Written by: Bernhard Schroeder
Spource: https://tinyurl.com/ybuz78h5
Spource: https://tinyurl.com/ybuz78h5
What were you born to do? Were you born to be an accountant, a marketer or a project manager? Probably not. And who started the company that you are working for? The people that started the company at some point became entrepreneurial and asked themselves, “Why am I working for this person or company?” So, is this the right time for you to start a company?
Just like Uber, Slack, Square, WhatsApp, and Instagram were created coming out of the last recession, there will be many innovative companies spawned from this coronavirus pandemic. Quite a few talented people are being furloughed and, like you, they might be re-examining what they really want out of life. And there is reason to be optimistic. The good news is that more people are now actively seeking to become entrepreneurs. A new report from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM), sponsored by Babson College and Baruch College, finds that 27 million working-age Americans, nearly 14%, are starting or running new businesses. And Millennials and Gen-Z are driving higher interest in entrepreneurship as 51% of the working population now believes that there are actually good opportunities to start companies. So, why haven’t you considered starting a company?
There are several reasons for you not being more entrepreneurial but none of them are valid. Start to identify what is holding you back by examining and then mitigating the reasons/excuses listed below.
Fear of failure. While starting a business could be risky, so is thinking that you will have a company(s) that will take care of you and offer you employment for 30 years. Nothing in employment is guaranteed, you have to perform and get better at whatever you do or you will be replaced. Well, if that’s the case, that sounds riskier then starting a company where the control is in your hands. Life is an adventure, working for someone else for 30 years is not.
Few resources to start a business. People like to believe have little to no money to start a business. They also do not know where to find the capital they need to start a business. So even if they want to start a business, the lack of capital is a huge stumbling block for them. Well crowdfunding exists today where you can raise money through pre-sales of the product or even get investors. And other cloud based services like Shopify for e-commerce, etc. allow you to get up and running for very little money. There has never been a better time to start a company.
Just like Uber, Slack, Square, WhatsApp, and Instagram were created coming out of the last recession, there will be many innovative companies spawned from this coronavirus pandemic. Quite a few talented people are being furloughed and, like you, they might be re-examining what they really want out of life. And there is reason to be optimistic. The good news is that more people are now actively seeking to become entrepreneurs. A new report from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM), sponsored by Babson College and Baruch College, finds that 27 million working-age Americans, nearly 14%, are starting or running new businesses. And Millennials and Gen-Z are driving higher interest in entrepreneurship as 51% of the working population now believes that there are actually good opportunities to start companies. So, why haven’t you considered starting a company?
There are several reasons for you not being more entrepreneurial but none of them are valid. Start to identify what is holding you back by examining and then mitigating the reasons/excuses listed below.
Fear of failure. While starting a business could be risky, so is thinking that you will have a company(s) that will take care of you and offer you employment for 30 years. Nothing in employment is guaranteed, you have to perform and get better at whatever you do or you will be replaced. Well, if that’s the case, that sounds riskier then starting a company where the control is in your hands. Life is an adventure, working for someone else for 30 years is not.
Few resources to start a business. People like to believe have little to no money to start a business. They also do not know where to find the capital they need to start a business. So even if they want to start a business, the lack of capital is a huge stumbling block for them. Well crowdfunding exists today where you can raise money through pre-sales of the product or even get investors. And other cloud based services like Shopify for e-commerce, etc. allow you to get up and running for very little money. There has never been a better time to start a company.
Don’t know anything about entrepreneurship. You may have never been exposed to entrepreneurship so you simply don’t consider starting a business. You can change that by joining other networks of entrepreneurs or adding more entrepreneurs to your network. The more you meet and learn from these people, the more normal it will seem to start your own company. The more knowledge you acquire, the lower your risk factor.
Entrepreneurship can be stressful. Starting and managing a business can be very stressful. It typically means understanding the market, developing the right products that will address the needs of the target market, and possessing the skills needed to jumpstart and run the business. However, working in a job or career where you have different people managing you to their expectations is also stressful. Most people in life want the freedom of choice to determine the shape of their lives and what better freedom than to create your own company and be responsible to you.
