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It is one thing to “do it my way or no way” or “We will do it on our own” but both of these routes are missing out. Why(?) because there is an ocean of help out in the big wide world of business. Some costs money some, most even, doesn’t and that’s because the largest resource of all is YOU.

Whether the decision involves a new start up or a new direction in an existing business you will always need to create a game plan. To do this requires time and dedicated time at that. Not just a few minutes here and there, if it is to be a serious and radical change to your status quo a lot of consideration will have to be put into the creation of the plan.

Put plainly you need to be your own Devil’s advocate. Question everything and ensure you have exhausted all lines of doubt. Then you will need to solicit the views of your very own ‘focus groups’; normally these will be made up from  friends and family but let them know you need HONEST feedback, not pleasantries because they like you!

The Internet has an enormous library of technical, legal, financial, ethical and practical help. Your local community will also furnish you with competition and like products or services. Look for it and ask questions, funnily enough people like talking about their own business as much as the weather. If you feel this is too close to home do your research in a town/city 50 miles away, that way they will not feel threatened. If the business is online there are bound to be direct comparisons so look into these also.

If you have come into a sum of money and you feel now is the time for ‘doing what you’ve always wanted to do’ make sure the groundwork is done to the Nth degree. Having a passion to do something is one thing, making sure it is a sound business proposition is another. However you do need passion if you are going on your own. You need to be able to wake up every morning and feel you are doing what you want to do, not what you have to do. This sounds righteous in these tough times but you will need to be resilient, often, especially when things do not go to plan.

The qualifications for success are different for everybody; what is success to one will be failure to another, our needs are different and that will always be the way. However, the simple guidelines to making the right decisions are very plain and all involve you. You are the only ‘thing’ that you have control over so Plan, research, question, analyse, gain consensus and ask for help when you need it. The worst action you can take is to ignore advice when it comes from a trusted resource. You need not take the advice but at least find out if it has credence.