Starting a Business? 7 Things You Can Absolutely Do Yourself

A new craze sweeping the innovation nation is the “DIY” (Do It Yourself) movement. I believe this was formulated from the notion that we are more skilled, creative and able than we give ourselves credit.  Or alternatively, we are more lazy, unmotivated and reliant than we would like to admit.  

Being able to DIY lends to the importance of independence.  Being a creative entrepreneur takes 20 percent passion and 80 percent of being able to figure things out on your own. Unfortunately, in this day and age, the value of independence is oppressively misconstrued.

The more we achieve in life, the less we feel like we have to do.  Our dependency on other people and things has created a society of monetarily wealthy but creatively inept individuals.  

We can get our MBA by relying on study groups, text books, professors and cliff notes, but we can’t even create our own business cards.

History tells us that our ancestors recognized the value of independence, early on.  They joined forces in wars; protested and marched across the country; demanded legislation; and changed the mindsets of tyrants.  All of this because they yearned to do things for themselves without any restrictions or setbacks from outside influences.   

Although we now live in the “land of the free,” new-aged technology and luxuries have us enslaved by a new owner, called convenience.  We use a remote to operate our televisions.  We use microwaves to warm our food. We call in for pizza delivery. We go to the cleaners to wash, dry and press our clothes. We let stores create birthday gifts for our loved ones.  And all of this is the norm.

While I am not opposed to the idea that by working hard in life, we should have the capacity to relieve stress in the form of minimal labor as a result of our achievements, I’m just weary of molding a new generation that does not have to stimulate their minds, fend for themselves or ascertain their creative juices.

In business, a lot of young entrepreneurs are stuck because they are waiting on others to grow their ideas. Yes, you may not know everything, so you’ll need assistance.  But there is a difference between utilizing tools to flourish your product and utilizing someone else to do an entire job for you.  If others can learn the skills you need to make things happen, there is a good chance that you can, too.

Thus, here is a list of things that you can absolutely do yourself in a start-up business.

1.  Incorporate your entity (legalzoom.com).  
2.  Create your own website (wordpress.org, tumblr.com).  
3.  Design your own logo (photoshop.com).
4.  Print your own business cards (fedex.com, vistaprint.com).  
5.  Manage your own social media accounts (hootsuite.com).
6.  Create your own contracts and documents (docstoc.com)
7.  Create your own reports (freshbooks.com)

Stop making excuses as to why your venture has been stagnant for the past 7 years.  Take a little time and do it yourself!

Image retrieved from http://www.maurilioamorim.com/2010/11/working-with-generation-y-getting-more-than-i-bargain-for/