So, I just finished up my fourth week of unemployment, and am well underway of starting to work for myself.  Here is a little rundown of how most small businesses get underway, from the viewpoint of an entrepreneur.

• I teamed up with a partner, who is far more organized and thorough than I am.  He pretty much is in line with me, and takes up the parts where I am lacking.  I am more of a “lets just go try it and see what happens” kind of person, and my partner is more of a planner and do-it-by-the-book kind of person.  I hold back and do it right, since he is correct most of the time.  This involves getting a business license, registering a trade name, setting up a checking account, and doing some competitive research.

• Came up with a good business name for IT work – Core Network Solution.  We went through about 100 different names, asking people their opinions, checking available domain names, and looking into the county business records for availability.

• Registered our domain name, and set up our web site in joomla (a content management system.  http://www.corenetworksolution.com

• Made up some quick business cards that we can print, just to get going.

• Working on a marketing brochure to mail out (quick lesson – if people don’t know you are in business, they won’t know to call you! – so BRAG)

The next step is to get the work out that we are in business.

See? Starting a business is not that difficult, or costly.  I’ve put in about $20 to register a domain name and the first month of web hosting.  Can’t hurt to try, right?

Nothing ever happens if you just sit around and think about your dreams.

What are the steps you need to take to follow your dream?  Post a comment and let the world know.

This is the third post of the series “Path of the Entrepreneur”.

In my last post, I told you that I would take take the list of my possible career choices, and put them in a “career matrix”.  This matrix would put my career options on the left column, and along the top, I would put headings such as risk, enjoyment, salary, time to employment, cost of starting, etc.  I would then rank my career choices in order for each of the headings, and add up the totals.

Well, I went through the exercise, but I’m not going to post it.  And here is why:

Entrepreneurs don’t always follow the path of logic.  They follow their dream.

By using the logical approach, I should continue along my path of mechanical engineering – custom machine design and automation.  I have 17 years of experience, I am very proficient at it, I have a patent on a design,  I have a wealth of knowledge, and I am mildly known in my area of expertise.

THAT would be the logical choice.

But, as I said – and as many people I know would tell you – I don’t always follow the logical and safe choice.

Like most entrepreneurs, I want to be in charge of my own destiny.  I want the work I do to benefit me and those I help.  I want to wake up and know that my opportunities are endless, and the service I provide helps someone who needs it.  I want to know that the world is in fact my oyster, that I can go out and work 16 hours a day and enjoy every minute of it.  I want to be able to wear many hats, and create my own future.

So what is my career choice?  Well let me ask you – as long as it follows in my dreams, does it matter?  In a sense, it is the attitude we take on.  I can get all of those dreams by being employed by an existing business, or starting my own business.

Like my former boss told me – it’s all in your attitude.  I thank Dan M. for that one.

If you are interested in seeing my employment matrix, send me a quick message and I’ll send you a link.

What do you think – how important is attitude in having an enjoyable career?  Post a comment and let the world know.

ps – I’m going into the field of Information Technology.  I’ve also been the network administrator for each company I have worked for the past 17 years.

This is the second post of the series “Path of the Entrepreneur”.

So you, like so many others, have been laid off of your job, or are dissatisfied with your job, or just don’t know what you are doing or why you are doing it.

Join me on my path toward entrepreneurship.

As I stated in my previous post, I was laid off of my full-time job last Friday.  I am not going to rush in to some job to sell my soul to the highest bidder, watching my life slip away.  Sometimes it takes a “kick to the curb” to make you sit and think about what really matters, and what brings enjoyment and fulfillment to your life.

So what is the first step?

We all know what it is – it’s to figure out what you want to do.  What really brings joy and satisfaction to you.  I don’t mean watching TV or playing a pick-up game of basketball (although that could lead to a position as a sports coach).

For me, here are my thoughts, and I recommend you make a list as well:

- I am a mechanical engineer by trade.  I really do enjoy engineering, but, looking back, I realize what part of that I enjoy is the creativity, the problem solving, the interaction with customers and operators and other engineers to figure out what the problem really is, and offer them solutions.

• Consultant
• Project Manager
• Machine sales

- I enjoy doing a bit of everything – I enjoy the variety, the new experience, and I love to learn.

• Business owner

- I enjoy doing IT work and telecommunications.  I have integrated this with the positions I have held.

• Work in the IT field
• Computer repair

Above all of that, I enjoy working for myself.  The freedom to make my own choices, to learn, to lead, to interact with other people, and to wear many hats.  Some ideas I have been throwing around in my head:

• Open a coffee shop
• Open an auto repair shop
• Open a business to business computer and network management company

Basically, these are my list of possible career choices.  These have actually been cut down and organized from a brainstorm I did one morning from a list of about 50 different items I had written down.  I highly recommend that.  Drink a few cups of coffee, and just start writing.  There are no dumb positions – just write it.  If you think you might enjoy it, write it down.  Don’t think of the pay, the location, weather you are experienced or not – just write it down.

When you have a complete list, stick it in your pocket.  Don’t look at it for a day or two.  Then, during the evening, take it out and re-evaluate it.  Cross out choices that don’t make sense to you, and add items that you might have thought of.  Whittle your list down to a good ten career options.

My next post will take these choices and rate them over a number of variables, in order to see which makes the most sense for you and your current situation.

Have you ever done this exercise before?  Did it help?  Comment, and let me know.