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Just as an adolescent's transition to adulthood is packed with bad influences and sidetracks, a business path is laden with financial traps and pitfalls. Think of it this way: a teenager leaning on his vices can always kick the bad habits. Likewise, it doesn’t mean doomsday if your business is strapped, but it sure is nice to be able to avoid stepping into these business potholes.

1. Understand Your Market.  Pouring money into a business without really understanding the market is why many entrepreneurs have to fold up shop. A very simple economics concept: supply and demand. There needs to be a demand for a product before you jump in and supply it. You can have a very unique product, but if nobody wants to buy it, you will just be cutting a loss.  So research your market. Identify the various market trends. Make sure that you research a current market trend, and one that is relevant to where you are living. Spears might be all the rage in tribal camps, but not many modern day yuppies have a use for them. Unless you’re willing to relocate, always make sure your business is important to those around your area. If there’s already a chain of shops selling leather shoes in your neighborhood, you might wish to reconsider your option or take your business elsewhere.

2. Avoid Fleeting Trends.  There are many trends in this world, some of them enduring but most of them merely fads. Unless you’re looking to set up a short-term business, avoid diving straight into the folly of following a trend. The popularity of a fad quickly fizzles out and in the end you will be left with a truckload of unsellable products.  This is not to say you should ignore fads entirely. First, look at a business that allows you to enjoy longevity. During the span of your business, look out for trends that will cut you a share of the pie. You will be foolish not to pick up on these fads and earn yourself short-term profits. The difference is that your business will still run long after these trends die out.

3. Don’t get overconfident.  It’s only human nature to want to celebrate success. Pop a bottle of champagne!  Treat your loved ones to a scrumptious dinner. The urge to splurge begins to crawl under your skin. You are tempted to purchase lavish items for your business, such as a sculpture or an abstract painting. It is a welcomed change, injecting art into an otherwise boring workplace. However, it doesn’t really add value to your office.  Avoid overspending on items that you don’t really need, especially if you still have to pay off the monthly installments. These expenses will only add on to your existing ones. When you encounter the tough times, you will hate yourself for spending money so frivolously.

You can usually avoid financial crisis by taking a step back from your business and thinking about what could go wrong.  Once you know what your challenges are, you can put preventative measures in place to make sure that financial crisis doesn't become your pitfall!

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Advertising is a multi-million dollar lucrative business. It’s also a nuisance when you're trying to watch your favorite TV show! There you are, clutching onto the edge of your couch, just waiting for the drama to unfold and poof! It segues into a quarterly interval of advertisements. You curse and think, “No!  Put the show back on!”- your natural reflexes kicking in as you reach for the remote control…

You’re an entrepreneur; you understand the concepts of features and benefits, right?  Well, you might want to hold on to the thought of switching the channel, and choose instead to obediently sit through that 30 seconds of visual feasts.

Don’t worry, I’m not asking you to fork out thousands of dollars into producing your own TV commercial. But studying the ads is a good way of picking up tips on how to sell your product’s benefits. (Well, it’s either this or tapping into your funds and enrolling in a local university and graduating with a Bachelors in Marketing in a few years.)

Advertising is all about embellishing the benefits. In commercials, chocolates are now personified and can sing and even talk. Suddenly, having a soda in hand means you are bestowed the ability to fulfill your wildest dreams.  Sipping on an alcoholic beverage can lead you to realize self-fulfilling prophecies.

Advertisements make the impossible possible. That is not your job as an entrepreneur.  Such advertisements play on exaggeration and humor to catch the attention of customers.  Advertisements generate buzz and create strong brand awareness. They pique the interest of the consumers. However, the iridescent colors and out-of-this-world treatment ideas are not what you should be interested in.

Telling your customers that your product can conjure mythical creatures is not going to bode well for your business. Convincing them to take your product and jump right out of the window is also not going to be well-received, not even if you’re selling hard, medieval shields.

