How to know if you should start a business? 

At the time of this writing, I am writing this blog in the year of 2020. 2020 has been a rollercoaster of a year. We are in the midst of dealing with a global pandemic, economic crisis, racial tension between law enforcement, and tragic deaths from superstars like Kobe Bryant and Black Panther’s Chadwick Boseman.

I heard someone say that 2020 is the worst year to start a business. You would have to be crazy to start a business in this type of climate. I asked them why? He said because 2020 is the year of unpredictability. Particularly with the pandemic you don’t know how things are going to turn out for the economy, the best thing to do is get a secure job.

However, if said companies like Uber, AirBnB, Square, Groupon, and many more would have followed this logic back in the 2008 recession they will not be successful businesses in 2020. I have identified at least 8 Tips to Starting Your Business and taking it to the next level. You need to know the 5 P’s and the 3 M’s to starting your business the right way. 

The 5 P’s are as follows:

1. Purpose

2. Proposal

3. Profitability

4. Position

5. Perseverance

Let me explain the 5 P’s in greater detail.

1. Purpose

Purpose is the reason for your existence. It is what many like to call “Your Why.” My purpose is to empower people to succeed. I cannot do a business that doesn’t align with my purpose and neither can you. I was able to identify my purpose back in undergrad, when I joined a group called Echo PC. Every Saturday we gather together to make sandwiches and pack lunches to serve the homeless in downtown Chicago. After several trips of serving the homeless, I felt as if we were only putting a bandaid on a major problem. These homeless people depended on us to give them food and they needed us every single Saturday. I wanted to know more for them so that they did not have to depend on us. I realized back then what was my purpose: empowering people to succeed. I did not just want to give people a handout but empowering them by giving them a hand up. 

After identifying what was my purpose on this earth, I was able to use that to guide major decisions in my life. When my friends found out I started working at a law firm, they would send cases my way. The type of cases they would send me was around business law. I kept getting cases from business owners who needed help reviewing a contract, setting up their LLC, or getting their nonprofit legal work set up. All of sudden, I felt like I was truly operating in purpose by helping business owners continue to do business and serve their community. Then, it hit me that I was fulfilling my calling doing business law by empowering business owners through legal work. Further I was helping the community by helping businesses who produce jobs and great products and services for the community. The first key to starting any business the right way is to identify if this business is alignment with your purpose. 

2. Proposal

What does a business do? Simply put, business is about solving problems. All businesses start with an idea leading to a solution. If your business idea is a solution to a problem in the marketplace, you are considered valuable and it may be time for you to start a business. Many business owners start their business because they had an idea and a solution, not because they wanted to make a ton of money. 

For example, when I started my law firm, I wasn’t in it solely to make money. I saw that small business owners needed legal help time and time again, however, there weren’t many attorneys focusing on this target audience in my area. I had so many ideas on how to serve this market and I knew if I implemented it, those ideas will help make small business owners' lives better. Therefore, I started Justin Camper Law, LLC a law firm specialized in helping small business owners protect and grow their business without the worries of unnecessary litigation. If you are thinking about starting a business you need to consider if you have an idea that leads to a solution within the marketplace. 

3. Profitability

Whatever your business idea is you have to make sure your business idea is profitable. When I say profitable, I mean people who are willing to pay a considerable amount for your product. In order to do business you have to make money, this means that if people aren’t willing to pay enough for you to make a profit on the product or service you are selling you, then your idea is not profitable. If you have an idea that doesn’t make profitability and you are actually losing money and you have a great hobby and not a business. Thus, if you are considering starting a business make sure your idea is profitable. 

4. Position

Position is so important in considering whether you should start your business. You have to know what position you play in building your business. Every entrepreneur is not a great marketer, sales person, or good at customer service. However, you have to know what position you are supposed to play in your business and hire those around you to make your business successful. When starting a business you have to identify what you are good at and what aspects of the business you would love doing over and over again. The mistake many business owners make is trying to do every role in the business, such as a lawyer, accountant, insurance agent, etc. You need to surround yourself with the right team to win in business. Once you understand your position and have access to the right team, you may be ready to start a business. 

5. Perseverance

WARNING: when you start your business you will have MANY obstacles on your road to greatness. You will fail, you will make mistakes, there will be slow business days or months, however, you must have the perseverance! Perseverance is the drive to keep pushing through those obstacles to succeed in business. I like to say, whenever there is a problem, there is a solution around the corner. When starting a business you must have the right mindset. It is easy to watch movies or youtube videos about famous business owners who started off small and became extremely successful. However, in everyone's story there are times when it gets tough to keep pursuing your business dream. During those tough times, you need to exercise perseverance. If you have a strong mindset and perseverance, then you are ready to start a business. 

However, even if you possess these five traits, you still need to know the 3 M’s to accelerate your business. The three M’s for starting your business is: Money, Mentorship, and Mastery.

Money

Here is the truth, you need money to start your business. It doesn’t have to be your money, but money will be required to help you start your business the right way. You need money to pay for your legal documents or hiring an attorney. You need money for marketing, branding, insurance, and other items to serve your products and/or services. The next question becomes how much money do you need. How much money you need really depends on the industry, however, if you develop the four T’s it can help you spend less money. The four T’s are your talent, time, tenacity, and team. I will go into detail about this in another blog, however, if you possess these qualities, the less you will have to spend on your business. The truth still remains if you want to accelerate your business, you need money. 

Mentorship

“A smart person learns from his mistakes. A wise person learns from the mistakes of others.” - Unknown. There is always someone out there who has probably already done what you are looking to do in business. Wouldn’t they be the best person to learn from? There are multiple ways to learn from success in your particular industry. It may be through courses, mentorship programs, or working a job. Thus, the way you get mentorship does not matter, but mentorship can help you accelerate your business. 

Mastery

Mastery is often forgotten when people are trying to figure out if they should start a business. There is no way around it, the reason why people choose your business is because they are assuming that you provide them the best value for the best price. The only way to provide them with the best value is become a master at whatever product or service you are selling or be a master in running the perfect system to produce the best product or service. Otherwise, the market will find someone else who did master it and they will choose them over you. 

In conclusion, these are the 5 keys to starting your business off the right way. You need the 5 P’s: Purpose, Proposal, Profitability, Position, and Profitability. Also, the three M’s to help you take your business to the next level: Money, Mentorship, and Mastery. If you possess these things, you are ready to start your business. 

As stated in this blog, starting a successful business is not something you cannot do alone, you need mentorship and a team around you to help you take your business to the next level. Every single business needs an attorney on their team. I want to be on your team. If you are in need of the legal services or want to get personalized legal advice on starting your business, contact my office at 219.281.6166!