www.danielbough.com

Starting a business takes a LOT of effort.  There are so many things out there, that most people dont know that they dont know.  I’m definitely  one of those people.  And when you find one thing you don’t know, it’s friend is usually just a step behind, and his cousin behind him.  Sometimes things get so overwhelming, you just want to quit.  You’re scared.. you’re tired.. you doubt yourself.. you may even feel alone.  It’s during these times, you have to remember to keep positive, and stay the course and know, deep down in your belly, that if you keep doing what your mind and body already know how to do, you will get to where you aim.

It all starts with your attitude.  Smile at someone, and I bet they smile back.  So for God’s sake, smile at yourself!  I’m pretty sure that will cause an infinite loop of smileage.  And where there is smileage there is happiness.  Where there is happiness, there is success!  And success is anything you define.  Say it out loud.  Believe it.  Do it!

About 45 days ago I had a vision of owning  a multimillion dollar company within 10 years.  I didn’t have a business plan, or balance sheets.  I didn’t even know what an article of organization was and had never seen a personal financial statement. I didn’t know what I didn’t know, but it didn’t matter.. I had a vision!  I thought, OK Dan.. how are you going to get to your 10 year dream?  Are you going to do it by sitting around?  Are you going to look at your current finances and throw in the towel before you even start?  What is your wife going to think?  Will she be supportive?  Will your friends be supportive?  Family?  I honestly didn’t know.

Screw it.  I’m going for it.  A single vision, followed by 1 positive thought to start the snowball is all it took.  I looked at a calendar, and started to estimate how long it would take to do everything I needed to do start a company.  I started asking my wife… “do we have anything to do on this day?”… Yes Dan… “How bout this day?”  .. Yes Dan…” how bout this day?”… No answer.  That was it.  June 12, 2011.  That will be the day my company officially opens for business.  Make it official.  Put a ticket on the blog.  Start the leg work.

Skip a bunch of time and here I am.  Shopping for business loans, which is my last real hurdle before things really get moving.  I’m tired.. so I’ll bullet the time between the vision and now:

• Came up with a product to sell
• created a business name
• registered the website
• advertised for web designers on elance
• filed articles of organization
• filed for an EIN from the IRS
• filed certificate for the authority to collect sales tax
• started contacting and building distributor relationships
• started twitter account and facebook group
• created a business plan, cash flow summaries, projected sales by month / quarter and year over the next three years
• shopped banks for a small business loan

I’ve also read some great books that helped immensely:

• The 4 Hour Work Week by Tim Ferris
• Blink by Malcolm Gladwell
• The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur by Mike Michalowicz
• Getting Things Done by David Allen
• The Zen of Social Media Marketing by Shama Kabani

I also have some other books lined up to read… I’m in between right now.  If you have anything that you’d recommend, by all means, comment on it below!

This post started off to be something enlightening but ended with a fizzle.  The mind is a funny thing sometimes.. in any event.  We’ll see ya next time!

{O.o}