How much money is at risk? How long will it take? Let’s take a look at the most popular recommendations from experienced entrepreneurs that you should ask yourself before starting your business.
Ask yourself these questions
Instead, I would advise you to research these additional questions further whether you need to start a business or not.
Here’s a list of 12 questions:
How much money am I going to risk?
How long will it take?
How much energy do I need?
Do I currently have other responsibilities that prevent me from concentrating 100% of my business?
Would starting a business at a different time be much better for me than it is now?
What are my other options in case I don’t start a business now?
What is my chance of succeeding?
Do I want to start a business from a relatively strong position – feel good and start – or from a relatively weak position – have I been fired recently or am I late?
Can I try out part-time running a business before quitting my job?
Should I choose a high or low risk company?
Assuming the company will make less profit than I expected, how long will I have to live with it?
If starting a business failed, how easy would it be to recover and take the next step in life?
Should I start a business?
Chances are, this is your most important question. However, rather than trying to answer that, I would recommend looking at 12 specific questions.
Answering these questions will make it easier and easier for you to answer the more general question mentioned above. In addition, if you decide to start a business, your answers will give you more confidence and strength in your choice.
You have to weigh the risk and the reward
You may be lucky and now have a great, well-paying corporate job with unbeatable added benefits and great growth potential. Your main question shouldn’t be, “Should I start a business?”, But rather, “Should I start a full-time business that would force me to quit my main job?”
Starting a business involves significant risks
You have to weigh the risks against the possible benefits. Likewise, suppose you have worked for years and saved a lot of money and are about to retire. Currently you think you should start a business. So your main question may not be “do I want to start a business?”, But rather – “what is the maximum amount I am willing to risk in starting a new business? Business, if any?”
Your first investment will affect the type of business you can start. Either way, that doesn’t mean you can’t start a business on a low budget.
Starting a business involves many risk factors. And for most companies, these are important factors as the default ratings for new companies are high.
Restricting can lessen the fear of starting a business
Exposure to risk makes people more fearful. Oftentimes, you can ease your fears and feel better about starting a business if you set limits – limits you shouldn’t play with; the limits that you can write down and put in your business plan.
Starting a business is a stressful experience. You must set specific cut-off points to limit your fear of failure and stress. For example, you can choose as one of your limits that you don’t start a business that affects your day-to-day work.
Or you can choose not to invest more than EUR 100,000 in your first company.
Or the fact that you only want to try the business for a year, and if you don’t have at least 50 customers and a profit of $ 50,000 after that time, shut down the business altogether.
As you can see, the decision to start a business is a complex process and requires a lot of research and thought. So, it is not unusual that a person who is about to start his or her own business needs help. So make sure to learn more about prioritizing your business with the Eisenhower Matrix.
While capping is a great way to make your experience less stressful, you should also choose a simple business to start. Especially if this is your first time starting a business.
