Are you a natural-born entrepreneur?

By Sonya Stinson • Bankrate.com

Here's a test of whether your entrepreneurial aspirations are the real deal: Imagine how you would react if the first 20 people who heard your idea shot it down, or if you failed at your first five attempts to make a go of it.

If those scenarios sound discouraging to you, then chances are you aren't cut out to be an entrepreneur. On the other hand, if you didn't scare that easily, you just might have what it takes. Here are some questions that can help you further assess your aptitude.

1. Do you believe?

"We ran into entrepreneurs who had failed four or five times in a row, and they were absolutely convinced that this next time they were going to strike gold," Koch says.

That confidence ties into another essential entrepreneurial trait: the willingness to take risks.

"You take someone like Thomas Edison, who had all kinds of failures, or Walt Disney, just to take two prominent names," Koch says. "They weren't easily discouraged. They were willing to take risks."

Business Planning

As you develop your business plan, it's easy to make mistakes or leave out important elements. Here are a few of the most common business planning pitfalls and some tips on how to avoid them.

1. Create a vision. It's tempting to roll up your sleeves and plunge right into the details of your business: evaluating products, studying market segments and sizing up your competition. Yet it's possible to get so caught up in the process of planning a business that you lose sight of what you're planning for.
   
   Before you get lost in the details, take a step back. Outline a clear vision and a coherent set of values for your company. Develop a mission statement and use it to define short-term goals and priorities. Once you have a clear road map for your business, you can plan your journey with more confidence.
   
   
2. A budget isn't the same thing as a plan. You can't create a solid business plan without a budget and a financial forecast. But a budget should be the product of all the other elements in your plan. If you don't have a clear picture of your industry, customers, competitors and market conditions before you develop a budget, your numbers aren't likely to reflect reality.
   
   
3. Don't ignore your customers. This may sound obvious, but too many entrepreneurs assume they know exactly what their customers need without bothering to ask. Take the time to learn about your customers, and build your business plan around their needs and desires.
   
   

Ten Steps to Build Your Business
By Jo Ann Joy 

There are many people who have become millionaires, because they knew what steps to take to build their business. They developed a system that would increase their customers and sales. Business building has to be systematic, and you must be able to duplicate the process. The following are ten steps that have proven successful: