No matter how tough it appears to be, the entrepreneurial lifestyle is seductive. The being-your-own-boss and owning a successful personal business is definitely a wonderful sight to imagine.
Are you ready?
Entrepreneurship looks fascinating and adventurous but truth to be told, it is not everyone’s cup of tea. It requires a lot of efforts, hard work, initial investments and even facing that one thing which would completely throw you off : Failure.
However, this is certainly not the only situation that comes up once you decide on taking this route. It can lead you to immeasurable successes and huge bucks as well. Many successful entrepreneurs like Mark Zuckerburg came up with strong ideas and put their entrepreneurial instincts to work and voila! Shook the whole world.
So if you are confident that your prowess will work and entrepreneurship is the journey you wish to carry on, read on. Here are a few things you need to consider (again) before taking this plunge:
1. Evaluate Everything
The first and foremost thing is evaluation. It includes thinking about why you want to do this, to what sort of business you wish to start up and much much more.
If you are currently employed, then you need to ask yourself why do want to take this road? Is it because of an extremely annoying boss? Or maybe because this job no longer fulfills you? You need to ask yourself many questions and address everything honestly, because entrepreneurship demands severe determination and hard work.
2. Where is the PASSION
If you feel that you have the strength and the passion, the next step would be to determine where it is. Your passion should be such that it never leaves you. Since entrepreneurs are interesting people and work in rather extra-ordinary ways, the one thing which is common in them is the itch that doesn’t seem to go away. It is the business idea that stems mostly from hobbies and works its way up as a full proof business plan.
3. Know your limits
Probably the one thing which would be tested on and off, again and again, is going to be your limit. You need to weigh the pros and cons, jot down your strength and weaknesses and know what are your limits ( be it emotional, physical or financial), because believe it or not you will be pushed beyond them. A well done self-examination would prove beneficial, as you will be aware of how to deal with stuff and mostly if you lack something, arrange for the resources.
4. One word: Finances
No effort will flourish without suitable finances. In case you want to be an entrepreneur, you need to make sure that you have the cash in place, otherwise you will lose everything. In fact, initially your investments will be huge and revenue would be small. To make things worse, there exist possibilities that whatever you invest in goes down the drain, which brings me to my next point which is ….
5. Have Suitable, Workable Idea
DO NOT step into the entrepreneur world with a premature idea. With all due respect, if your idea sucks then do not expect it to flourish even if you spend millions of dollars on it. While being visionary is important, being overly-imaginative will not end well for you. You need to be realistic about the idea and about all the associated expectations.
6. Consider having another source of income
In opposition to the stereotypical image associated with entrepreneurship, it is best to rely on other sources of income. There is no law that says you have to leave everything for a venture. The extra income would not only help you in the initial stages but will be a cushion in case everything fails. So it is advisable to draw your safety nets as well.
In my experience, entrepreneurship has been one crazy yet addictive ride. It has required a lot of hard work and determination from my side, but has been more fulfilling then conventional jobs. Every new idea that comes up requires a different, unique and energetic approach. The motto is simple : If you want it, work for it.
What’s stopping you from becoming a full-time entrepreneur? Let’s discuss in the comments section below.
Hi Aqib,
I was waiting days and weeks for you to post something, and this post pays it off. I can see what you have been writing for us, simply an amazing blog post.
Keep up the good work
Yours , Clay Smith