Education, along with furthering our minds in a number of subjects, attempts to ready us for the world of employment. It teaches us about schedules, routines and deadlines. Even homework is reminiscent of the work we often have to take home. As most people experience, school life doesn’t fully prepare us unfortunately. What it prepares us for even less is the running of our own business. “If I was unprepared for regular work, how will I ever start my own company?” you may think.
Your new business is going to have a lot to do with self-belief. This is what is going to get you to finally take an idea and run with it. That same self-belief will give you the confidence to pitch to others to get funding and give you the energy to keep working when times are hard and most importantly of all, it will stop you from giving up. Others believing in you will always be useful, but if you believe in yourself that is where you’ll get most of your strength.
The simple thing is that starting a business is hard, stressful and scary. Saying that though, some of the most worthwhile experiences in the world share those exact same characteristics. Those sailing round the world, climbing Mt.Everest or crossing Arctic ice on foot will never claim their ordeal was easy, but they will say the sense of achievement will far outweigh the pain they endured.
Business is all about risk and if you’re not willing to take one you should heavily reconsider what you want to do. Not matter how great your product or idea is there is always some possibility of it going wrong, but this shouldn’t put you off. There is a lot you can do to maximise the chances of success instead. Thorough research of your target market, a watertight business plan and a multitude of other things. The last bit is just finally making that step and going all out.
You need to consider whether you will be happy working for someone else your entire life. There are plenty of people who are happy to do this, but is it for you? If not, it isn’t a situation that will resolve itself on it’s own. If you want to be at the top you’re either going to have to work hard for promotions or remove yourself completely and start working for you. There are challenges no matter what choice you make, but which ones would you find the most rewarding to overcome?
If you do start your own company you’ll be able to say to yourself that you finally took full control of your life and had enough strength to rely solely on your own skills and abilities (albeit with the help and support of your friends). Achieving your own personal success will give you a sense of achievement like no other. Take the jump and you’ll reap the benefits. Remember, people do not get anywhere by thinking about an idea, they do it by implementing it.
Related articles
- How to prepare a pitch (thestartupmag.com)
- Investor interview, with Rob McCombie Investment Director at CBPE Capital and Angel investor (thestartupmag.com)
- City of London Corporation launches new schemes to aid self-employment in the City fringes (thestartupmag.com)
