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MenuAre there any tell tale signs that you may not be ready for a business endeavor?
Signs that you are simply kidding yourself.
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In my experience, no entrepreneur is fully prepared for the journey they are embarking upon when they start a new business endeavor. You simply can't have everything you need before you begin this journey. Being an entrepreneur is about being resourceful, or as Paul Graham puts it, being "relentlessly resourceful". You'll need to solve problems as you go and you can't anticipate every hurdle you're going to have to overcome. Ask people around you if they would describe you as resourceful. Ask yourself this question. It is the one skill that every entrepreneur needs to have.
That said, I think you can try to stack the deck in your favor before you begin. Money, knowledge, a head start on your product or service idea before you go full time, the right partners, and the support of your significant other are all things that will greatly benefit you.
In the end, you're going to have to be willing to do whatever it takes to make your business endeavor a success. You're also going to have to be willing to work hard and live an unorthodox lifestyle while you are getting things started. If you're not looking for this kind of life and you don't want to give up a lifestyle that you've become accustomed to or if you don't have the confidence that you'll be able to figure it out as you go, then you may not be ready yet.
I've always thought that you never really know what you are capable of until you are put in a position where there is only one way forward and failure is not an option. In this respect, sometimes I think it's worth a try if starting a new business endeavor is something you've thought about for a long time. Don't be afraid to put yourself out there to see what you can do.
I know my experience of starting a business was one in which I didn't have many things going for me, but I still managed to find a way to make it work and find success.
Work hard. Don't give up. Strive to be the best. Do whatever it takes. You can do it!
any entrepreneur who is worth his salt has a list of past situations he/she wishes she could redo. As hard as you try you are not going to get everything right the first (or even second!) time around. The key take away here is to be focused but not spend too much time second guessing your self. If you go down this path you will get nothing done and you will make your self crazy. The second is to pick a strategy and commit to it. Once you are already going down a path you have to own it. Executing strategy is a 'wishy-washy" fashion will surely yield failure. Other than that you need to be the kind of person who does not blame others for failure. Once you begin your business endeavor you have to be comfortable knowing that everything that goes wrong is your fault. The buck stops with you and is your responsibility to repair the product/service and the customer relationship. So, as long as you are willing to own those processes you will be just fine. You can get advice on the accounting and legal to smooth your path with the logistics, but you have to have the heart for this kind of journey and nobody can answer that except for you.
If you like the idea of success more than you like working on the problem, then don't try.
A key sign would be if you were doubting yourself before you start. To be unsure if it will succeed is one thing, to be unsure if you should even start, disaster.
Related Questions
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I have this social media idea,but no coding skills. How do I get someone to do the coding (cant afford to pay them) and not give away half of my idea?
Dilip was very kind in his response. My answer might be a bit on the "tough love" side. But that's for you to decide. My intention, just for the record, is to help you (and those like you) on your path to success. And that starts with having a viable philosophy about entrepreneurial-ism and business. And I'm going to answer this because I get asked some form / version of this question very frequently from newcomers to entrepreneurial-ism. The scenario goes something like this: "I have a great idea. It's amazing, I love it, and I just KNOW it's gonna make me a ton of money. But I have no money right now so I can't afford to (fill in the blank with things like "to build it / create it / market it / etc" or "to hire the required staff needed to work in my business to sell it / develop it / etc"). And I don't want to tell anyone about my great idea because I'm worried someone will steal it and make MY million / billion dollars. But I can't afford to legally protect it either... So how do I launch without the skills to personally create the product AND no money to hire anyone else to do that either??" The answer is ... You don't. Look - let's be honest. All you have is an idea. Big deal. Really. I'm not saying it's not a good idea. I'm not saying that if properly executed it couldn't make you a million / billion dollars... But an idea is NOT a business. Nor is it an asset. Until you do some (very important) initial work - like creating a business model, doing customer development, creating a MVP, etc - all you really have is a dream. Right now your choices are: 1. Find someone with the skills or the money to develop your idea and sell them on WHY they should invest in you. And yes, this will mean giving up either a portion of the "ownership" or of future income or equity. And the more risk they have to take - the more equity they will want (and quite frankly be entitled to). 2. Learn how to code and build it yourself. MANY entrepreneurs without financial resources are still resourceful. They develop the skills needed to create what they don't have the money to pay someone else to do. 3. Get some cash so you can pay someone to do the coding. You'll probably have to have some knowledge of coding to direct the architecture of your idea. So you will likely still have to become knowledgeable even if its not you personally doing the coding. (This is not meant to be a comprehensive list of options... And I'm sure some of the other experts here on Clarity have others to add - and I hope they do) To wrap up - Here's my final tip to you that I hope you "get"... It's FAR more valuable to have an idea that a very specific hungry crowd is clamoring for right now - One that THEY would love and pay you for right now - Maybe even one they'd pre-order because they just have to have it - Versus YOU being in love with your own idea. [Notice I didn't say "an idea that some as-of-yet-undetermined market would probably love"] I wish you the best of luck moving forward.DB
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How has Uber grown so fast?
