My sister-in-law wishes to open a neighborhood cafe/bistro. Since she’s never done this before, she’d like to talk to someone who has started one and would be willing to talk with her. Also, does anyone know of an accountant who regularly works with cafes and restaurants?

In my mind, for someone to start a business in an industry or area that they know nothing about… and have no personal experience… is a disaster in the making – especially if they need to make a living from the venture sooner than later.

There’s a tremendous amount to learn and do when starting any business – dozens of details in every department and activity of the business. Add to that learning an entirely new industry and, in my opinion, you’re fueling an extremely long learning curve and a greater likelihood of failure.

A woman in Florida lost her job in the accounting department of a 20-person service company. Downsizing was the reason. I showed Linda how easy it would be to take her 14 years of bookkeeping and accounting experience and build a small service business based on that. We talked several times over the course of a month and I thought she was well on her way.

Two months later Linda called me and announced proudly that she was learning web design so that she could offer this as a service to smaller businesses.

The problem is that Linda had no knowledge of web design and development. She was starting from scratch.

In my estimation, it would take her months to gain a basic understanding of web design, then many more months to find prospects, and many more months after that before she saw dollar one.

Interestingly, during this time she told me she was getting calls from people (business owners) to do fill-in accounting work or bookkeeping. She passed up some requests but occasionally took small assignments… just to keep food on the table. (No one called her for web design.)

Now, I’m not saying that jumping into an industry you don’t know or technologies that you don’t know is impossible; I’m just saying, “Be careful.” Think it through. Make sure you have enough cash to keep you out of the poor house while you’re working through your learning curve… because it will take you longer than you think.

If you head off to the library or a bookstore or surf the Internet, for example, you’ll find dozens… or hundreds… or thousands… of books, resources, and references that speak to the question of how to start a business.

Many of these start by telling you to write a business plan, talk to an attorney about how best to structure your business (as a corporation, LLC, or sole-proprietor), talk to an accountant about how to keep your books (manual versus computer versus part-time bookkeeper), open a bank account, create a business logo, purchase business cards and letterhead, and on and on.

These are all important things to do when you start a new business… and I’m never going to advise you NOT to do them.

I’m just going to recommend that you don’t do them too soon.

For example, visiting with an attorney too soon to decide what kind of corporate structure would be best for your new business. Granted, it’s an important activity. But I see it as a distraction that could steal months of revenue stream from you.

Here’s a better start up approach. John W. in Denver repairs computers. He’s been at it over 5 years and has a loyal, steady clientele.

When he first started in business, he asked people to write checks to him personally, rather than to a corporate business name attached to a corporate business bank account. No one objected. Plus, this bought him time to validate that he had a viable business before he spent money hiring an attorney. (Remember, they’re not cheap.)

The same goes for logos and business cards. I’ve seen many business owners (untrained as graphic artists) burn hours, days, weeks, and months trying to perfect a logo design that essentially means nothing. In the beginning it adds no value at all to the business. But it does distract the start up business owner from the primary task.

Start up businesses need clients and customers. They need a revenue stream. Anything that distracts them from these primary tasks constitutes a critical mistake.

This is one of those things that I discourage people from… especially that early in the process. The reason is that banks don’t invest in ideas. They want to see a track record in the form of assets or proven cash flow. That’s really what they’re investing in: your ability to repay what you borrow.

But time and time again I see new business owners waste valuable time courting a bank only to hear, “Sorry, no. We can’t help you.”

The biggest problem with this often futile run-to-the-bank exercise is that it distracts new business owners from doing what they most need to do. That is to concentrate on the basics of the business… such as creating an action plan that will jumpstart their business.

The reason is that as the owner of your own business, you really aren’t accountable to anybody. Your business lives or dies based on your skill.

But day-by-day… it’s your kingdom! You’re the boss.

As a result, even if you have a clear plan for where you want to go… you may not be executing your plan in a way that will ensure that you reach your objectives.

You want somebody… or something… or both… asking you the tough questions about how you’re progressing with your plan.

If you don’t have that, you may not follow through with it… and your best intentions… and best course of action… could end up hidden in a stack of paper on your desk.

“I’m too busy!”

Have you ever attended a seminar and heard something so profound you knew it could have an immediate and positive impact on your business?

And remarkably… you know it could just take you a few minutes each day… consistently over a few months… and your business could move to the next level?

You say to yourself, “This is really good.  I am going to start this tomorrow…” and drop your plan on the top of your in-basket.

Within about three hours, you have about two inches of paper on top of that profound revelation.

By the next day, you might have four inches of paper on top of it.

By the day after that it has lost its value… consumed in the blizzard of other activities.

Now forgotten.

As a result, you never do anything with it.

Developing and utilizing a system that holds you accountable… and that prevents your best ideas from going to the bottom of the stack… is key to helping you make the big strides… and important milestones that are critical to your short-term goals and your long-term mission.

These 3 little known ways to own a business and have a life are things you can do… steps you can take… to reach a balance in your life. Planning.  Planning is essential to life.  If you don’t have a plan, it’s easy to wind up missing out on those things that are most important in life.

1. Develop processes, systems, and procedures at work that keep you from having to reinvent the wheel every time a particular issue comes up.
2. Schedule time off.  Put it in your PDA or your calendar and book it… and stick to it.  Regardless of your passion, if you don’t put it in your book, it won’t happen.
3. Schedule specific time throughout each week (again, put it in your calendar) to work on your business. There’s a big difference between working in your business and working on it.  It’s the difference between dealing with the daily low-end, low-value details of your business, and the long-range strategic planning that supports your vision.

There is a bonus… a reward… a gigantic payoff to you when you do this – when you take time off for yourself.

First, you empower your employees.  Your time away establishes and exhibits a trust – from you to them, and vice versa.  And they see this trust as a mandate from you to take action in your absence.  In other words, they learn to make decisions.

Second, you actually improve employee morale.  When you’re happy, they’re happy. Plus, with you away from the shop, they are able to do more.

Third, you get to see how your time off actually improves the overall efficiency of your organization.  And this is undoubtedly the most important of all.  People are not designed to work 80 hours a week without an end in sight. It does take a toll – mentally, physically, and emotionally.