Don't Consider Opening A Small Business For The Wrong Reasons
Linda P. Morton
Opening a small business is a serious life change that you should undertake only for a good reason.
Many people consider opening a small business for all the wrong reasons. Then they are surprised to learn that their own small business doesn't provide what they wanted.
If your reason is one of the following erroneous ones, think again before proceeding with opening a small business.
Opening A Small Business: Wrong Reason 1 - You Hate Your Job
Hating your job is the wrong reason for opening a small business. You'd be better off to just change jobs.
Remember that there are many aspects to running a business. Some you may like. Others you may hate, but you have to do them or hire someone else to. Do you have enough start-up funds to pay employee salaries? If not you're going to be doing jobs that you don't like anyway.
You need a better reason for opening a small business than hating your present job.
Opening A Small Business: Erroneous Reason 2 - You Don't Want Anyone Bossing You
Do you want to be your own boss, or do you just not want anyone bossing you? Guess what, opening a small business doesn't mean you have complete autonomy.
Sometimes a boss is a person in an official position or one who pays your salary. Sometimes bosses are bankers, clients, customers and even employees who make demands to assure that they get what they want from your business
If you don't want a boss, start a hobby, not a business
Opening A Small Business: Erroneous Reason 3 - You Want More Time To Do What You Want
Despite all the hype about people getting rich in business by only working part-time, business owners average spending more time working than employees do.
If you aren't willing to work 50 to 60 hours every week, you shouldn't even consider opening a small business.
Opening A Small Business: Wrong Reason 4 - You Need More Money
You may in time make more money working for yourself. But when just opening a small business, you aren't going to make as much as you can on a job. Plus, your small business is going to take start-up funds, so you'll be spending lots of money while making very little that you can consider personal income.
Your new business will require seemingly unlimited resources, and want start giving back for a long time, probably years.
So if you have an immediate need to make more money, get a second job instead of opening a small business.
Opening A Small Business: Wrong Reason 5 - You've Invented A Better Mousetrap
The old adage about building a better mousetrap leading to business success is way out of date. It takes more to warrant opening a small business.
You also need to consider if you can keep others from copying your product and stealing your sales just as you finally get people convinced that they need your product.
So just having a good product idea is not enough to risk opening a small business.
Opening A Small Business: Bad Reason 6 - You Have Some Money To Invest
Why do you think that opening a small business is the best investment for your money?
You may do better investing in the stock market so that you're gambling on businesses that are established and managed by seasoned entrepreneurs and business managers.
Just because you have some money to invest is not a good reason for opening a small business.
A Small Business: Bad Reason 7 - Advertisements Say It's Easy
Many people will lie to you in hopes that you will make money for them. They don't care if your business succeeds as long as they get plenty of your money while you're trying. Don't believe them because opening a small business and making it a success is not easy.
People lie about how hard it is to start and build a strong, successful business because they have something to gain by it. Usually they have products or services that they want to sell you and that you will be willing to buy once you figure out how hard business is.
So if you don't want to be one of those people who open a small business and fold it in less than a year, be prepared to work harder than you ever have on a job.
Summary
Don't consider opening a small business for one of these erroneous reasons, or you will regret it.
However, if you have good reasons for opening a small business, you have a much greater chance of success. For instance, you may have discovered a service or product that a large target market of people want and need enough to pay you a profitable price for it. If that's the case, then opening a small business may be a good risk for you. Still you will have to discover how to market well.
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