In the May Monthly Breakthrough, the topic is all about refreshing your reading list. If you’re reading this blog, it’s highly likely you keep a reading list somewhere. You come across titles and topics that you want to dive in as soon as you get a chance. Along those same lines, how many books do you have going at any given time? There’s no rule that you have to finish one before you can start another. I’ve learned that it’s advantageous to be reading multiple books concurrently because my schedule and my mood dictate what I’m willing to spend time reading.
My reading list is on my phone and I keep it in my Notes app. I never know when a great new book will come to my attention and frankly if I don’t write it down, I won’t remember it later. Missing out on a great book is my own version of FOMO. So I just keep adding to my list. At this point I will have to retire and dedicate myself full time to reading just to get through all the books on my list. That isn’t an overwhelming thought. In fact, it makes me happy. It feels almost as good as having a free candy store. All these goodies are simply waiting for me to get to them. My reading list is like have a Christmas list. All these neat items that I would love to own. To consume. And I’ll get there.
Most of the business books on my list are about small business ideas. It’s interesting that there are oodles and oodles of books about how to start a business. There are endless magazine articles about how to come up with business ideas. What I find fascinating is that it is rare to find anything that the reader has already decided if her business idea will work. What I have found is that figuring out whether the idea is worthy of pursuing can be the most stressful part of starting a new business. I haven’t written that book yet, but I do teach a course on how to do the due diligence on the idea. The course is for those who really think they’re on to something and seriously want to launch a business, but they’re afraid of the risk or of the unknown. My course walks them through a very detailed due diligence process they can go through to get to a “Go/No Go” decision on an idea.
Knowing if a business can make money is priority number 1. But it’s not the first step in deciding whether to start a business.
There are tons of books to read on how to make money. And if you’re considering starting a business, I encourage you to pick up a few. But be willing to do the pre-work, the homework on the idea before learning how to set up the business. If you’re not sure how to do the homework, just ask me. I’ll show you how. If you want a superfast read on some of the fundamental things to consider, here is a free guide to get you started. It’ll take about 10 minutes to read and I promise it will give you food for thought.
Jodi Henson is a small business expert, author, entrepreneur and founder of The Softer Side of Success (www.thesoftersideofsuccess.com). She works with aspiring and existing small business owners to help them overcome challenges and attain their goals. If you are looking to define your next steps, contact her at jodi@thesoftersideofsuccess.com.