OK, so here's your homework.  With every advertisement you see on TV, strip it of its fancy execution and bizarre ideas.  What is the underlying message? What is the business owner trying to tell his customers? How do they communicate these benefits to potential customers and feed them the information on the product’s features at the same time?  How do you think the business owners derive at these benefits?  Once you’ve gotten the hang of it, you will be able to sit down and think about your own business. Listing the features is a no-brainer activity.  Pondering the benefits  - that can take a while. Relate these benefits to your target audience.

Another reason why I’m asking you to study advertisements is this: you can churn out a very riveting list of features and benefits of your products, but you must know how to use it wisely. Notice how advertisements sell the key benefits in less than thirty seconds. That’s all the time they have, and that’s all the time you have with your customers.  When you earn the initial attention of your customers, it’s imperative that you sell your products’ features and benefits in no more than half a minute. Their roving eyes are already scanning the next shop. Hearing about the benefits will keep their attention on you for a while, so you've got to sell the benefits!

You already know the features and benefits by heart, so it’s easy for you to promote your product. This is where many business owners make the mistake of shooting off their mouths. Always answer your customers directly. Customers ask about a particular feature because that’s the deal-breaker aspect for them.  So in order to make your advertising dollars make, make sure you’ve addressed their concerns before you go on to promote more benefits.

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Entrepreneurs – you are the modern-day pioneers!  And as you venture deeper and further into the wild, wild west of the business world, you will begin to realize that being a business owner isn’t all fun and

games.

Remember that old board game, Risk?  Well, like a good game of Risk, the more land you have, the greater your achievement. But here's the rub:  the more you branch out, the more you divide and conquer, the less concentrated your troops are. You have to move some troops up North and some South. Your stronghold is no longer a stronghold!  And your enemies will exploit this to their fullest advantage. They will attack where your troops are scarce and vulnerable. Your attention quickly turns to the land under bombardment and you make the best decision based on the circumstances.

Do you retreat or roll a pair of dice, hoping to eliminate your enemies?

Before you think you can relax a little and grab some chips and salsa, remember that public enemy number one is ready to launch an attack on your land.

Regardless of where you are in your business stage, problems are bound to arise. That is one thing you can be sure of.  What happens when it is a blast from the past and you have to deal with old problems that never seem to go away? Old problems can be exhausting. Combine both new and old and it can all take a toll on you.  My best advice to you is this: now is not the time.  This is not the time to give in to negativity or to second-guess. This is also not the time to quit.

In reality, all businesses will run into some problems at some point in time. That's the risk you take when you run your own business! Your winning streak will come to an end, whether you like it or not.

The test of a business is not about how well you can avert your problems or how many bullets you can dodge, but how well you can bounce back from your adversities.  Businesses fail because the entrepreneur just cannot snap out of his moment of negativity.

Your mind is what will gear you toward success. Your mind is what keeps you going even when your body has endured a 60-hour work week. It tells you that you’re ready for another week of work. If you tell yourself you’re going to succeed, you will. It’s that easy. You will then search for ways and means to make that into a reality.

You might have already accomplished most of the goals that you set out to achieve. That’s why things are getting mundane and uninspired. It’s time to take new risks, and to set new goals.  And this is the way you will protect your business!

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Money.  Time.  Power.  Prestige.  These are a few of the reasons entrepreneurs get started doing their own thing- because they want more out of life than what they've been getting at a 9-5.

So let's take this piece by piece.  What do you want?  If it's to have more time in your life for the people you love, then you can do that by setting up a work schedule for yourself that gives you that flexibility.  Of course, if you don't give your business enough time to make your financial goals, then you'll have all the time you need – because you'll be out of work.  That's why if you focus on making your time at work as productive as it can be, removing all distractions, you can choose to spend the rest of your time any way you want!  But you've got to get to that point, first.

