You can see it now: Your idea takes off with a blast. Suddenly you’re doing what you love, sharing it with others and making lots of money all the while. Does it get any better than that?

Sure, when  it’s  a fantasy, it all seems so perfect and easy. But what does it really take to start and run a successful business? To answer this question, we’ve interviewed a handpicked group of successful entrepreneurs to get the real scoop on what it takes to be your own boss.

Planning for risky business

There’s no two ways about it: starting your own business is a gamble. That’s why so few give it a shot. Before you start, you can do your best to research your market, see if there’s a need for your product, check out your competition and come up with a sharp marketing strategy. But ultimately there are no guarantees. “I didn’t know if there was a need for my business when I started it,” begins Dan Waldman, founder and president of Forester Communications, a publisher of special interest trade journals and books, and producer of various trade events. “That’s one of the big risks any entrepreneur faces. Statistically, publishing ventures fail more often than almost any other kind of new business. But the thought of waking up to the same job in 15 years without ever trying to start my own thing was more frightening than taking the risk of starting the business itself.”

Creating a business plan is a good strategy for trying to compensate for the unknown. Although many of the entrepreneurs interviewed did not write them before they started, most felt it would’ve helped. “I wish I had done more planning,” says Adam Glickman, CEO and founder of Condomania.com (yeah, the same one that used to be on Melrose), when thinking back on his early days. “In retrospect it would’ve gone a long way. I didn’t have experience or understand the importance of capital and credit. It’s easy to be overly optimistic, and it’s that incessant, persistent optimism that kept saying, ‘Tomorrow sales will be better, this new product will save us!’ It strings you along and keeps some of us from using structure; from really creating the business plans and understanding the details required to run a successful business.”

Jeff Weiss, co-owner with wife Corrie Gregory of Miles of Music, a music distribution and catalog company, did not use a business plan when they started a decade ago. “Our big mistakes were not having a written business plan, not having enough funding to carry us through to grow the company without living off of cash receipts, and I guess really not understanding what it meant to run a business.” Because they did not have a business plan, they were unclear as to their next steps. “I would say it made every decision harder because there wasn’t the earlier dialogue about what our goal was. We didn’t really know what it was.”

Gil Rousseau, founder and president of Single Source Technology, Inc., a company that supplies service, support and sales for technical equipment, started off his business, in his words, “a little blindsighted.” But it worked to his advantage. “I believe that ignorance is bliss and that not having a complete, clear, concise picture of how much effort it would take to start made it easier to jump in the pool.” He’s not telling others that a business plan is a bad idea, but he has no regrets about not having had one himself. In his case he thinks his time was better spent trying to get clients than it would’ve been working out numbers. “I have seen too many people plan for years but not get clients.”

Arjang Zendehdel, founder and CEO of Dreamality Education & Coaching, a company whose services include coaching business executives and entrepreneurs, believes that business plans can help you overcome potential problems and even personal fears. “Once you write a business plan,” he begins, “you can think through everything and sometimes discover at the beginning that it won’t work. It’s much easier to work this out on paper than it is in reality.” On the other hand, by writing it out you are more likely to gain confidence in the feasibility of your plan.

Myths and truths

One of the most common myths new entrepreneurs share is that their business will be profitable early on. Like Glickman’s experience illustrates, many tend to be overly optimistic. “When starting a business,” says Anthony Nassar, founder of Venture Momentum, Inc., a financial consulting company for start-up businesses, “some entrepreneurs think that funding sources are readily available and that success is around the corner. They see themselves enjoying a great deal of free time, independence and wealth in a relatively short period of time.” Most of these entrepreneurs are in for a surprise or two.

“Many think their idea is so good that people will flock to it without your needing to promote it,” says Weiss. Unless you have a miracle drug or something that everyone in the world needs, nothing is further from the truth. Businesses need to be promoted. And more commonly than not, it takes several —  if not more — years before a business is truly profitable.

“We were very close to the financial edge for the first three or four years,” shares Waldman.   “The employees (when there were others besides myself), the vendors and the landlord always got paid first, and frequently there was nothing left over for me or my family.”

