure if there are ways of tracking that. I'm sure the numbers are just reflective of corporate dissolvement and companies no longer paying taxes. But, if you look at it from a business perspective, a guy that sells his business and moves on has still failed. You can't sell your garden variety pressure washing business for any real money because it has almost nothing tangible. I know some may argue with that but based upon my models and what I would pay for a company you better have been showing $250k in revenue for quite a few years before I would consider it worth anything.

Ditto !!

[HotShot 34]

Great post Ken!!!!

My head has been spinning for the last week thinking on these things.

[John T 744]

Excellent post. The biggest thing that I got out of that post was to have a business plan. This is my 11th year in this business along with the 20 I have in my other job. My Powerwashing business works so well with my other job that I could do this for another 10 yrs and still not meet the dreaded failure word...Reason is because I have a business plan on how I run my company and how I stay profitable..

The ones who do jump into this business fulltime or partime they need to have some sort of plan or they will fail and whatever there plan is it better be a realistic plan or once again they will fall flat on there face!! This is probably the biggest reason why most Companies fail because of an unrealistic business plan.

I don't neccessary agree if one sells his business and moved on is a failure. I know some guys in this business that have sold there business for a nice profit and moved on to another business..Those guys are what you can call are true entrepreneurs. An example of this is Chris Detter a former PWNA President who sold his Sunbrite Powerwashing Business to Pete Marentey and from what I'm hearing is the Chris is doing real well in the real estate business. That is a success story right there.

[HotShot 34]

I think the "ultimate" goal of a business owner would be to eventually sell out for a nice profit.

If I were to start with my weaknesses I would probably get the "Your post has too many characters" line. I have been doing alright for a little over 2 years now, but there is no way I could keep going at this rate. I bascially own a job. My thinking has changed and so my company is now changing. I think the biggest change for me is creating a system that will move my company forward even if I'm on vacation....

[Integrity Curb Appeal 64]

I have a simple business plan worksheet that I update monthly that rolls quarterly. This way you are always following your trends and projecting 90 days out. It is simple and userfriendly if anyone wants to use it as a place to begin.

Biz plan.xls

[PressurePros 248]

Holy crap...that was awesome. Just read it out loud to my wife...she's carving my headstone...LOL

John, too funny. Hopefully she is making it from styrofoam so you can bust it up when you turn your business into a self propelled money making machine.

[PressurePros 248]

I have a simple business plan worksheet that I update monthly that rolls quarterly. This way you are always following your trends and projecting 90 days out. It is simple and userfriendly if anyone wants to use it as a place to begin.

Excellent Scott. I am huge believer in the power of written goals.. I also hate paperwork so for a guy like me simplified forms like the one you posted is what I prefer to use.

[Mike Williamson 198]

I think the "ultimate" goal of a business owner would be to eventually sell out for a nice profit.

Another "ultimate" goal is to build a very profitable, enduring business that will provide a nice profit to the owner for the duration of his life, and something he can pass on to his children.

[bulletproof 14]

Another "ultimate" goal is to build a very profitable, enduring business that will provide a nice profit to the owner for the duration of his life, and something he can pass on to his children.[/quote

I am of the same view Mike. I call it thinking generationally. While I do want my son to know the value of hard work, I don't want him to have to learn it working for someone else.

[Mike Williamson 198]

Another "ultimate" goal is to build a very profitable, enduring business that will provide a nice profit to the owner for the duration of his life, and something he can pass on to his children.[/quote

I am of the same view Mike. I call it thinking generationally. While I do want my son to know the value of hard work, I don't want him to have to learn it working for someone else.

Exactly. Where all this will take me in the next 18 years I can't say for sure, but I'd sure like to at least give him the option of taking it over.

[FLORIN 21]

I wonder how those statistics change if a business has access to support systems and ways to discuss what works and what does not like this site and other sources. It was very hard for me to start my business until I found this site. It seems to be a closely guarded secret on how to start your own business. Everything that I implemented for the growth of my business I learned from all of you that have years of experience. So far everything has worked for the betterment of my company. I know that the odds are against me and will do everything in my power to turn those odds in my favor thru constant learning and growing. Both my parents have their own succesful businesses which they grew thru trial and error and sweat and tears. I wonder how much simpler it would have been or how bigger their businesses would have been if they had support.

[FLORIN 21]

A 100% of businesses that fear that 96% failure rate rule and never try - fail.

[Mike Williamson 198]

A 100% of businesses that fear that 96% failure rate rule and never try - fail.

Very very true.

[tim3560 14]

Hey guys and gals. All of that talk about success, failure, and business plans got me started thinking about my own. Anyway I found this great tutorial online about how to start a true business plan. I thought it would be extremely useful for everyone interested. Here's the link.

https://www.smallbizlending.com/resources/workshop/sba.htm

Hope this helps!!!

Tim

[RCBill 14]

Nice link Tim.

I read something published by a University a few years ago that could be used to audit a small business. In this paper the authors listed common traits(?) of companies that fail. There were six or seven of these traits, I don't remember them all. But I do recall that common to companies that fail is the lack of a business plan. Also a lack of fiscal controls; budget, maybe cost management.

People do build successful businesses without a business plan. But there are exceptions to everything.

[HotShot 34]

one of my favorite quotes "those who fail to plan, plan to fail"

[bigchaz 157]

To the top

just saw this one today

great read