Working for someone else can be frustrating in certain aspects: your time is not your own, and your income is pretty static.  It's hard to make a name for yourself, and when you do a great job you seldom get the glory.  However, it's easy to get comfortable with a steady paycheck.  But if you have the heart of an entrepreneur, you want more.

When you own your own business, you're in charge of how much you make.  You set the rates, you determine how much you want to work, you can decide to pay others when it's time to grow.  But it's kind of scary sometimes, especially in the beginning.  You'll have windfall months and months when the phone just won't ring.  There is no sick or vacation pay.  But what you do have is freedom over your day.  Want to spend the morning at the park with the kids?  Go ahead!  Want to have a two hour lunch with an old friend?  Have a great time.  You can do whatever you want, as long as you give your undivided attention to your business during the work hours you've set.

Take a few minutes right now to visualize what you want from your business.  Set your income goals for 3, 6 and 12 months.  Build a work week that gives you the time you need to make those income goals happen, and at the same time give you time for personal fulfillment.  Nothing is too far-fetched.  You have to see it in your mind before you can make it a reality.  The first step is to visualize it, and then create a business plan that makes it happen!

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You've got a great idea for a business, and you have the resources to make it happen.  You've rented the space, purchased the supplies, created your website – complete with the shopping cart – and ordered some really cool business cards.  But none of that is worth ANYTHING if you have neglected one very important person:  your customer.  Even entrepreneurs who have been in the trenches for a while can get sidetracked, so the following four basics apply at any stage of business growth.

First – Focus on customer needs.  Even though this is your own business, you still have someone to answer to – the customer!  And not just one, but a myriad of customers.  The more customers you have, the more successful you are – and the more bosses you have. Your customers are the reason why you’re making profits, so you will do well to appease them. Make your business a customer-centric one. Keep your customers close to you. You need to understand what they are looking for before you can deliver a superb experience to them.

Second – Customers need change.  Everyone loves the idea of change, because change usually means something better than before.  Think of any new phone, or gaming system, for instance. Even before purchasing, customers want to know if this new product can be exchanged or upgraded easily.  And you can't blame them; the market is saturated with so many choices that they're spoiled!  And if you don't have what they want, they will find a competitor who does.  So what's the next best thing you can do?  Hold their interest and sustain their excitement level about your business.  New flavors, colors, options - this is what keeps customers coming back.  Spruce up your business once in a while and give it a much needed revamp. Keep track of industry trends. Be in the loop of what’s hip and high in demand. Cater to the ever-evolving desires of your consumers– it’s the only way you will survive the cutthroat competition.

Third – Never lose sight of what it is you do better.  Kicking it up a notch doesn't mean you should forget your roots and try a new specialty altogether.  Stick to your competitive advantage.  This is your bread and butter: it's what your core customers are paying for.  If you stray too far from that, you might lose their loyalty, and your business.

Fourth – Paying customers are the heart of every business.  This one is a no-brainer. In business, more than anything else, you need paying customers. In your initial marketing plans, you might have listed young, impressionable teenagers as your target audience. You then realize that it’s the aged elderly who are more interested in your products. They are the ones whose money fuels your business.  Do you still try to impress the teenagers or is it time to pack up your marketing tool bag and change your strategy? (Hopefully, it’s the latter.) Always focus all of your energy on your paying customers.

Without customers, you have no business.  Period.  Otherwise, it's just a hobby!  Pay attention to these customer basics, put them first, and you will always have customers.

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When a recession begins to hit the economy of your area, then you most likely will immediately begin looking for ways to save money. When your customer base begins to slow, you will need to cut costs so that you can continue keeping a good amount of revenue. One of your first instincts may be to cut money in your marketing department. However, you must think twice before you do this.

Consider the marketing for a business like a cycle. You market and you catch attention. Then, people visit your business and you gain revenue. You then use that revenue to pay for even better marketing. While this cycle works well during a good economy, it can very quickly break down when you cut out one of the steps.

