Are You Doing a Job or Running a Business? What's the Difference? And Does it Matter?

Starting a business is about more than doing a job and earning money. If you're going to be staying in the same area of work, the nature of the job won't fundamentally change just because you're working for yourself. An accountant still has the same role and responsibilities regardless of whether they are an employee or self-employed.

Why start your own business?

It's easy to look at successful business people and see the finished product - the perks and the benefits - but that's not the whole picture. How did they get there?

It is possible to make a decent living as a one-man-band, but rather than having a business as such, you are the business. The moment you take a holiday or you can't work for any reason, the business will not survive.

How many one-man-band multi-millionaires or billionaires are there?

I can hazard a guess that it's a big fat zero! The multi-million or billion pound (or dollar) business may have started as the idea of one person, but they ALL needed a team to make it work. They all needed some help to get there. Even businesses that are more modest in comparison all have staff, business partners or contractors.

Shared Responsibility - Shared Burden

Starting off on your own is fine - it may even be necessary or the only option at first - but if you want to scale, you must have a plan! Otherwise you will end up with your head down, doing a job, losing sight of the bigger picture. And instead of disliking your boss or the company (as you may have done when you were employed), you could end up disliking your customers. They will become the reason that you have to work all hours with no breaks.

Going back to being employed will start to look very attractive if you don't have a plan for your business!

Why do YOU want to start your own business?

As we've mentioned before, it can be easy to see the upsides to business when you're constantly bombarded with success stories, but what's wrong with where you are now?

What limitations are you trying to overcome? And how do you propose to overcome those limitations by going into business? Notice I said 'how do YOU propose to overcome those limitations?' Going into business will not solve your problems by magic. You must do that by design.

What is your plan?

7 Steps to #Career #Success. Adrenaline, #Dreams & #Emotions will only get you so far! https://t.co/igc1aHMVB2 pic.twitter.com/SJr1DCrmYt

— Danielle Curio (@DanielleCurio) December 31, 2015

Take the Fear out of Negotiation - Remember: You Have Choices!

I had a summer job in an engineering firm when I was at school. I worked for an engineer, and I was really interested in learning about what he does, but he was not interested in teaching me. He preferred to recruit men into roles that had career progression opportunities, because he had very old fashioned views about women in the workplace (that he was quite open about). I was never going to be anything more than an administrator if I wanted to continue working in that business. So, I decided that I didn't want to work there anymore. I wanted to have options.

The experience of having my gender dictate my role in the workplace was a very early baptism by fire, but it really did prepare me for later life. I did not let it change my character, or my femininity, but it did change the way that I approach things. I learned the power of negotiation.

When it comes to asking for a promotion or pay rise, if you feel that you have taken on more responsibilities, or you would like to, then treat it as a business transaction. There will be times when you hit a brick wall. There could be institutional reasons why you cannot progress (as was the case with my first job), so you need to weigh up the pro's and con's of taking your expertise elsewhere, sticking it out for a bit longer, or pursuing a different course of action.

Since leaving that first job, in subsequent positions when, for example, the question of salary came up, I have negotiated. In one case, I negotiated for two months before I got the salary that I knew my male counterpart would be getting. I treated the process as I would any other business negotiation. If you can present a reasoned argument with sound business sense, if you have exactly what they are looking for (or more), then don't give up. Your male counterpart wouldn't give up, because they don't see it as personal. It's just business.

Although the attitude of my first employer is completely different now (we still keep in touch and he's my biggest advocate now!), there are still people out there who are the gatekeepers of the glass ceiling. They may not be overt about it, but they do exist. However, don't let them stop you from achieving your full potential. As the saying goes, you cannot continue doing the same things and expect different results. Get used to negotiating.

One book that really helped me - it was like a lightbulb moment - is 'Getting to Yes: Negotiating An Agreement Without Giving In'. It is based on the Harvard Negotiation Project. I used to carry a copy around with me! It gave me the confidence I needed to hang in there, because it's ultimately about getting the best result for both sides.

Think about it. If both sides get what they want, it's a win win situation. In any negotiation, you are there as equals, otherwise it's not a negotiation. It's a hostile takeover.

Take The #Fear Out Of #Negotiating. #Women & #Careers: #Knowledge = #Empowerment https://t.co/bPKk0P9Dc3 pic.twitter.com/L0sFb4ryVf

— Danielle Curio (@DanielleCurio) November 24, 2015

Make Yourself Investible! What We Can Learn From The Apprentice

Make Yourself Investible - What We Can Learn From The Apprentice

I love a rags to riches story, and Lord Sugar is an inspiration. The tasks that are set for the contestants in The Apprentice are a reflection of the Lord Sugar's personal journey to business success. That's all good and well, and it's a very entertaining TV show, but it took a while for me to figure out the method behind the madness.

If I went to a venture capitalist with a fashion business idea, I'd be shocked - to say the least - if they asked me to set up a food stall in a market for the day. Something that is seemingly so unrelated to the business plan. That's what the whole process of BBC's The Apprentice (or 'Lord Sugar's Wheeler-Dealers & One-man-bandits') looked like to me, until quite recently.

When I need a bit of inspiration, I go to the Playbook, and have it running in the background whilst I work. It's kind of like a bitesized TED Talks, but it's just for business. Now that I am running my own business, and I work remotely most of the time, I like to maintain a sort of business energy to keep me going and keep my mind fresh. Playbook does that for me.

Something caught my ear a few weeks ago, and I wish I knew who the speaker was so I could recommend the video. This person invests in business start-ups and he was sharing the secrets as to how he decides what to invest in. What struck me was that he said it's not really the business that he's investing in. It's not the what, but it's mostly the who. He invests in exceptional people. The business may or may not succeed, but he is confident that the person behind the business will be a success. He will invest in those people time and again because he knows they have the right attitude and the aptitude for success.

Although the winner of The Apprentice will hopefully not be expected to put up shelves or head to France with a random shopping list, they will be expected to get stuck in. Lord Sugar is not looking for an employee, he is looking for a business partner.

When you are starting your own business, you have to know the whole business inside and out. In most cases, you don't get the million dollar investment capital, so you have to be the whole business! The receptionist, the bookkeeper, the van driver, etc. If you cannot get stuck in and do things that are outside of your comfort zone - get your hands dirty - you won't get far. So what looks very silly and entertaining from the outside, is actually a brilliant business and general life-skills bootcamp that anyone would benefit from.

So, venture out of your comfort zone and Make Yourself Investible!

Make Yourself #Investible! What we can learn from #TheApprentice @bbcapprentice @Lord_Sugar https://t.co/kixhu5dz4e pic.twitter.com/H23CJPpR2u

— Danielle Curio (@DanielleCurio) November 12, 2015