Get Your Business off and Running - Pump up your attitude

I came across a white paper today - Self-Employment Transitions among Older American Workers with Career Jobs which stated the following:

"Today, the ratio of workers to retirees is about three to one; by 2030, the ratio will be two to one. As fewer workers support a growing retiree population, policymakers may look for ways to encourage individuals to remain in the labor force."

My cynical side said, "So that was the rationale behind the unregulated Wall Street. Could all these portfolio losses be part of the policymakers' plan to keep Baby Boomers working longer?"

The paper addressed Baby Boomers who want to start a business as a way to stay working in retirement. I would share my 10 Tips to Get Your Business Off and Running as published in Entrepreneur.com two years ago. It is a pretty long article so I thought I would break it up into 10 parts.

Many Baby Boomers I know are asking for help to start a business to work in retirement.

Starting a business is very much like running a race: Preparation and practice are key success factors. The following 10 tips, framed in the context of getting physically prepared for a race, might help you overcome the hurdles that entrepreneurs are sure to encounter on the road to startup.

1. "Pump" up your attitude.
Be positive. Think of the optimistic outcomes and find a way to stay focused on your goal of starting a business. Put negative thoughts and self-doubt about your abilities and your potential aside, and surround yourself with energetic and supportive people.

Even without realizing it, you may be dampening your own enthusiasm, procrastinating and eventually sabotaging your own efforts because of your own self-doubts. Stop second-guessing yourself and, at all costs, stay away from negative people who are just waiting for you to trip or fall and watch your start-up fail.