Should You Start Your Own Business?

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Starting your own small business can be a big risk. First, you have to get enough capital together to get off the ground. For many people, this could be a sizeable proportion of their overall assets. Next, you need to get out in the world and make it happen. Whether you want to open a neighborhood bakery or you’re interested in running the next great tech startup, there are a few things to bear in mind. Here is a list of three things to consider before making what is sure to be a life-changing decision:

 

As if life in general, the best-made plans are often ruined by circumstances outside of our control. When it comes to business, the most obvious variable that can affect the success of your business is the health of the economy. The environment in which you hope to subsist should be the framework of your decision, the fact around which others revolve. The stock market is a tempestuous, unpredictable beast. Luckily, it is now at its highest ever level with the Dow Jones recently exceeding 20000 for the first time ever. Many big banks are taking chances on small businesses again. There is not likely to be a better opportunity to make your mark for a long time to come.

 

Now to some more specific concerns: with a decision of this magnitude, it would be foolish to approach it with anything less than the most thorough preparation. You need to decide how your business is going to be run. One important foundational aspect of any business is its internal structure. If you are planning to run a small business, you will likely come into direct contact with your employees quite often. It is important for them to know where they stand. You can easily create org charts to ensure that the chain of command is clear and does not have any weak links.

 

Can you juggle your personal obligations with the pressures of the business world? Being an entrepreneur can be a lot like being a parent. You are totally responsible for every aspect of your company’s or your child’s wellbeing and success. It is your creation, and it takes a lot of time and dedication to care for it properly. It can be absorbing, and some people are victims of their own success: when they feel that their company is becoming too big for them to handle, they sell it, sometimes at a stage where they could still make a lot more money. When you have both professional and personal responsibilities that can be overwhelming, it is wise to consider which are more important. The virtue of not having started a small business yet is that you can make the decision from a position of relative calm. In short, your new life has to work for you and not the other way around.

 

At the heart of the matter lies the question: are you passionate about doing something new and being successful doing it? If the answer is yes, a small business might be for you.