10 things to ask yourself before you start a business

Everyone wants to be an entrepreneur. Well, not everyone, but nearly everyone. Right?

Over the past 10 years there has definitely been a change in the psyche of young, aspirational men and women. The celebrated and well-publicised success of men like Richard Branson and Ben Elliot has convinced thousands that they can go it alone and make their fortune. It’s an often romanticised dream with tempting anti-establishment undertones, but the reality of leaving corporate life and taking your life into your own hands isn’t as easy as it seems.

It’s often said that 99% of entrepreneurs fail and although that may not be entirely (or at all) accurate, it does reflect a tendency in fledgling entrepreneurs not to think about the consequences of taking the plunge. With that in mind, here’s 10 questions every man, woman and child (17 year old Nick d’Aloisio sold his news app ‘Summly’ to Yahoo for $30m) should ask themselves before they decide to start their own business.

Are you drunk?

It’s a well-known fact that all business ideas are definitely profitable and potential billion dollar endeavours after you’ve had more than three shots. So if the answer to this question is yes, sleep on it.

Why are you doing it?

You’ll have heard this before, but your idea needs to satisfy a novel need. Your new business won’t necessarily be successful because no-one else does what you do (it probably means someone has tried before and failed). If you’re doing something that has been done before in a slightly different way or think you can do it better than the competition, then remember that when you start out you’ll have a lot less money, a lot less staff and far fewer resources than the established businesses you want to compete with.

How do you deal with pressure?

There are two types of pressure. In the corporate world, pressure hits when your boss gives you a tight deadline or something changes at the last minute. For the most part, it’s fleeting pressure that you share with others in your team and you have a strong corporate support system to help you deal with it. All of that disappears when you go into business by yourself and the pressure isn’t fleeting, it’s a constant battle to stay afloat, to stay motivated and pay your rent (if you’re not living with your parents). That degree of pressure is hard to bear, so make sure you’ve got broad shoulders before you take on the weight of your ambitions.

How do you respond to failure?

At some point, you’re going to be confronted with failure. In fact, it’s going to happen several times and you won’t have any time to refocus and re-motivate, you’ll have to bounce back immediately. So if you’re the sort of person who stops running when your legs hurt, entrepreneurship probably isn’t for you.

Are you ready for the social pressure?

When you go it alone, you do just that. Your friends who still work in large company structures won’t understand your struggles and why you don’t understand how ‘hard’ they’re working. To make a success of your own business you have to go against the social norms of working for a monthly pay check, your life will progress more slowly and there will be enormous social pressure to throw in the towel and rejoin the ‘real world’.

Are you single or do you have an extremely supportive partner?

If you thought you weren’t spending enough time with your partner when you had a job, then entrepreneurship will make you wonder how you ever had that much time to spend with them. And even when you do have time together, your mind will be on your first love, your business. Your partner won’t be ready for that but you need to be.

Do you have enough cash to last at least a year?

You will run out of cash far faster than you think. Calculate a generous figure, and then double it. That might see you through.

Are you ready to sleep just a few hours a day?

Lori Greiner said this better than we ever will: “Entrepreneurs are willing to work an 80 hour week to avoid working 40 hours a week”. If you already work 80 hours a week, your newfound stress and (hopefully) insatiable hunger to make it big will keep you up into the early hours.

How do you define success?

Starting your own business requires a sea change in how you define your own success. You have to accept that buying a house, having a family and going on nice holidays aren’t your life goals anymore – making your business a success should be your only metric of success.

Will you regret it if you fail?

Even if you’re happy with your answers to all of the above, when you decide to take the plunge you need to be sure that even if you fail and end up broke, homeless and starting again from the bottom, that you’d do it all again.

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