Start-Up Your Business on the Right Foot

It is an explosion of ideas out there! The number of start-up businesses in our time is indicative of the brilliant minds and people seeking to contribute to society by providing one service or the other. It almost is becoming the trend. Becoming an entrepreneur is both possible and very rewarding. Nevertheless, as noble as the start-up idea is, it could become a source of regret if engaged in without proper preparation and a clear sense of vision.

There are diverse reasons why people take on the path to entrepreneurship. Some may desire to follow a passion, while others simply crave the experience of autonomy. If starting up is something you have on your bucket list, you may need to think again if you are about to take the plunge based on any of these reasons:

1. You are Fed-Up with your Job

The 9 to 5 lifestyle (8 to 5 in some cases) may be a nuisance every now and then, especially when you have to daily face a boss you’d consider the devil’s incarnate – to think the worse. Routine becomes sickening and you feel like the best solution would be to become your own boss. This is rather an unwise reason for anyone to take the leap into entrepreneurship. It would require more than merely being fed-up with your job to make that bold move. Who says you won’t encounter clients, as an entrepreneur, who would be even more “devilish” than your boss? Stay the cause; practice some patience in the process, because you will need a lot of it when you finally step out.

2. You Want to Work Less

This is a deceptive thought. You will hardly have this luxury especially when you just start up. Unlike your 9 to 5 job, you will find yourself still caught up with work even into the later hours of the night, in order to keep a client satisfied. It’s a new set of challenges, different from what you may have experienced with your corporate job. It equally is a new facet of responsibility, towards your employees, towards your suppliers and towards your very own self, to ensure the growth of the business.

3. The Get-Rich-Quick Mind-Set

You must have come across stories of people who made it big in no time after launching their business. Great! Bear such stories in mind; they can be a source of encouragement. But, they shouldn’t be your reason for engaging.

It is realistic to be hopeful about getting rich through your business. Of course, it is about making money. But you will encounter challenges and the get-rich-quick mentality will obscure your perception, and probably cost you a good deal that would have made your business to gain firmer grounds in the long run.

4. To Meet A Need In Society

This appears to be a fantastic and honorable motivation. However, if this is the unique foot on which you stand to take the bull by the horn, then be prepared for casualties. Maintain your focus on the need you want to meet, but sit down and write yourself a good business plan. You are not about to establish a charity organization; you hope to make money in the process, hence the need for that plan.

5. For the Fame

Bluntly speaking, this is just unreasonable. Try something else if your sole purpose is to become famous. Let the impact your business creates be the compass that directs the public to seek the brain behind the business. Fame shouldn’t be the goal you set.

Eight out of ten start-ups fail. Failure to prepare produces reparation. There is nothing significant anyone could ever accomplish in life that is risk-free because there is always going to be the aspect of the unknown. If you can still muster the courage to start your business after considering the possible risks involved, it would be unfortunate for that business to take on the shooting star effect – there one moment and gone the next. Thus, the need to guard our steps from the error some have made starting up for all the wrong reasons

By Lizette Tarke