How many times have you said to yourself, one day I’ll start my own business? Many of us have a deep inner desire to work for ourselves, inspire a team, and help deliver a better service than our competitors. Perhaps you are a chef, working for somebody else, with a dream of one day being your own boss. Maybe you love fashion and dream of making your own range of clothing. 

Our day to day lives often get in the way of our dreams, and we just can’t find the time to do what we are passionate about. We put it to the back of our minds because we can’t see over the vast mountain we would need to climb to reach our goals. 

The truth is, there is never a good time to start anything. When you want to start a diet, there is always a dinner you can’t get out of. If you're going to commit time to exercise, there doesn't seem to be enough hours in the day. With a business, how can we even think about building a proper business plan and buying all the things we need to get set up, when we have a mountain of deadlines we are already behind on, and we are struggling to pay our bills? 

All-day, everyday we make excuses and put things off. The fact is, if you want to make something happen, you can. You just have to know where to start and remind yourself that small steps are progressive and lead to success. 

If you have been dreaming about running your own business, today, right now, is the day to start. 

Your first steps will be creating space in your life to commit to it where you can entirely focus on building a business plan and starting your journey. It would be best if you got brutal and organized with your time, but you don’t need a lot of time to make progress.

Using methods like time-blocking can help you work out how to fit a couple of hours extra work into your day. Most of us run on lists, either written down or in our heads, but we are easily distracted from these as consequently spend all day doing a task that only requires an hour of total focus. By using a time-block, you can shut off all distractions and work more productively. You stick to the time you have allocated to all of your daily tasks and work on the most important things first. 

Businesses successfully use time blocking for managing large teams on multiple projects. It ensures deadlines are met and is a simple process for keeping things efficient. It is a proven method that will work brilliantly to free you up time every week to build your plan and develop a strategy. 

Have you ever heard this saying? “There is only one way to eat an elephant: a bite at a time.” This simply means that everything in life that overwhelms us or looks impossible can be accomplished if we approach it gradually. Every hour you put into starting your new business is getting you closer to your end goal. Even if you are only managing a few hours a week, it is progress. 

The planning stage of your business is all about research. You need to get a lot of advice from as many sources as you can. You could speak to a business advisor to help you broaden your knowledge of what lies ahead. As you build your plan, you will start to come across other areas you may need to learn more about.

At the marketing stage of your project, you could look at businesses in your sector to see how they approach it. If you want to own a restaurant, research all the places you love to eat and take a look at their social media sites and recent advertising campaigns. You also need to learn about branding. Even if your idea involves a dog walking service, branding is vital to help you stand out. Other jobs may require a specialist to help you along, and this will need to be included in your financial forecast. If you want to start a clothing range but don’t have any knowledge of websites or selling online, reach out to a fashion e-commerce agency. Get some quotes and a little advice but until you know you have a viable plan, don’t invest any money! 

You’ll be amazed at how much you can get done. The planning process may not feel like you have started your business, but, you are completing the most crucial part of your company's future: a solid foundation and a road map. Once completed, you are on your way. 

Before working on the building part of your new venture, run your plan past a few trusted friends or colleagues. They may highlight some areas you haven’t considered and will give you a real feel about whether this idea has merit. You will also want someone to run through financial planning with you. Knowing what your first year will cost is imperative. It will help you to find funding and keep you focussed on a budget when you are ready to start investing. 

Once you are at this stage, you are going to need a lot of help. Starting a company is going to take up a lot of your time, and you will need an understanding family. While the planning process could be done around your other commitments, when you start investing in the business, paying for websites or equipment, you will need to consider making sacrifices. This could mean talking to your partner about leaving your job. However, if you have a solid business plan and it makes sense on paper, you may find the two of you can make it happen. 

Don’t wait and put off your dreams. There will never be the right time to start your new life so seize the day and go for it.