You love your job. You may actually love your current job, and there’s nothing in the world you want to do but work in your current job. You already feel that the corporate world gives you the challenging, exciting environment that you crave. There’s no reason to resign and start a business because you have already found the perfect job. Right up until the company is merged or sold and you need to start proving yourself all over again after ten years of hard work. If you love “what” you do, then you can do the same thing for yourself inside your company.
Starting a business is hard work. There are people who work 16 hour workdays, or work in two or three jobs (aside from their full time jobs). But despite the hard work and the long hours they put in, they still have barely make enough to live comfortably. They are living paycheck to paycheck. If they are already working that hard to earn a decent livable income, they think that starting a business requires double that effort, which they don’t want. Not true. It’s not about how many hours you work but the quality of those hours. And if you are going to work hard anyway in your career, might as well work for yourself. Plus, when you work on your own company and its something you love, it does not feel like work.
You fear selling. Whether you work in a service-oriented business or producing a product, being in business means selling. And, while you may not be in sales, whether you realize it or not, you have been selling your whole life. At a minimum, you have been selling you and perhaps even selling your companies products or services. At networking events, you are selling your company. When you truly care about your company and your products or services, it will feel less like selling and more like helping people.
Security of a steady paycheck. Starting a business can seem daunting. Sometimes you’re up and sometimes you’re down. This means that there might be days of strong revenue, but also days when cash flow is extremely tight, especially during a down economy. There are people who cannot live with the downs and ups of running a business, and instead prefer the stability and security of a job and a regular paycheck. The real issue is that unless you work for the government, there is no guarantee of jobs for life. Do you wonder why so many companies are started in a recession? They are started by people who got laid off from their jobs.
Assume you will have a long and great life. And that you will work 30-40 years doing things you love. If you are going to work that long at something you love, might as well do it for yourself. The freedom and reward for building a great little company is amazing.
Entrepreneurship can be stressful. Starting and managing a business can be very stressful. It typically means understanding the market, developing the right products that will address the needs of the target market, and possessing the skills needed to jumpstart and run the business. However, working in a job or career where you have different people managing you to their expectations is also stressful. Most people in life want the freedom of choice to determine the shape of their lives and what better freedom than to create your own company and be responsible to you.
You love your job. You may actually love your current job, and there’s nothing in the world you want to do but work in your current job. You already feel that the corporate world gives you the challenging, exciting environment that you crave. There’s no reason to resign and start a business because you have already found the perfect job. Right up until the company is merged or sold and you need to start proving yourself all over again after ten years of hard work. If you love “what” you do, then you can do the same thing for yourself inside your company.
Starting a business is hard work. There are people who work 16 hour workdays, or work in two or three jobs (aside from their full time jobs). But despite the hard work and the long hours they put in, they still have barely make enough to live comfortably. They are living paycheck to paycheck. If they are already working that hard to earn a decent livable income, they think that starting a business requires double that effort, which they don’t want. Not true. It’s not about how many hours you work but the quality of those hours. And if you are going to work hard anyway in your career, might as well work for yourself. Plus, when you work on your own company and its something you love, it does not feel like work.
You fear selling. Whether you work in a service-oriented business or producing a product, being in business means selling. And, while you may not be in sales, whether you realize it or not, you have been selling your whole life. At a minimum, you have been selling you and perhaps even selling your companies products or services. At networking events, you are selling your company. When you truly care about your company and your products or services, it will feel less like selling and more like helping people.
Security of a steady paycheck. Starting a business can seem daunting. Sometimes you’re up and sometimes you’re down. This means that there might be days of strong revenue, but also days when cash flow is extremely tight, especially during a down economy. There are people who cannot live with the downs and ups of running a business, and instead prefer the stability and security of a job and a regular paycheck. The real issue is that unless you work for the government, there is no guarantee of jobs for life. Do you wonder why so many companies are started in a recession? They are started by people who got laid off from their jobs.
Assume you will have a long and great life. And that you will work 30-40 years doing things you love. If you are going to work that long at something you love, might as well do it for yourself. The freedom and reward for building a great little company is amazing.
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