All you need is....

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     Excuses are everywhere. I didn't set up a business because I didn't have the money. I'll set up that little business of my own when I retire from my cushy corporate job. My business isn't growing because people don't appreciate what I do. There's not enough time for me to do everything.

     In small business you learn to plow through the excuses and get the job done. Playing the blame game and procrastinating won't get you where you want to go. 

     Example: Pam was a whiz at baking. Her kitchen was always abuzz. She loved creating variations on recipes for tarts. She made them big and she made them small. She filled her tarts with jams and jellies, creams and puddings--these were the sweet ones. Then she created savory tarts--bacon and kale, yogurt and spinach, chorizo and cheese. She tested each batch herself, and she gave them away to friends--asking for comments. Finally, she homed in on a line of tarts she thought ready for the marketplace.

     The problems for Pam to get into business seemed overwhelming. She had no kitchen facilities to handle baking. She had very little money. And how would she tackle the marketplace? 

     Continuing: Pam was not one to give up. She contacted a local restaurant and made arrangements to use the restaurant's facilities on Mondays when it was closed. Now she had inspected facilities where she could produce her line of tarts. She made arrangements for labels and shipping boxes. She set up a website showing her tarts and an order form. She took many pictures of the goodies and posted them on social media. Orders began to arrive, a few at first, then more. She boxed the tarts and called United Parcel Service to pick them up and speed them on their way. 

     Pam succeeded in getting established--without baking facilities of her own, without a sales staff, without a delivery van, without a bricks-and-mortar bakery open to the public. With very little money but lots of determination, she was on the road. Her sweet and savory tarts now showed up at corporate meetings, organizational gatherings, seminars and talks far and wide. 

     Getting a product off the ground today is far easier than it used to be. A website can be the focal point, with social media driving eyeballs to it--with orders. Delivery of the product? Take your pick--United Parcel Service, Fedex or the Postal Service. As a business owner today, you pull all the pieces together. All you need is ... yourself.

     Product-based businesses can easily use this example. Service-based businesses present different problems, but much of the foregoing is applicable.