Focus!

So I started this blog up right? And now I find my self thinking about what I need to do next on my journey all the time. I want to go in 100 different directions at once. I want to explain what it is I’ve done already to get myself into position for my journey. I want to go to Barnes and Nobles and buy a dozen different books and read them all. I want to check my blog to see if I’ve received any feed back (I have, THANKS!!! everybody). I want to post a book review I wrote a couple weeks ago. I want to do so many things so I can say, “Look at me! I’m doing what I can to start my business.”

What I’ve decided I’m going to do is calm down and focus. I know myself. At least a little bit. I know that I’m prone to getting very excited about an area one week and completely turned off by it the next. This is not going to happen again. Period.

In his book, The Greatest Salesman in the World, Og Mandino has a quote that I intend on getting engraved and mounted on some sort of decrative display (my father is an AWESOME furniture maker) that reads as follows, “Failure will never overtake me if my determination to succeed is strong enough.” (Pg 26) My determination is strong. I WILL succeed.

And while listening to StartUpNation radio today either Jeff or Rich told a caller who was venturing into several different businesses at once that he should focus his energies and get one business stable and secure before he jumps to another business. If he doesn’t focus all the businesses are likely to fall apart and he could burnout. So I’m going to take this common sense remedy and apply it to myself.

I’m going to calm down and focus. I realize that I can’t do everything that I want to do at one time. I will remember that I already have part of my plan in the works and I will continue to work that part until I am done (obtaining my CPA, will cover in a later post). I will keep in mind that I have a wife whom I love and want to spend time with, so I must prioritize what I plan on doing for my journey and my family life. I will finish the book I’m reading before I buy another book, and then I will only purchase one book at a time (I have a tendency to go broke in Barnes and Nobles or at Amazon.com).

As far as this blog is concerned, I will set a goal of at least one posting per week. I will probably produce more posts over the next few weeks while I explain the preparation I’ve already gone through and begin to get a feeling for where this journey will lead me.

I will also tell other people about my blog. I’ll do this for two reasons. 1) Accountability to my goal of opening my own business. 2) I learned in Real Estate that I don’t like talking about what I do to others (there are exceptions). I’m going to force myself to talk about my blog to get me in the right mindset for my future business, because regardless of what that business is I will have to talk about it to others to get business. I will practice with my blog.
I will persist. I will succeed.

In the beginning...

The Announcer: (Screaming) AND THEY'RE OFF! Warhorse takes the lead, followed by Crazyleggs and Chestnut.

I'm sure everybody can picture in their head the excitement and quick speaking announcer at the start of a horse race. The pop of the gun, the gates flying open, the horses taking off like bullets.

Now imagine having that same feeling about your life. Or a part of your life. That's what happened to me last week.

I was taking lunch halfway through yet another wonderful (note sarcasm) day at work when I stumbled upon startupnation.com (link is to the left and I definitely suggest you check it out). Startupnation.com is a site devoted to people who start or want to start their own business. On their site you can find all kinds of information about starting your own business (all FREE by the way). You can also find pod casts, archived radio shows, and a community designed for social networking of entrepreneurs. Well this site provided the spark I've been needing. Let me explain.

As you might have noticed when you first stumbled on this blog I'm currently working as an accountant for the City of Macon. You might have also seen that I started accounting so that I could find out how businesses operate. The reason I wanted to know that is so that I could start my own business one day. I've said that ever since I started studying accounting. Even though starting and running my own business has always been my dream I've never taken the step to be a true entrepreneur (I was a real estate agent for a while, but that's a story for another day). I often think about what I could do as a business of my own, but that usually lasts 30 minutes or so and then I keep doing what I've always done.

Me staying in the same old rut changed last week (permanently I hope) when I discovered startupnation.com. I came across the site while reading business articles at lunch (regular habit) and have since been hooked on it. I've been reading all the articles on the site and listen to the archived radio shows all day at work. This has served to get me really thinking about being an entrepreneur.

The thought process and the actions I'm taking and going to take are the reason for the name of this blog, The Entrepreneurial Journey. Because I'm going to be on a journey over the next few years or more. I figured this blog will help me stay focused on my goal of starting my own business. I intend on posting steps I take, ideas I have, things I've read and anything else I feel the urge to. The end goal of this blog is to show how I get from where I am now to where I want to be. A secondary goal I hope it serves is to provide other entrepreneurs or aspiring entrepreneurs a source of information, ideas, or humor as you follow along on this journey.

Right now I would say I'm in the process of gathering the necessary supplies for this multi-year journey. I got the idea for a blog from Neal, a great friend of mine from school who has a very interesting and thought provoking blog at autodogmatic.com (link at left). Him and I were talking and he pointed out that a blog could be a great way to come into contact with like minded individuals. At the time (three or four weeks ago) I didn't have a clue what I could or would talk about. Tonight, this idea hit me, so here I am. Thanks Neal, I would've never done this without you.

Other necessities I've gathered are my experiences from my varied jobs since graduating. I've been an auditor, a management intern at GEICO, a real estate agent, and a staff accountant. I've learned things from all of these jobs that will serve me in my future business. I'm thinking I'll describe some of the things I learned in future posts.

I've also gathered a decent formal education. I have a Masters and an undergrad in accounting from the JM Tull School of Accounting at the University of GA.

I also have my first advisor/mentor in the form of a childhood friend who has already started a couple different businesses. I don't think he realizes that I'm going to pick his brain of everything he can teach me about running your own business, but I bet he does now. Thanks Dan. Check out his company links to the left. ADWInternational.com and eStorePros.com

I also have to say my biggest asset is a supportive wife. She encourages me every step of the way and has complete faith in me. She also has to listen to me ramble on for hours about everything I do, find, and learn. None of this would be possible without her. Thanks Hun.

Alright y'all. I hope I've given you a taste of what I plan on doing here. All I can say is I hope you're ready for great journey down the road to me becoming an entrepreneur.