Monday, 15 January 2007 16:43

Why you shouldn’t start your own business!

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After all over 90% of businesses fail so chances are if you’re reading this and pondering with the thought of starting your own business the statistics are in your favor to ensure your business will fail.

As I researched today’s post, I started with the best search query my brain could mentally conjure up. The search term I came up with was “90% of businesses fail” The reason I chose this search query was because I had heard it so many times. You hear it from your friends when you tell them your ideas, family members, co-workers and current employers. They all do there best to reiterate to you that the statistics say you are destined for failure.

 

So I hit submit and the almighty Google gave me 50,700,000 results for 90% of businesses fail in an astonishing .85 seconds. I quickly glance at my first result. Sure enough we find our first result references a study that concludes the reason 90% of businesses fail is because of lack of knowledge and skills to properly run a business.

I believe this is utter nonsense, look around and I’m sure we can find some extremely dumb and non-intelligent people running successful businesses. I don’t claim to be a genius or expert in anything. I only try my best and do whatever I can to achieve success.

There are plenty of other reasons why you shouldn’t start a business. Let me give you a few to make this article even more dismal. Don’t worry, that’s my sarcasm coming through! You’ll have to learn how to read me properly.

Other Reasons why you shouldn’t start a business are listed below. I’ll comment on them after writing this list.
  1. You have no money.
  2. You aren’t creative.
  3. You can’t think of a business to start.
  4. You’re scared of failing.
  5. You’re disorganized.
  6. You are in debt up to your knees. Related to post #1
  7. Spouse won’t let you.
  8. You’re too busy.
Having no money is a very common reason why many people shouldn’t start a business. After all, I’ll be the first to tell you that if you have thousands of dollars in credit card debt or other bad debts (mortgages are good debt) then these may in fact be good reasons NOT to start a business. And if you aren’t creative or you can’t even think of a business to start then really, what’s the point? Besides the mess in your office, the piled up credit card bills, your nagging wife and your 9-5 job and the mounting self doubt what else could possibly be a reason not to start a business?

Oh yeah! I almost forgot, remember what we started with? Over 90% of businesses fail! So technically the stats overwhelmingly say you’re screwed.

Many other writers, friends, family, co-workers and current employers would end the article right here. Your chances of success are pretty much none, zip, nada, goodbye. So why continue with this post?

Well I have something groundbreaking to tell you…. They are all wrong.

IN FACT! Your odds of becoming successful on your own terms are actually much better than you think. I’m not kidding. Sure things may be tough but it’s more than possible to be wildly successful. Let me try and show you how.

Right off the bat, forget the 90% of businesses failing statistic. Its garbage, its a sham, its hogwash, its jealously, but mostly its fear! The majority of the times you hear this statement from other writers, friends, family, co-workers and current employers what you’re actually hearing is the sound of fear. I’m not kidding! As funny as it sounds, most people including other writers, friends, family, co-workers and current employers are scared or jealous that you might actually make it! They are afraid that while you go on with a much greater chance of creating and controlling your own destiny, their own destiny will be created by an employer. So next time you are told the awful statistic when you tell someone you’re going to start your own business, look them strait in the eye and conjure up the biggest, saddest puppy dog eyes you can make and say “well I guess thats the chance I’ll have to take.” Don’t break eye contact, be strong, and with your nose sniff like a dog. Then you’ll know what fear smells like.

contentWhat about the rest of the reasons why you shouldn’t start your own business? Well, they are all plausible and valid reasons. You may just have to rethink your strategy because they can all be overcome. For example, if you have no money and are in debt up to your ears then it may not be wise to invest in a heavy capital intensive business from the gecko. For example, if you’re heavily in debt but have a dream to start your own magazine, it may be wise to start online before investing 100k in a printing press. If you’re looking for the greatest opportunity for the lowest bang for your buck then I suggest starting a web business. This could be as simple as selling junk on eBay. In fact, if you haven’t tried selling on eBay you really should! Just grab some junk from the garage, snap a photo and put it on eBay. I bet you’ll sell it. I’ve watched my father sell pieces of scrap metal. It’s hilarious and millions of people are making it huge every day on eBay selling the most bizarre items.

Would if you aren’t creative and can’t think of a business to start? C’mon! This is just a lame excuse! Start anything then! We ALL have something we like. Start a blog about Gardening if you love gardening, put some Google Adsense on there and just write! Don’t worry about Search Engine Optimization or traffic for a while! Just forget about it and write. I can almost guarantee you’ll start to see some clicks here and there. Don’t get caught up in the hoopla of trying to make millions of your website the first week. Just write good content. If you build it, they will come. This has never been more true than with the web. Except you can’t just build a field, forget about it and expect them to come. You’ve got to make that field extraordinary! Surround it with corn stalks, build stands, install a scoreboard, hire popcorn vendors, get the best dirt you can find and each day make it better. Even if you just add a little every day.

If you’re totally disorganized, starting a business can be the perfect way to teach you organization skills. There are so many unique tools and websites out there these days to help with the basic functions of running a business! They can also help you stay very organized. Even if your desk is a mess, you’ll at least look organized to your customers.

If you run into the situation where your spouse won’t let you start a business, chances are your spouse feels that way for a reason. It’s not that he/she doesn't think you’re smart enough. For example, you may be asking if you can quit your job and try and start a web business. This is the wrong approach. You need to start your online business in your spare time and spend some time nourishing, learning and teaching your spouse about what you’re doing. Eventually, you’ll start to make money and soon that money will turn into more money and soon you’re spouse will see the advantages of you running your business full-time. I never recommend leaving a job (even though it sucks and you’re miserable) until you have a decent plan and have started your venture on your own time.

I hoped you enjoyed today’s article and it motivated you a bit and showed you all the reasons why you SHOULD start a business.


Article Author: Noah Fleming
Last modified on Friday, 22 October 2021 19:27