Article

Are You a Toilet Paper Entrepreneur?

Topic: EntrepreneursFeaturing Mike MichalowiczPublished September 15, 2008

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In garages, basements, spare rooms and even dorm nrooms all across America, hard-working dreamers are nlaunching businesses right this minute. The thought nof this really gets me going.

I’m all about the underdog, the passionate entrepreneu
with small amount of cash and a huge heart. I refer to nthese people as Toilet Paper Entrepreneurs. The resourcefulnmen and women who can get by on three sheets. They find na way to make it happen, even if they are at the end of ntheir roll.

The best ideas come from having precious few resources,nand yet so often people see this as lack, an obstacle nto their success. On the flip side, many businesses nthrow money at problems the very second the cashnstarts flowing in, thereby eliminating the magic nof necessity.

Toilet Paper Entrepreneurs work miracles with just nthree sheets –or less – even when they have a nwarehouse full of stockpiled toilet paper. Here’s how youncan too:

1. Cultivate a Powerful Foundation of Enabling
Beliefs
Your most important assets are your beliefs.
Firmly held beliefs that support your goal are more nvaluable than an Ivy League education, or even a pile nof cash.

2. Work in Your Field of Passio

Building a company is not for wimps. You will need a boatloadnof passion for your business in order to stick withnit long enough to succeed. The competitors who are nin your industry just to get rich quick, will give upnwhen the going gets tough. The passionate ones willnstick it out, and achieve the ultimate success.

3. Slant Toward Premature Actio

Do not wait for the perfect conditions to start or expand your business. Taking action early is better than taking action too nlate. With the economy the way it is right now, I can’tnthink of a better time to start. With all the folks nwaiting until the economy is ripe, the startup competitionnis almost non-existent.

4. Be Extremely Great at Extremely Little
Exploit a select few of your top strengths, and outsource everything you dislike or can’t knock out of the park. n
5. Use Ingenuity Over Money
Having enough money can be a hindrance, covering up potentially disastrous problems. Use ingenuity and a razor-sharp focus nrather than money to create, launch, and troubleshoot.

6. Dominate a Niche
Identify a market in which you can provide better or different products or services, and then dominate it.

7. Marry Long-Term Focus with Short-Term Actio

Know your destination, but don’t plan out every step nof the journey beforehand. Instead, plan out the nextnquarter and then track your progress.

8. Be a Little Crazy
Whatever you do, don’t play by the rules. It’s the risk takers, the odd balls, who make opportunities and grasp achievement.

You don’t need angel financing, a college degree,nor any experience to build the business you envision.
Heck, you don’t even need a garage.

So many myths about launching and running companiesnhold people back from taking the next step. My goalnin writing The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur was to bustnthrough every last one of them, arming the underdogsnwith essential “three-sheeting” advice that will helpnthem launch their business. And more importantly, grownthat business into a multi-million dollar dream-come-true.

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