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October 30, 2017

10 things I know about ... starting a business from scratch

Murrieta is the co-founder and executive director of nonprofit Main IDEA Youth & Arts and community outreach coordinator for the Worcester Music Academy. Reach her at info@mainidea.org. 

10) Find the need.

You know that one thing your community doesn't have, that you can't help but notice and get annoyed with? That's your foothold for entrepreneurship.

9) Brainstorm ways to fill the need

It's easy to complain about something that's not getting done, but it takes an entrepreneur to initiate taking the time to creative-problem solve.

8) Put the work in.

Start making a list of actions each person can do, and what you can do collectively, and hold each other accountable. Create a timeline; some projects take weeks, others years. Create short term and long-term goals.

7) Stay focused.

As your ideas build off of each other, remember what your main goal is. Create a mission statement to keep you centered.

6) Get organized.

Assign roles and/or jurisdiction for different parts of the project to keep your team from stepping on each others' toes. Make sure someone is in charge of administration.

5) Choose a brand.

How do you want your work to be known? Put the idea into a name and logo, and stick to it whenever communicating your project.

4) Pace yourself and make boundaries.

It's easy to get carried away when you're excited and there's a lot of work to do, but remember you're human, not a robot, and consequently need things like rest and sleep and food and play.

3) Be flexible and open to change.

Perhaps circumstances change to cause you to need to adapt to a different reality than when you first started.

2) You won't know until you try.

So this has never been done in your community before, and you've never started something out of nothing. Yeah, well, so goes the story of every entrepreneur who's ever started out.

1) Take heart.

It takes a lot of self-assurance and confidence to be an entrepreneur. It is not for the faint of heart!

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