What do you do?
1 Have a beer and ignore everyone.
2 Scream at the dinner, stir the homework and pour soy sauce on the kids.
3 Cook, call out instructions to the kids and take the phone call. All at the same time, of course.
4 Do one thing at a time, logically one after the other.
How are you with maths?
1 Okay, so long as you can make figures up whenever you have to.
2 Just the thought of maths makes you feel inadequate.
3 You can use Excel and don’t mind doing simple stuff.
4 Fine, especially if the maths has a practical application that’s relevant to you.
You’re playing Pictionary with your partner at a local fundraiser. How do you behave?
1 You act the goat. It’s a game, after all.
2 You get cranky and wish it weren’t so slow.
3 Relaxed. You’re naturally good at Pictionary.
4 You play with dogged concentration and a will to win.
Describe your relationship with bureaucracy.
1 You chuck bill reminders and letters from the government in the recycling bin as soon as they arrive. They’re not even worth reading.
2 You feel anxious about completing forms correctly, and anxious that if you get something wrong, you might get fined.
3 This kind of stuff is okay. You whiz through most forms pretty quickly.
4 You enjoy the orderliness of completing forms and having everything in order.
It’s Sunday afternoon, you’re painting the verandah and some old friends drop by unexpectedly. Do you …
1 Ask them in and let them help themselves to tea. Shame that there’s no milk.
2 Pull up a chair and talk until the cows come home.
3 Get them to help you paint the verandah. Free labour!
4 Feel irritated they didn’t ring to tell you they planned to come by.
How important is it for you to have a regular, steady income?
1 You couldn’t care less. You don’t need much to live on anyway.
2 You dream about a regular income but life doesn’t usually work out that way.
3 It’s important in the long term, but you can do without it right now.
4 You want more than a regular income. You aim to succeed and make your first million within the next five years.
It’s midnight and your new online ordering system has crashed. What do you do?
1 Switch off your computer and give up.
2 Swear, curse, and blame everyone including the cat.
3 Ring your night-owl IT friend and offer homemade chocolates in exchange for their help.
4 Work steadily till dawn, solving the problem.
Mostly As
It’s good to be laid-back, but you may not get much done lounging in that hammock all day. Being in business is hard work and you need to be inspired and motivated. If 60-hour weeks aren’t your cup of tea, you’re best to start a part-time business where you can pick and choose your hours, have lots of fun, and make a modest amount of money.
Mostly Bs
You may be a bit of a stress-bucket, but your creative talents are there for expressing. Being your own boss may suit you well, although financial success may be elusive, especially at first. Do be careful: If you lack business experience and you already have significant financial commitments, the stress of starting out on your own may take its toll.
Mostly Cs
Aha. You’re not only super-cool and enterprising, but you’re also resourceful and a natural multi-tasker, making the perfect personality for the small business person. When you can be web designer, manager, salesperson and bookkeeper all in the one day, and stay calm and collected to boot, you know you’re on your way to success.
Mostly Ds
Slow and steady wins the race, and a bit of dogged persistence along with a healthy dose of ambition helps, too. These qualities all help in running your own business, although you may need to choose a business that matches your conservative personality. A strong network of advisers and business associates are particularly important to your business success.
However, I am a realist when it comes to recognising that many small businesses face significant challenges from time to time. In Chapter 19, I share lots of tips for carrying your business through tough times, and in Chapter 20, I take the more optimistic perspective of how to sell your business and how to ensure you get the best price when you do.
I recall a client of mine, a highly experienced business manager, who purchased two hairdressing salons as an investment. Despite relatively sound business practices, both salons floundered, simply because my client didn’t have any experience in the hairdressing industry: He failed to understand that most customers didn’t come to the salon looking for value for money, but came looking for a chat and a confidence boost; he didn’t appreciate that several of the hair stylists in this particular salon expected ‘cash’ wages as part of their weekly pay (something the previous owner had offered); and he had difficulties maintaining hygiene and dealing with money going missing out of the till.
My client made an elementary mistake in that he didn’t stick to doing what he did best.
My point? If you’ve been a musician all your life, you’re going to be much better starting a music school than opening a florist shop. If you’ve always worked as a landscape gardener, you’re probably ill advised to open a bookshop.
Stick to what you’re good at: Business is competitive enough without trying to do something that you have little or no experience in.
Getting the Government to Help You
You’re paying out all these taxes, so you may as well get something back. The quality of available government advice is luck of the draw: Some advisers are
