EVERETT — Would-be entrepreneurs need to have a crystal-clear vision of what their new business will do and whom it will do business with, a small business consultant said Thursday.

They also need to be honest about their personal strengths and weaknesses, and align their businesses along those lines, consultant Jamie Curtismith said.

Curtismith, who teaches college classes on entrepreneurship, was the keynote speaker at an Everett Community College workshop on starting your own business.

There are a lot of myths about being an entrepreneur, Curtismith said. Almost universally, books on business say successful business people are self-starters with good people skills, as well as leaders who are well-organized.

"It’s not true," Curtismith said. "I have several people I work with who don’t have any of these traits, and they have very successful businesses."

Instead, "people who are doing really well in their small business have designed their businesses around themselves," she said. They’ve been honest about assessing their own abilities, which has helped those who lack people skills, for example, to avoid starting hospitality businesses.

They also have very clear ideas about what their business does and why.

Curtismith urged the students at the workshop to try to come up with three- to five-word definitions.

"We must know what business we’re in," she said. "We must know specifically and precisely what that is."

With that starting point, it’s possible to identify customers and ways to capture their business, Curtismith said. Have a clear idea who those customers are. "You’re selling a product or service, and you’re selling it to a particular type of person. It’s not a whole bunch of people. It’s not everyone in Everett. It’s not everyone in Seattle."

She also urged the students to identify a clear mission statement for their business. What does it do? Who are the customers? When does it operate?

Careful business planning is important, but it can take nine months to a year to come up with a sound plan, with much of that time devoted to research, Curtismith said.

She warned the students against plans that are too ambitious at the onset. "Don’t try to implement all your ideas at once," she said, adding that those who do so tend to end up spinning their wheels and wasting a lot of time and money.

Reporter Bryan Corliss: 425-339-3454 or corliss@heraldnet.com.