Andrew Oman, founder of the Olive Tree Network (www.olivetreenetwork.com) — an organization devoted to helping entrepreneurs evaluate their risks, find funding and get started in business — believes answering a few simple questions can help new entrepreneurs find their footing.

“One of the greatest concerns that most entrepreneurs face is whether their business will be sufficiently lucrative to replace the income that they are giving up by taking themselves off the job market,” he said. “This concern is referred to as opportunity cost. By answering a few questions, most entrepreneurs can evaluate their business idea and determine whether this opportunity is better than working for someone else. These questions should be answered before spending the time necessary to develop a business plan.”

• What is your product or service, and how it is different than your competition? — This sets the stage for the risk assessment. If your product or service isn’t very different or it’s not delivered in a unique fashion, you may already have the odds stacked against you.

• What is your management background and expertise that allows you to provide your product or service? — Your resume should be comparable to that of other senior managers in your field. Credibility is important to customers and clients, and if you haven’t walked the walk, people won’t believe you when you talk the talk.

• Who will be your customers? — If your customer base is rich with mass consumer possibilities, or deep pocketed clients, you’re off to a good start. If you can sell to a wide range of customers, you’ll have a better shot at meeting your business goals.

• How will you market to your customer? — Knowing your customer is important, but knowing them is meaningless if you don’t know how you’ll reach them to educate them on your company and sell to them. Marketing is a major expense, so understanding this strategy will also help you figure out how much capital you’ll need to make it work.

• Who are your major competitors? — There is a difference between entering a field that is new, with few competitors, and going against big companies with deep pockets. You may need to raise more capital if you are going up against some heavy hitters.

• What are your start-up expenses, the one time expenses that need to be considered prior to beginning business operations? — Setting up an office, creating business cards, buying software and other costs need to be considered in order to determine how much funding you’ll need to take your best shot.

“Regardless of your answers to the questions, the primary thing you need is passion for your venture,” Oman added. “You can have the best financial model, a receptive audience and compelling marketing, but if you’re not absolutely passionate about your new venture, you won’t have the drive it takes to bring it all to fruition. All your doing is going from one miserable existence working for someone else to another miserable existence working for yourself. Choose a venture that makes you jump out of bed in the morning with anticipation for the day, and you’ll be equipped with 90 percent of what you need to succeed.”

There are some key tips to follow when you`re trying to get motivated. And these guidelines vary, which means that some might work for you and others will not. It is important to find out what skills you can use and which ones to not bother with, so that you can begin your climb toward achieving the motivation that you want!

Positive thinking is one of the key elements to getting motivated. This tool can be used in every situation. It is common when faced with a problem or challenge to think negatively about it. Usually it is the first thing that pops into the head, which makes it hard to think about it in a positive light. However, when you are faced with a concern, immediately find a positive about it. And it can be something minute, but just find it and focus on it. For example; someone who loses a job will obviously immediately focus on the negative impact; possible loss of house, car, lifestyle. Those are horrible thoughts that if left focused on, could over take your thinking and create a spin of negative thoughts and feelings. A way to detour the negative thinking is to replace the bad thoughts with good ones.

Positive thoughts that could out way the negative ones in this situation would be; find a better job, use all resources, find yourself (quick so you can get back to looking for a job!), think about what you actually want to do! Some people when they lose a job will begin to think about what it is in life that they really want. Perhaps they have been in the same field for ten years or more, it may be just the thing to plan on returning to school or changing fields. Even if lifestyle changes have to be made to accommodate your new career, such as moving into an apartment or with relatives, your family will know that you are doing it for the long term and no one will judge you. Positive thinking can be used in all aspects of life, just replace a negative with a positive.

To get motivated toward something you want to do, keep it small at first. Many people for example when they are trying to diet will try to do it all at once. This unrealistic plan can lead to failure. If small steps are initially taken such as cutting out the chocolate for a week and then leaving out the junk food for another week, the small steps might just add up to the ultimate goal of weight loss. Small successes are important to keeping yourself motivated.

It is also not a bad idea to give yourself rewards for staying motivated. Kids get rewards all the time, but what about adults? And why is it wrong to reward ourselves? If you have worked out all week and feel great about it, why not buy something for yourself as a treat? Or even have that cupcake you have been eyeing at the bakery? Rewards are a great way to keep you happy!