“It can easily take 10 years to mature a company,” says Glickman. “In my first few years, we

were getting by financially just enough to get going. And there were plenty of days where I wasn’t sure how I would make payroll or pay the rent, and I had to go to a vendor and give them a sob story to get them to hold out.”

Many new entrepreneurs are tired of working so hard and feel that owning their own business will solve this problem. “It’s actually a lot more work than working for someone else,” offers Rousseau. “In the first seven or eight months we weren’t making much money — even today we still don’t because we keep growing. Growth is expensive.”

Waldman lays out a few “new-business myths” and gives us the reality behind them:

Myth   You are your own boss.

Reality Every one of your customers is your boss. So are your vendors.

Myth   As the owner, you can set your own schedule.

Reality This one happens to be true, provided you want your schedule to be 24/7.

Myth You can start the business, work hard for a few years, then sell it and retire.

Reality This rarely happens. Most new businesses fail in the first few years.

We’re not trying to bum you out — just trying to make you aware of what it’s really like out there. You have to be tough.

Who’s afraid of losing?

Yes, failure is what all new business owners dread. But it’s a realistic part of running — and especially starting — a business. If you can learn to cope with and even embrace it, you’ll be much better off as an entrepreneur.

“Failure happens with enormous frequency,” says Glickman. “Most entrepreneurs I know have been at the brink more times than they care to talk about. Failure is part of the process. But it by no means signals the end of a process.” Those who maintain that outlook will obviously prevail over others who give up every time they face what initially looks like a dead end. “If anything, those times represent an opportunity to do it better the next time and keep going. This shouldn’t be confused with being reckless or irresponsible. There’s a fine line between willing to go to the brink and being irresponsible.”

In his work with entrepreneurs, Zendehdel has observed that successful people don’t typically label events as failures. “Failure itself is an interpretation. If you learn from something it’s not a failure; it’s a stepping stone for success.”

“I think at the beginning your mindset is at least 90 percent of it,” says Scott Brownsberger, founder and president of Pro Pacific, a company specializing in uniforms, retail and promotional merchandising. “You can’t have any fear of failure and you have to be willing to go the distance. You can’t expect things to happen overnight and you have to learn from your mistakes. Anyone who starts a business makes mistakes.”

But of course you also have to be willing to take off the rose-tinted glasses when everything around you is going black. “While persistence is surely a valuable asset,” says Waldman, “it’s important to know when to face the facts and cut your losses when they occur — and they will occur. One time I didn’t know when to walk away from a money-losing magazine and was convinced that somehow the next issue would turn things around. It never did, however, and it was a humbling and expensive lesson.”

Surprise, surprise!

Like anything you haven’t done before, starting a business has its fair share of surprises. One of them is that things tend to cost more than you’d expect.

“The big surprise is how hard it really is to generate revenue on a consistent basis,” says Glickman. “You might have these moments of glory, but over time it’s really competitive out there. It’s really difficult. And it’s expensive — there might be eight types of insurance you have to carry, then there’s hiring people, taxes, workmen’s comp, etc. It’s just more expensive than you really can imagine.”

“There are hidden costs that will pop up,” concurs Weiss. “My advice is to take advantage of some of the opportunities the city offers, like the Valley Economic Development Center, which offers class for new entrepreneurs. Find people who have started businesses before and talk to them. What we learned along the way was that we were reinventing a wheel that had been invented over and over again. If we had talked to people up front, so much of our heartache would have been minimized.”

“Unfortunately, not all businesses succeed, and those that do don’t always meet the entrepreneur’s expectations,” states Nassar, the start-up adviser. “In their very early stages, even some of the most successful businesses that have turned into multibillion dollar corporations imposed trying times on their founders. The founding entrepreneur or team needs to make significant personal and financial sacrifices to launch and grow the venture by working long hours and scraping for financial resources to make things happen. Success does not come easily!”