Obviously, they do the fundamentals well. Good brand. Good experience. Good word of mouth. Good PR. Etc. Etc. But after my interview with Ryan Graves, the head of Global Operations at Uber (https://www.growthhacker.tv/ryan-graves), it became clear that they are operationally advanced and this is a huge part of their success. I'll explain. Uber isn't just a single startup, it's essentially dozens of startups rolled into one because every time they enter a new city they have to establish themselves from essentially nothing (except whatever brand equity has reached the city ahead of them). This means finding/training drivers, marketing to consumers, and building out local staff to manage operations for that city. This is where Ryan Graves comes in. He has a protocol of everything that must be done, and in what order, and by who, to ensure the best chance of success in a new city. So how has Uber grown so fast? Essentially, they figured out how to grow in one locale and were relentless about refining their launch process to recreate that initial success over and over in new cities. No plan works for every city, and they've had to adapt in many situations, but it is still a driving factor for their success.BT
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How can I smoothly transition from full time worker to self-employment?
The ways I've done this in the past are 1) Find some customers that are willing to hire you (or your product) but know that you'll only be free nights & weekends to support/work with them. 2) Find a "partner" (co-founder or other) that's got a flexible schedule that can help build the business while you're at work. 3) Block out nights, mornings and weekends to build the business till you have enough orders to cover 50% of your salary. This might mean 7pm-11pm most nights, and 4 hours each day Sat & Sun. Make progress (sales $$$) and momentum. All that being said, it's risk reward. Sounds like you want to avoid taken the risk, and I get that .. but the upside is always smaller. Unless you put yourself in a position to have to succeed (ex: quitting your job) then you may never make the scary decisions that are required to build a company (like cold calling, going in debt, making a presentation, etc). I'm on company #5 with many other side projects started nights & weekends .. so I get it - but don't be afraid to bet on yourself and go all in.DM
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How do you make money to survive while you are building a business? What are some quick ways to make money with less time commitment?
I love this question. If you have to work on the side while building your business, I recommend doing something you absolutely hate. That keeps you hungry to succeed on your own. You'll also typically save your energy for the evenings and weekends where you'll want it for your business. Don't expect to make much money at your "other job" but you can work it to pay the bills while you build your business. This approach also forces you to build incrementally, and it keeps you frugal. This is not necessarily ideal. Having a bunch of money set aside sounds nice and luxurious, but not having the resources puts you in a position where you have to figure it out to survive. I love that. I started my business eight years ago on $150 and today we do a million a year. Don't wait until you have the resources to start safely. Dive in however you can. And avoid shortcuts. Don't waste your time scheming to make bigger money on the side. Do something honest to live on and create a business that drives value.CM
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Whats the best way to find commission sales reps?
This is not my specialty, however, I have been in your position many many times -- maybe this will help. If the product is in-tangible, then look for JV partners on the Internet. Try to find an expert that deals with these JV opportunities (like me). If the product is physical, then look for sales organizations that have networks of sales people across the country. You do the deal with the organization and the independent network of sales people sells your product. It's a sweet setup if you can negotiate a margin that works for everyone. Hope that helps - Cheers - NickNP
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