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Chapter One

    Buying this book may be the smartest thing you ever did. OK, I may be exaggerating some, but I am serious about the impact that starting your own business can have on your life. As the editorial director of Entrepreneur magazine, I have been covering the business of entrepreneurship for a long time now, and I can honestly say I have met few entrepreneurs who are sorry they took the leap into business ownership. Most have succeeded (though not necessarily at the business they initially launched); some have returned to life as an employee. But few regret the journey.

    Start Your Own Business is designed to help you navigate your own journey to business ownership. We are here to instruct and inspire. To tell you the things you don't know and remind you of the things you do. Some will tell you that the path you are about to embark on is a perilous one, but it's not. However, it is not without its curves, speed bumps and detours. Start Your Own Business helps prepare you as you go. You will learn what to expect at each step along the way. Some wise person once said, "Forewarned is forearmed." So consider this book part of your arsenal.

    I would never presume to tell anyone how to read a book. But the very first thing you might want to do is turn to the following "Pop Quiz" chapter and take our test to determine if you're cut out to be an entrepreneur. My guess is you are, or you wouldn't have bought this book. Some people mistakenly believe you have to be born an entrepreneur to succeed. You don't. You can learn what it takes. That's what this book is all about.

    Start Your Own Business takes you step by step through the start-up journey, from how to get an idea for a business to finally opening the doors to your new venture. Along the way, we provide lots of forms, work sheets and checklists you can actually use in your business as well as to make sure you're on the right track. The book is also filled with five different types of helpful tip boxes:

    Finally, at the end of the book, there are three appendices chock-full of business resources that list contact addresses and phone numbers:

1. In "Business Resources," we list business associations, books, and magazines and publications in areas ranging from advertising and marketing to accounting and taxes. We even provide Internet resources and equipment manufacturers.

2. Our "Government Listings" appendix provides contact information for Small Business Development Centers, Small Business Administration district offices and state economic development departments across the country.

3. Last, if you need financing, you'll definitely want to check out our listing of "Small-Business-Friendly Banks."

    Starting your own business is not as mysterious as some would have you believe (for more on this, see "What's The Big Idea?" on page 23) or as frightening or risky as legend would have it. But it is a journey that is better not taken alone. With Start Your Own Business as your companion, you'll be a wiser traveler on the road to business ownership. So what are you waiting for? As an ancient Chinese philosopher once sagely said, "Every journey ... must begin with a single step.

-- Rieva Lesonsky

Editorial Director , Entrepreneur

Excerpted from Start Your Own Business by . Copyright © 2001 by Entrepreneur Media Inc.. Excerpted by permission. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.