To lessen your risk factor, Nassar suggests that entrepreneurs perform a thorough analysis of their addressable market and competitive landscape. “They should talk to prospects to understand their pain, price sensitivity and budget availability. Armed with that valuable knowledge, entrepreneurs may decide to make certain adjustments to their offering to enhance their chances of success.” So, you see, in the end it really boils down to how committed you are to making it work.

Mind over business

All the entrepreneurs we spoke with agree that having a positive frame of mind is crucial to success. And what does this mindset entail?

“You have to be eternally optimistic. If you’re not you can’t be an entrepreneur,” says Glickman. “It’s always seeing a solution as opposed to a problem, always seeing an opportunity as opposed to a closed door. It’s this relentless belief, this gut feeling that your goals can be achieved, that you can be a leader, and that you have the skill set to turn a vision into reality. It’s not possible otherwise.”

“A new entrepreneur has to be the most optimistic guy in the world,” says Rousseau. “Because there are so many pitfalls and diversity and naysayers. You have to rise above all that. You have to have a vision and you absolutely have to believe in it wholeheartedly.”

“If your nature is to be more ‘realistic’,” says Glickman, “you may be brilliant at something else, but not as an entrepreneur. I think there are a lot of brilliant, smart and well-connected people and they really latch onto a great idea, but they don’t have that drive that is infused with this unearthly optimism.”

It’s also essential that you see working with associates, clients and employees as an integral part of your success, not as an obstacle to doing things “your way.” “If you’re too independent,” says Zendehdel, “you’re not willing to give up anything and your business can’t grow. Delegation and synergy are huge. I recommend people create self-functioning systems — a business that functions without you — if you want to grow large. If you have to be present all the time, you will be limited in how fast you can grow and how big you can become.”

Drawbacks? Or not?

“Some of the drawbacks are you are always working,” starts Waldman. “And sometimes the

pressure is unreal. Owning a business in California can be particularly onerous and may put you at a competitive disadvantage from the beginning. It can also be quite isolating and lonely. In the larger scheme, however, these drawbacks are relatively minor if you enjoy what you are doing.”

“It’s a big commitment,” concurs Weiss. “It’s a lot of hours, a lot of thinking about it after hours, and it can be all consuming if you’re not careful. In retrospect it’s been worth it. Sometimes in the moment, when cash hasn’t come in or inventory hasn’t arrived and customers are mad because orders are late, sometimes it’s incredibly frustrating and aggravating and scary. But after 10 years of doing this, whether the financial rewards have come or not, there is a tremendous sense of accomplishment.”

A bit of advice…

Here are some words of wisdom from the experienced entrepreneur to the rookie:

• Overestimate how much you will spend, and underestimate how much you’ll generate. If the business doesn’t make clear and simple sense financially, don’t start it.

• Always show up and do a good job. It’s simple and powerful. And it builds integrity and a strong customer base.

• Do a lot of research and homework before you actually start your business.

• Save up as much money as you can before you go into business. (Remember those surprises we talked about?)

• No job is too big or too small. Be humble and take every bit of work that comes.

• Find a mentor who is doing what you want to do. This will help you be realistic about projections and choices.

• Attain absolute laser focus on generating revenue. After all, you’re in this for a profit.

• Spend less than you make. Pretty basic advice, but many don’t heed it.

• Always challenge your assumptions. Take nothing for granted.

• Don’t believe those who tell you something can’t be done.

SIDE BAR

Advice from a pro: three key tips for starting your business off right

1. Make sure you have a first class team. The greatest business idea may not see the light of day if the execution is done by a mediocre team. So hire the best of the best and seek the advice of highly competent legal and financial professionals who can help you keep your business running smoothly and in compliance with the numerous laws in force.

2. View your offering in terms of the benefits to the customer, not the features. When possible, quantify your value proposition and compute an ROI (return on investment) demonstrating the financial benefit that the customer will derive from using your solution.

3. Equip yourself with the proper tools to manage your business and monitor its performance. This includes financial systems and, when applicable, customer relationship management (CRM), sales force automation (SFA), human resources information systems (HRIS) and others. Tools are to a business what a dashboard is to a car. You need both to navigate safely to destination.

—Anthony Nassar of Venture Momentum (www.venturemomentum.com)