Thinking of Starting a Business?

Maybe you are having casual thoughts of starting a business
or maybe you are getting serious. Either way it is probably a good idea to take
a look at a few things before jumping in with both feet.

There is something to be said for the bravado of “just
go for it” without any kind of pre-thought or up front work, and
occasionally someone even succeeds…against all odds. The key phrase there is
“against all odds”.

Statistically just jumping in without any preparation dramatically lowers your chances of succeeding. I’m going to start with what may appear as doom and gloom, not to bring you down at all but rather to arm you with information that will improve your odds of succeeding should you choose to smartly go for it.

Did you know that nearly ninety percent of all new startups fail within the first one to five years?

Shocking huh? The good news is that this includes all of those people that just go for it without any planning or thought. They may have decided on a whim to register a business one day and give up the next. By simply knowing this you are now armed enough to know one possible step at not becoming a tragic statistic.

Step 1 – Make better decisions by taking a beat (a pause).

Step 2 – Think a bit about the decision of starting a business.

Prior to opening most of the businesses I have owned, questions would flood through my mind, along with doubts mixed with excitement and a little terror thrown in for good measure.

Things like;  “So how much should I think before I take action?”, “What ‘things’ should I think about?”, “When am I ready to take action?”, “What if I still feel like I haven’t thought of everything?”, “What if I don’t have what it takes to start and run a business?”, “What if I fail?”, “Where would I get the money?”, “How much money do I need?”, “Why am I doing this?” and on and on it goes.  This is actually good news though. If you are asking a lot of questions like these you are already ahead of the norm.

Thinking about the decision to start a business can include an endless number of things to consider. (Insight: Thinking is good, over thinking, not so much. There is much evidence to support that there needs to be a balance between thinking and planning versus action and results.) Finding that balance is easier said than done for most of us, including myself.

How do I know how much to think, or learn, about before I
actually start a business? Or asked another way, when should I just go for it and
learn on the job so to speak? Great questions!

There is every manner of advice on this from just do it and figure it out as you go along, to plan till you’re dead and never get started on actually having a business. So again, what’s right?

I believe that both of those ways are applicable and appropriate to some degree, depending on both circumstances and the individual.

In one of my next posts I will go into more detail on what some of my deciding factors are that have helped me make decisions on when to just go for it, and when to do more learning and planning.

Are you thinking of starting a business? I’m always interested in hearing what your thoughts are before starting a business. Let me know in the comments below. 

Until next time check out “TheOptimalBusiness compendium of questions to ask yourself before starting a business”

Also, sign up for news and tips to grow your business and go ahead and ask questions if you have them.