Consider this: if you cut marketing out of your budget, then you will not gain the attention of potential customers. Your revenue will suffer, and you could quickly realize that you are actually losing money. Eventually, your business will fail.

Marketing becomes even more important in times of recession. You may find that your business loses some of its loyal customers when consumers begin to tighten their own spending. Finding new customers will become even more difficult since everyone will be avoiding spending as much. You will have to work harder to bring in customers.

When you find that you need to cut expenses from your company, look everywhere else possible before you cut anything from marketing. In fact, any extra funding you can put toward promotion will help you even more.

Two things happen when you do not market your company. No one will know who you are. If no one sees your company name, they will not even be given the chance to become your customer. You are taking away the opportunity to find new business before the chance even arises. The second thing is that you will lose possible customers since many people feel concerned about doing business with a company that they feel may not be professional.

One thing that makes people have faith in a company is advertisement. When a potential customer looks in the phone book for a company, they do not feel as comfortable leaning toward a business that only includes a phone number. Instead, they will be drawn toward the companies that advertise. A company that puts time and money into marketing presents a much more professional image.

When you are looking for ways to save money, remember that marketing is vital. Without proper promotion of your company, there is a very strong chance that your business will fail.

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The term sole purpose is one I use in the business world. When a company is totally focused on how they can be of the utmost service, they become focused on fulfilling their sole purpose. A company’s sole purpose can also be its soul purpose. Providing the utmost service as a company means providing the utmost service to each individual who buys the product or uses the service provided by the company.

For example, when Bill Gates founded Microsoft, his sole purpose was to place a personal computer in every household in the world. His sole purpose was also his soul purpose as he recognized that personal computers would enhance the lives of everyone who had one in their home. He understood the value of his gift, not only because of what he stood to gain personally, but also because of the potential it created for others to gain too.

When you’re living your soul purpose, you feel passionate about what you do and you have an energy about you that radiates from you and let’s people know that you love what you do.

Things that might indicate that you’re not in your soul purpose and it’s time to move on include:

• Heart palpitations; a feeling of being anxious to move on.
• Feeling heavy every morning as you get up and get ready for work; hitting the snooze button on your alarm over and over!
• Dreading going to work.
• Little things at work that may normally have gone unnoticed begin to get on your nerves.
• You know there’s something missing and you know you have something more to give, you’re just not sure what that something is.

The amount of time you spend in a job and the energy you feel when you’re in that job can be likened to the changing seasons in nature. When seasons change, you feel a change of energy. When your energy changes in your job, it marks the end of your season there and it’s time to move on to the next one.

If you’re not in your zone; if you’re not meant to be there, it’s not something you should view as a bad thing but it’s something you must recognize and do something about. You must take steps to move on. When it feels like work, it’s not your soul purpose.

When you’re in your soul purpose, you will still be working but you’ll be so passionate about what you’re doing that it won’t feel like work. Moving on might mean setting up your own business and working for yourself. In most cases, someone working for themselves will work far harder than someone working for someone else, but they will feel energized by what they’re doing because they’re doing what they’re destined to do. When you’re working for someone else, especially in a large organization, you generally have only one aspect of the business to focus on, but when you’re starting your own business, you need to have an understanding of every aspect of your business. The demands can be greater yet you will feel charged by the experience.

When you’re living in your soul purpose, you’re passionate about it so you share your gifts with other people. You’re driven, but not in an egotistical way, to look for ways to help others. Your mind is divine and whatever your gifts are, the things you need to help you make use of those gifts and serve in your soul purpose will come to you. When you know that those things are coming your way, you’re open to receiving them and you’re also open to recognizing what you’re destined to do next at each stage in your journey. You recognize what it is you need to do and you work at it every day but it feels right.

When you love what you do, you will initiate getting the energy you need to do what you do really well, jump out of bed in the morning already thinking of other ways you might serve and anticipate what you need to do to make a difference. When you’re passionate about doing something, you become unstoppable.

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