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

Weight Loss, Hobbies & Escapism - What will you make of 2016?

Indie-crafts and vintage markets have been booming these past few years, with artisans selling their beautifully crafted wares. You only have to go down Brick Lane on a Sunday to see just how popular these hand-crafted items have become. Some of the makers and sellers generate a pretty decent living out of it and successfully move their operations online, and beyond.

When we work for other people, it can sometimes be hard to see the big picture or where we fit in. Sometimes we are boxed into narrow roles that serve a specific purpose for the company, but they don't fit our own goals and give us very little satisfaction. That probably explains why so many of these crafty types are disaffected city workers. They have reassessed their lives and taken the leap to do something different. Kudos to them!

Superficial quick-fixes are very tempting!

If you are one of the lucky few who have found your calling in life, and you are following it, then you're probably not reading this article. You are out there living the life you have chosen, and that is awesome! But if you are still thinking about 2016 and your new year's resolutions, don't limit yourself to superficial quick-fixes that will temporarily distract you from what's missing in your life. Make it your resolution to be honest with yourself and get to the root of what's really bothering you and what's really important to you.

You have everything you need, right now, to change your life forever!

As we grow older, we tend to look at other people's achievements / the finished product and assume that we could never do that!

I could never be Michelle Mone of Ultimo, James Dyson or J.K. Rowling. No! Because even they had to work at it! But! I could start by buying some stock and selling it, doing some research, or jotting down some ideas, and building on my business one step at a time - a little bit every day.

Starting from scratch is not just for children

Starting from scratch is not age-specific. It's not just for children, and it's not something that only happens at school. In fact, the older you get, the more perspective you have that can inform your decisions, and you will no doubt have a lot more transferable skills.

The only problem with getting older is that your ideas become more fixed, you have developed more fears, and you take fewer risks. That is perfectly natural, don't fight it, but do put it into perspective.

Don't be seduced by the comfort of tried & tested failure. Do something that will actually add to your potential and make you the very best version of yourself!

The reason why weight-loss is such a popular new year's resolution is because the results are easy to measure. When you lose those first few pounds, you feel good! Great even! It gives you a sense of achievement! But why do we lose momentum? It's probably safe to say that we set ourselves the same resolutions every year. But surely, past performance should teach us that it doesn't work. After a few days or weeks, we are back to square one, because we are still fundamentally the same person. Your size does not change who you are. It does not make you a better friend, or better at your job. It does not challenge your perception of yourself. You are still the same person you were. So why not do something that will actually add to your potential and make you the best version of yourself?

It took me years to decide to start programming, because I thought I wouldn't be able to do it. I thought that programmers were different. Gifted and misunderstood geniuses. They think differently to me. I would never be able to code. But that's because my thinking was all wrong. I was seeing the finished product and not the steps that they took to get there.

When it comes to your future, don't take the easy way out. It is never too late to learn something new and achieve great things, if you start from the beginning! Don't limit your new year's resolutions to weight-loss, hobbies and escapism. And why wait until the new year? Take control of your future now!

Everything starts with an idea. Where you take it from there is entirely up to you! Don't limit yourself!

Have a fantastic new year!

Forget #NewYearsResolutions You already have everything you need to change your life forever https://t.co/O9xnQDX4e5 pic.twitter.com/vYVZrGTW7i

— Danielle Curio (@DanielleCurio) December 28, 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