Taking the step to start a business is a very exciting step. Ask many people today whether they would prefer working in a company or being a business owner and working for themselves, they would most likely choose the latter.
So why don't more people pursue their dreams and take the plunge into starting their own business?
The obvious benefits are there:
1. When you work your butt off, you're not working for anyone else but yourself. And when something succeeds and makes lots of money, it doesn't go to your bosses but to the company that you built and ultimately back to yourself.
2. If successful (and that is a very big if), it allows an individual to make far more money than they would usually be able to achieve in a cubicle. It is quite challenging to accumulate true wealth as an employee (especially here in Malaysia where our spending power is honestly horrendous).
3. You have the flexibility to manage your time and life. You work when you want to, run errands when you want to, spend time with a family member in hospital when you want to, and are ultimately accountable to yourself for the result of how you spend your time.
4. There are less limits to learning, growth and bringing about changes to the company. You are in control of how you build the company and how you learn on the job. You are not compartmentalised into a certain role where the job function is relatively limited and you don't have to go through many levels of bureaucracy in order to get needed actions approved.
So why then, do the majority of people still stay as an employee? Here are a few of the main reasons in my opinion:
1. Fear. There is usually a lot of fear in coming out and doing your own thing...and rightly so. The majority of start-ups do fail due to one reason or another. There is uncertainty over the future and it's easy to see how tempting a stable job where you don't have to worry about monthly overheads and cashflow will be. The risks are always going to be there and some people just would prefer not to lose sleep over it on a regular basis.
2. Self-confidence and tenacity. These are the two most important characteristics in my opinion for an entrepreneur and it will be very difficult to succeed without them. There are many reasons for a lack of confidence including thinking you're too young, too inexperienced and not smart enough, and a business owner will need to overcome these doubts in order to be successful. At the same time, determination and tenacity counts more for the sustainability of a business than anything else and some people just realise that they don't have it in themselves no matter how much they push themselves.
3. Capital. Let's face it - unless you're starting up a business like an online site with practically no start-up cost involved, you're going to need capital. And not just capital to get started but also enough for operational expenses for at least six months. What usually kills a business is not a lack of profits or revenue; it is that the cash flow runs dry although there are still good sales and profits on paper which are yet to be collected. It would be a shame to start up a business making good revenue and profits, only to find that cashflow cannot be managed effectively due to lack of capital causing it to be closed down. It sounds contradictory that a company with a solid profit margin would go under but it happens more often than you think.
4. Priorities. Look, if you have a family and are putting two young children through school, the smart decision is probably not to stake your family's livelihood on a business venture. If you're 25 years old and have no major commitments, you can survive a bankruptcy and still have that job in IBM waiting for you at the end of the day - then consider going into business ownership. There's never going to be a perfect time because more of than not, we will make excuses so as to not have to take risks and expose ourselves to uncertainty, but there are clear constraints which dictate that you continue in the stability of employment. Whilst pursuing your dreams, apply a good dosage of wisdom as well.
In conclusion, if you're still keen on going ahead with starting up your own business, make sure you get other people involved. Those who have been there and done that are more willing to share their experiences and guide those around them than most people realise. Find mentors who can give sound advice and support. Discuss your ideas and concepts without being afraid that someone might take the idea - you will gain far more benefit from the understanding and depth after the discussions than the potential damage of one of them taking it out to the market first.
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