| Have you ever stopped and thought about why you | | | | business, success will have a better chance of landing |
| got into business? What was the driving force behind | | | | on your lap. I have met many business owners who |
| your decision to lose the security blanket of having a | | | | do not have a passion for their business. I get the |
| regular paycheck, benefits and regular vacations? Do | | | | sense it is just a job to them. They are not free to |
| you lay awake at night, worried about how you are | | | | practice vision exercises, risk analysis or just have fun |
| going to feed your family, the unresolved client issues, | | | | in their business. "I enjoy teaching people how to live |
| or just the stress of an employee upsetting one of | | | | longer. I love seeing peoples' health improve" states |
| your best clients? These are some of the questions | | | | Magnus Mulliner of MT Energie. |
| entrepreneurs ask themselves on a regular basis | | | | In my old role, I was just a regular IT Consultant; I |
| when trying to figure out why they ever got into | | | | wasn't the best technical person in the company. |
| business for themselves. | | | | However, I possessed a great skill of being able to talk |
| When I decided it was time for me to take the plunge, | | | | to clients in a simple language they understood, without |
| and start my own IT consulting business, it was after | | | | confusing them with TLA's or other technical jargon. |
| many years of procrastination. My best clients | | | | This skill, combined with a technical understanding, led |
| encouraged and told me I had what it took. I knew I | | | | to increased sales, revenues and an ever increasing |
| was ready when I experienced several nights of upset | | | | client base. The sales game came to me without |
| stomachs from worry. I was lacking the challenges | | | | much effort and it is the area of the company I am |
| that sparked my excitement in the position I held, so I | | | | truly passionate about. The joy of seeing a client |
| invited a couple of other highly qualified technical | | | | succeed or strike a huge find knowing the technology |
| experts, whom I trusted, to assist me with the business | | | | or solutions my Company put into place (or assisted |
| and we were off and running. I am an entrepreneur | | | | them with), is truly amazing! |
| now at heart and always looking for the next | | | | Many business owners quickly realize they need vision |
| opportunity. | | | | to grow their businesses. After a few years of being |
| Many business owners, are just like it is stated, in the | | | | in business for myself, I realized it was time for me to |
| E-Myth book by Michael Gerber and are always the | | | | steer the ship instead of rowing it. You can hire the |
| constant technician. The reason they decided to get | | | | rowers. I found all of my rowers were much better |
| into business for themselves is because they figured | | | | rowers than I could ever be, and my ship would move |
| out since they had a great technical skill or understood | | | | ahead much faster. With this new momentum in place, |
| their jobs inside and out, it was a no brainer for them | | | | the ship just needs to be guided. |
| to attempt starting a business. They quickly learn there | | | | Having the ability to constantly improve my own |
| is more than doing the work. There are worries like | | | | education, having the freedom to do the things I like to |
| getting clients, sending out invoices, doing taxes and | | | | do and understanding I am totally accountable for my |
| account collections. All these are things new business | | | | own results is very powerful. It is important |
| owners do not truly forecast when they start out. | | | | entrepreneurs learn to delegate the tasks they do not |
| When you stay in the technician role, you will never | | | | enjoy doing or are not good at and concentrate their |
| experience the true independence and flexibility | | | | efforts on what they do well and enjoy doing. This will |
| entrepreneurial business owners are lucky to have. | | | | guarantee results in your business. "Ownership has its |
| Passion is one of the most important things an | | | | privileges" states Ernie Sherman, President of |
| entrepreneur can have! With a true passion for your | | | | Ottawa's Harris Computer Services. |