Starting a business is hard work – like setting sail into uncharted waters. It’s thrilling, full of excitement, and brimming with endless possibilities. But, along the way, you’ll encounter waves of risks and uncertainties. Entrepreneurship comes with its fair share of challenges, but the rewards can be fulfilling if you find the right balance.
Building a business is no easy feat. Most articles talk about dedication and perseverance, but building a business needs your passion. The most important point to start a business is to answer the question – Why. The journey will test your motivation and purpose for starting a business. Making money is never a good reason to start a business because statistics will show you that you’re better off working for a company since >90% of startups will fail. Now, let’s try and answer this question:
What must an entrepreneur assume when starting a business?
Risk: Entrepreneurship involves inherent risks – financial, market, operational and even personal. I made the mistake of underestimating personal and relationship risks when starting a business. Entrepreneurship will take more of your time and it is a huge commitment. Be prepared to manage these expectations since it comes at a cost of time, emotional energy and mental space. Related: Relationship risks in a startup
Uncertainty: Even large businesses face uncertainty. However, they have a protection of savings and a customer list that helps them work through these uncertainties. As an entrepreneur, you’re more exposed and these uncertainties can destroy your business. Although you have business plans, you’ll be forced to change based on your limitations and market needs.
Hard Work: I’m sure you already know this but it is worth a mention. There’s no startup without hard work. Building a business will take more from you than just money. Make sure that you find your source of motivation and keep building it. There will be times where you’ll question and even curse yourself for starting a business. This is where your motivation helps.
Financial Investment: Business needs funding and sometimes a runway to ensure that you can survive the early uncertain days. Customer acquisition takes longer and so does product development. Despite the best plans, we still make the mistake of being too optimistic because there’s so much we don’t know about the business landscape. It is a learning process, but a financial runway will make your life much easier. Related: Funding for a startup
Market Competition: When we are an entrepreneur, we have the bias that no one else attacks the market the same way that we do. We all have a defined USP that separates us from the rest of the competition. But we won’t know if customer cares the same way about this USP. Ultimately, the customer will define whether your USP is worthy of their attention. Better products, business models or solutions alone don’t win, the customer will have a final say.
Learning and Growth: I’m sure you know this. Growth and learning is important along with humility. Everyone talks about it when starting a business. But not all lessons come in a nice way. Some of these lessons will be harsh and difficult to digest. We’ll need to develop an attitude to take outcomes as feedback and not let that affect us personally.
Failure: Entrepreneurship comes with the risk of failure. Even the best products and solutions fail – just look at a list of failed businesses in the past. I’m sure they will have a beautiful business plan but we can’t always predict the market and its outcome. The best thing we can do is to be open and learn what we can from these failures and keep moving ahead.
