The plain truths

The other day, I thought about what I wanted to say in this last column of the year. And what immediately came to mind was wanting to ask some common questions I see current and aspiring business owners asking themselves every day.

“How much will I have to work?” You don’t have to work a lot — if you don’t want to succeed — or you can work as little as you want. Of course, if you’re going to knock the cover off the ball and make your business highly successful, get ready to put in some really long hours and have that business be your obsession. You will want to work.

“How much will I make?” If you like, you can take a vow of poverty, but that won’t sustain you for long. You had better figure out how to make that business make at least enough money to live a decent existence, or you won’t be doing it forever. Of course, the real money is in the value upon exit if you think like a real entrepreneur. That means you are going to have to really grow the thing.

“Will I be jeopardizing my family’s financial future by starting (or buying) this business?” Yes. The harsh reality is that you could fail (if you let that happen, and I suggest not doing it). You do what you know you need to do because you will be fully engaged with your business. So, if bad things happen, and they probably will, you will do what you need to overcome any obstacles thrown in your way.

“Will I have issues with my spouse or life partner?” You could, if you are both from wildly different backgrounds and their family never really owned any business. It will be very hard for them to understand why you are working so hard and doing what you are doing. There’s no good solution here that I know of. On the other hand, if you and your spouse/partner both have businesses, or your spouse is an active participant in your business, great. They will at least be able to understand anything you are going through.

“What will actually keep me awake at night?” Most people I know who own businesses and have achieved a certain amount of success will tell you that it isn’t selling stuff and cash flow that preoccupies them. It’s problems with people. Business partners, employees who aren’t performing, employees who aren’t getting along, difficult customers and stuff like that are what you will be thinking about.

“What functions should I outsource for my business?” Everyone seems to talk about doing what you do best and farming out the rest. I would encourage caution here, particularly when it comes to the accounting. You need to see every dollar coming into and going out of your business. That means you will probably need to be writing all the checks and keeping the books up to date for a while — maybe even a couple of million in revenue annually.

IT stuff is another thing. Don’t part with it too early because you need to understand how everything is done in your business and how to use and maintain it.

Mark Zweig is the founder of two Fayetteville-based Inc. 500/5000 companies. He is also entrepreneur-in-residence in the Sam M. Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas and author of the award-winning book, “Confessions of an Entrepreneur.” The opinions expressed are those of the author.