Is entrepreneurship right for you?

What is the first question you should ask yourself when starting a new business?  Simply put: Is entrepreneurship right for you?  You might also want to ask yourself: Am I prepared to spend the time, money and resources needed to get a company up and running?  In terms of time, when you become an entrepreneur, you’ll likely work harder than you would for any traditional company.  While there is a lot of flexibility involved in a new business, it requires a large investment of time.  You’ll need structure and a schedule of regular business hours that you have to commit to.

Embarking on a new business venture isn’t easy.  Being your own boss can be a challenge.  You have to have the motivation to work hard every day.  You don’t have a boss looking over your shoulder or the structure of a traditional office environment.  You also aren’t getting a paycheck every week and don’t have the luxury of benefits.  Additionally, if you start a business on your own, you won’t have a staff that reports to you or co-workers to brainstorm with and help you when your work flow gets overwhelming.

Next question and possibly the most important one: What is my idea and why is it unique and original?  What will set me apart from my competitors and who are those competitors?  Coming up with a fresh idea can be a challenge.  New ideas can come from reading and of course, talking to others who have the same interests.  Another way to spark your creativity is to think about a problem and the different ways to solve it.  Once you have an idea, think it through and determine if it is reasonable to move forward with it.  If it is, go for it!  If it isn’t, keep trying.  Don’t limit yourself – be open to a variety of possibilities and your mind will logically create new ideas.  There’s a lot of research involved in learning what’s already out there in the broader marketplace.  You might find yourself competing against established businesses.  One thing that can be helpful when facing such a challenge is networking with the right people.  They can provide advice on how to become successful and potentially help you get new clients.  

You also need to ask yourself: Why exactly am I starting a business?  What are the goals I’m looking to achieve?  Do I have the skills and knowledge to be successful?  When you’re an employee of a traditional company, your responsibilities are vastly narrower and highly targeted.  However, when you launch a business, you become responsible for everything from research and development to product delivery and accounting.  Therefore, there will be some tasks you might not be familiar with.  You might want to seek a mentor or sound advice from an expert in your field who can help you learn how to navigate through these new endeavors.

Another challenge you might face as an entrepreneur is feeling isolated from the broader working community.  Because it takes time to become successful in a new business venture and turn a profit, it is helpful to find other sources of feedback.  Seeking out and meeting with other entrepreneurs can help give you the feedback needed to understand and assess the growth of your business.

Additionally, money is a HUGE issue in starting up a new business venture and I will talk about securing funding in a future blog.  While some businesses can be started on a small budget, every business needs access to capital to continue to grow.  You might seek an investor or a small business loan.  In essence, you need to be realistic about startup costs.  New entrepreneurs often underestimate the time it takes for a business to become profitable.  Developing a sound financial plan is key.

So what have you learned here today?  Starting a business can be a rewarding experience that offers advantages such as the flexibility of being your own boss and making a living doing something you love.  Instead of working a traditional corporate job so you can merely pay the bills, you’ll be able to set your own schedule which can be a challenge but might also be something you enjoy immensely.  Becoming an entrepreneur requires sound planning, creativity and hard work.  It also involves taking risks – but if you have faith in yourself and your abilities it can be seen as an exciting, fulfilling challenge.  To decide whether or not owning your own business is right for you, consider all the obstacles you may face and what it takes to become a success.

I invite you to log back on next Wednesday for our continued advice and guidance on starting a new business.

Until next time…