Everyone loves the idea of becoming their own boss but unfortunately, not everyone is suitable for becoming an entrepreneur. According to Bloomberg, 8 out of 10 entrepreneurs who start businesses fail within the first 18 months. As you can see from the statistics, becoming an entrepreneur is not an easy path. Therefore, you should consider your circumstances carefully before quitting your corporate job and ask yourself the below questions.
- Why do I want to start a business? I am not talking about the particular business you want to start. I am talking about any business. What are your motives to start something new? If you want to do this just to earn more money, think again! Because you will not be making a lot of money for the first few years. Working less than 40 hours and going to vacation anytime you want are also not good reasons to start a new business. If you want your business to be successful, you need to work much more than 40 hours a week. If your motives for starting a new business are creating something new, solving a problem, creating a difference in your community or to do something you love, then, you are on the right track for becoming an entrepreneur.
- How am I going to pay the bills? You will spend from your savings at the start and for this reason; you need a sound business and financial plan. Also, keep in mind that unexpected costs will incur along the way and you will run out of your savings more quickly than you think. Therefore, you need to figure out very well when you will be profitable or where you will find the money to continue your living.
- Am I good at making the right decisions? When you are running your own business, you have to make the decisions yourself. You can get advice from friends and family but no one knows your business better than you. Hence, you must be confident enough to make the right decisions. It is ok to make the wrong decisions and fail sometimes but you need to learn from these mistakes and not repeat them. Also, if you constantly make the wrong decisions, your business fails and you start looking for a job again.
- Am I willing to wear multiple hats at the same time? In corporate jobs, every employee specializes on a special skill because there are many employees doing many different jobs such as marketing, accounting, sales, IT and etc. However, when you start a new business, you will be the sales person, the marketer, the bookkeeper and many more at the same time especially if you are a solo entrepreneur. Therefore, you need to consider carefully if you can manage all of these responsibilities.
