Know your strengths and the staying power of your business concept before taking the leap.

To complete this how-to, you will need:

Assessment
Capacity for stress
Organizational skills
Mission statement
Business plan
Market research
Balance

Step 1: Interview others

Interview other entrepreneurs and honestly assess whether you have the drive, vision, and emotional strength to run a small business. If you are a motivated, resourceful, and flexible, you might be going in the right direction.

Step 2: Handle stress

Consider your ability to deal with adversity and work with antagonistic people under stressful circumstances that could result in litigation and worker conflicts.

Step 3: Ask if you're organized

Ask yourself if you're organized enough to run a business, control stock, pay taxes, and keep a lot of balls in the air at once.

Step 4: Define the business

Define the purpose of your business and create a mission statement as an exercise, before using the statement in your business plan to get a loan. Explain the purpose, function, and goals of the enterprise.

Step 5: Investigate need

Investigate whether there is a need for the business through market research, focusing on whether your product will fill a void or niche.

Step 6: Develop the plan

Develop plans for employee compensation, personnel policies, business insurance, accounting services, and management strategies. If the detail and work load is too daunting, you won't be ready to handle similar drudgery in a business.

Step 7: Plan balance

Plan for your work and life balance, limiting stress and managing time. This takes discipline, vision, sacrifice, and stamina.

Don't rely on positive thinking alone. Without a realistic plan, positive thinking is just dreaming.

Step 8: Make a decision

If you've determined you can persevere and jump through hoops under pressure, possibly forgoing a paycheck, you're ready!

As of 2007, minorities owned 5.8 million non-farm U.S. businesses.

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