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5 Questions You Should Ask Yourself Before Starting A Service Business

5 Questions You Should Ask Yourself Before Starting A Service Business

by | Oct 30, 2017 | Client Tips

Starting your own service business can allow you a great life. But it’s not always easy and it isn’t right for everyone. Here are five questions to ask yourself if you’re considering starting a service business:

1. Do I have a heart for service?

We’re lucky to partner with some pretty great businesses that really love serving those in their communities. But over the years, we’ve also met some business owners who really shouldn’t be in the service business. Why? They don’t like serving! They don’t have a heart for service and instead think of their customers as pains in the ass or burdens. It may seem like an obvious question if you’re considering going into the service industry, but make sure you really dig deep and find out if you have a heart for service — and be honest with yourself! If you don’t have a heart for service, save you, your employees, and your customers the heartache and go into another field.

2. Is there a need for this particular service in my community?

One mistake that business owners make is that they launch businesses or products people don’t want or need. So before you put the energy, effort, money, and time into starting a service business, do some basic research and find out if there’s really a need or demand for your service in your community. Start by looking at what your community already has, reading up on forums, and asking friends and people you meet. If it’s obvious that what you have to offer is missing, move forward with your plans. If it’s not, give it some thought.

3. What will define and separate my business from others in my community?

No matter what service industry you go into, you’re (probably) going to have competitors — how will you stand out? It’s easier to define your company with a culture, vision, and purpose at the start than it is to try to establish these things later on or repair a bad reputation. So take some time to consider what type of company you want to build and how you’ll stand out from your sea of competitors. Think about companies you admire and that make you, as their customer, feel good. Decipher what they do differently. Check out your competitors reviews and see what their customers like and don’t like about their service. From there, make a list and determine just what kind of company you’ll build.

4. How big do I want to scale?

We all have to start somewhere, but think about where you’d like to be five and 10 years from now as well. Do you want to remain small, a one man or woman company? Or do you want to scale bigly and employ dozens of people in your community? There’s no right or wrong answer, but knowing how big or small you want your company to be will help you make better decisions going in and over the years.

5. What kind of lifestyle do I want my business to afford me?

We have a saying here that goes something like this, “It takes just as much blood, sweat, and tears to build a business you hate as it does to build one you love — so why not build one you love?” No two businesses are the same and no two business owners want the exact same things from their business. Some business owners want to be out in the field, while others want their business to eventually function largely without them. Knowing exactly what you want from your business going in will help you put the systems and steps in place to get you where you want to be so you can have the lifestyle you want to have.

So get to work reflecting. Putting the effort and time into thoroughly and honestly answering these questions up front will serve you well on your business journey!

If you’re considering starting a service business and would like to talk with a business coach before getting started, let us know. We can recommend some great coaches with some great insight — just ask!

Ready to start your business? Do these 6 things first!

Do You Wake Up Excited About Your Business?

Do You Wake Up Excited About Your Business?

by | Jan 30, 2017 | Best Reads

If you read a lot of articles on entrepreneurship and leadership, you likely see this question all the time. The question that’s designed to make YOU question whether or not:

  • You have what it takes
  • You’re in the right business
  • You’re worthy of chasing down this dream of yours
  • Your dream is even worth chasing down.

Here’s the question: Do you wake up excited about your business? 

If this question triggers your inner critic and self-doubt, you’re not alone. But I’d like to challenge all the “experts” who sit behind their laptops all day (when they’re not working on a new Medium post, biking local trails, or drinking craft beer); those who encourage the rest of us to mistakenly believe that if we aren’t 100% excited, 100% of the time, we’re doing the wrong thing or we’re the wrong ones to do it.

Full disclosure: I’m not a traditional optimist.

The Reality Is…You’re Normal

Any realistic, transparent business owner will tell you that some days are the bees knees and they couldn’t imagine doing anything else. But they’ll also tell you that some days feel like nightmares that end with them lying in bed at night, eyes wide open, stomach in knots, with thoughts of calling it quits.

That’s normal. No matter what you’re doing – whether you’re living your dream and doing exactly what you were made to do or not – you’re going to have good days and bad days. When a day, week, or month kicks your a**, it’s normal to wake up feeling less than thrilled about getting to work. This doesn’t mean you lack passion, talent, or grit (the hottest word in business) – It just means you’re human and you’re in a rough patch.

Ask a Better Question

When you find yourself in the middle of a rough patch and read an article that asks “Do you wake up excited about your business?” it can be anything but inspiring and motivating.

What we really need in these tough times is a different question.

Carter (one of our co-founders) is famous for saying it’s all about the questions we’re asking. Our questions frame our answers. When you’re feeling discouraged, don’t ask yourself the question, “Do I wake up excited about my business?” You already know the answer is, “Not today.” And that’s ok.

Instead, ask yourself, “What can I learn from where I sit right now? What is this part of my journey showing me?” Push it further. Ask yourself, “What needs to change and how can I change it?” And if you don’t know the answer to this, ask yourself, “Why aren’t I excited about my business when I wake up?”

When we ask different questions, we get different answers. And the biggest difference between the question we see plastered across entrepreneurship blogs and the questions above is that the latter encourage learning, growth, and change, while the former encourage stagnation, discouragement, and complacency – the killers of many businesses and business dreams.

So next time you feel like you’re ready to call it quits, don’t buy into the delusion that you’re somehow cut from a different cloth and not qualified or justified in your pursuit – instead, ask better questions and see what you can learn from the bad days and how you can turn it around.