First the question: What motivates anyone to start business? Fact remained that you are usually alone, without a lot of start up cash (hardly ever enough), without the full range of skills to make the business work and most often without sufficient knowledge of the market you are about to enter.

Despite all of these hurdles to setting off in a business we set sail, like a ship without adequate navigation, in search of something we want.

Theoretically speaking it is the nature of what we want that drives our motivation. In case if the nature of what we want is to earn a little money to supplement our existing income or indeed to provide our only income then most people can start a business and meet their measure of success.

If experts are to be believed, it is when our want becomes something more, perhaps to provide for our children an education and a chance for a better life than we had that the measure of success becomes more difficult to attain.

It is worth mentioning in this regard that when we want to change a small piece of the world to make something better than it was and to earn money by doing so then the stakes on achieving our measures of success are raised a further notch.

In any of the three aspiration examples mentioned above, starting a business and being successful at it almost always requires of us to leave our comfort zone.

As a matter of fact in large organizations, people are able to pretty much decide whether they want to or do not want to leave their comfort zone. Whats more large organizations usually have enough resources to provide another person to cover for others wanting to stay in their comfort zone. It is worth remembering that the comfort zone is often technical or personal skills.

Whilst many of you could argue that this is inefficient in a large organization, in a small organization it is often fatal.

Point to be noted in this regard is that comfort zones come in many guises in start business.

In case if the motivation for start business is somehow related to our knowledge of a particular industry, technology or methodology we will be starting a business where what people exchange their money for is our personal skills and knowledge. As a matter of fact this is most often how small businesses start.

In simple terms, the problem with starting a business this way is that to grow the business we need to create clones of ourselves or work sixteen hours a day or hire someone who has the same skills and knowledge that we do.

Some experts observation of small businesses caught in this trap of wanting to expand their start business but having limited availability of the saleable resource i.e. themselves, is that the founder cannot let go.

There is no denying that they do become locked in a comfort zone of control where everything that is done is controlled for quality, timing, quantity and recording by the principal. As a matter of fact to actually free up time to grow the business, the principal needs to hire someone to take on a role and manages their performance using coaching techniques instead of micromanagement.

It is worth mentioning in this regard that small businesses set up with a clear view of what will generate income sometimes are disappointed with what customers actually value. Always remember that it is easy to mistake value in our terms for what customers will really value.

Theoretically speaking letting go of what you think will make money immediately takes business people out of their comfort zone into a new market, a new product and sometimes a point where they are not the source of the skills and knowledge that provide the income opportunity.

Furthermore businesses which rely on marketing to generate sales and do not have the funds to extensively research opportunities or communicate their goods and services will have to learn to network and use electronic means of reaching their prospect base.

In simple terms, some people find networking easy. As a matter of fact they are gregarious by nature and are the center of attention whenever they enter a room. On the other hand the rest of us find it a bit of a problem. Fact remained that this may be because small talk is not our thing or because we do not want to be seen to be "selling" all the time.

If experts are to be believed, the desire not to "sell" all the time is natural and is part of the answer to getting out of this comfort zone. In theory selling is not what it is about. Always remember that what networking is about is having many conversations with many people about problems, issues and opportunities. There is no hiding the fact that the act of having conversations will naturally deliver opportunities. In addition it is not necessary and not advantageous to have a sales pitch ready for every occasion.

In an ideal scenario small business owners need to continually focus on what they want to achieve by starting a small business. Fact of the matter is they must use their social skills, their insight and develop a clear perception of themselves in the community in which they operate to navigate through a sea of self-learning to be successful. If not, their comfort zone will become a safe harbor of underachievement.

In simple terms, if you invest everything you have in your business, as most newcomers do, you don't usually need a corporation because you have nothing to protect. Furthermore your household possessions, personal belongings, generally your car, and even a portion of the equity in your home is protected by the homestead provision of the Federal Bankruptcy Act, and cannot be taken away from you.

It is worth pointing that as a sole proprietor or partner of a business you'll be paying taxes on your overall earnings, much the same as if you were holding down a salaried or hourly paid job. Always remember that whether you do or don't take out money as a salary will have no bearing on the earnings of your business and tax return.