Every now and then, I meet people in jobs, who want to startup. They feel their job has issues so they must become an entrepreneur. When that happens, all their problems will be solved and they’ll be happy forever.
It doesn’t work out like this.
Because being an entrepreneur is easy, the real deal is to stay an entrepreneur. If being an entrepreneur was the solution to all life’s problems, then why do so many startups fail? Why do some entrepreneurs experience health issues they had never faced before? Why do some employee-turned-entrepreneurs privately admit to me that they wished to get back to their previous jobs?
The answer is simple. While they planned the day they would become an entrepreneur, they didn’t plan what would happen after they became one. Becoming an entrepreneur is like getting married: easy to do it, so many go through it. Yet, everyone isn’t successful in that.
Forging alliance
Since we talked about marriage, let me explain this with examples of two bachelors, Ram and Sham.
Ram thought that getting married alone would be sufficient. Just find the right person, give it your best shot, and that would be it. He didn’t plan on what would happen, after he got married. Also, he didn’t evaluate enough on what makes a right person, he just looked at a few parameters and thought they were enough. Plus he didn’t take into consideration, the family members apart from his wife.
Whereas Sham realised that marriage is more about the days that happen afterwards. So, he planned about how he would support his wife in achieving her dreams, and whether he’ll actually feel happy with her pursuing them. He thought about how to support his wife’s parents, and listen to their advice without arguing with them. He realised she could be having siblings, hence worked on being a good role model for them. He made plans on how to support his wife’s family members in case of unexpected emergencies. He devised ways on how to keep a balance between his wife and mother. He did financial planning for a secure future.
Now, who do you feel has a higher chance of succeeding at marriage, Ram or Sham?
Because while one thought that getting married was enough, the other meticulously planned for life after marriage.
The same happens in business as well. Becoming an entrepreneur has a charm which lasts for some time, then life becomes as usual. New challenges will keep on coming. Difference is one can’t quit the way they used to change jobs, and things get even more tough if a lot of money is at stake.
So, if you want to remain an entrepreneur, then think on things like these before you startup:
- What if another idea comes to your mind later, would you abandon this venture?
- What if your product fails to sell?
- What if after getting some initial customers, you’re not able to increase sales despite best possible efforts?
- How will you convince people to join your lesser known startup instead of a famous corporate?
- What if you trained someone very well and they left when their time came to actually deliver at work?
- What if a cash-rich enterprise made a product with same idea as yours, thereby posing a threat?
- What if your CA did some financial mistakes resulting in penalties from the tax authorities?
- What if one of your best clients got into a mess and you ended up losing business from them?
- What if one of your closest friends came asking for a job and you had to turn them away?
- Assuming you got into partnership with someone. What if you got more name and fame than your business partner, which in turn made him jealous and caused friction between both of you?
- What if payments are stuck in market and you have to pay salaries to employees on time?
- What if you have exhausted your savings and need more money, how and where will you arrange it from?
- What if your health deteriorated due to over work and stress?
- What if your product didn’t turn out to be what you had envisioned?
- What if you made something with a lot of love, and it was not the right market fit?
- What if you got bored of it all?
Like this there are many other things that happen once you become an entrepreneur. To improve your chances of success, you should be mentally prepared about the unforeseen things that might take place. Therefore, it helps that you do a lot of planning, before you decide to startup. Don’t trust those people who say that just become an entrepreneur and later handle things as they come. Instead, try to find out other entrepreneurs, and ask about the daily challenges they face.
Don’t quit your job right away
Every business requires money to start and run. In case you don’t have a lot of money then my personal recommendation is that the best time to startup is when in a job. This way you’ll have a steady stream of income at one end, without pressurising yourself to be profitable right from the start. You can use spare time from office for your entrepreneurial pursuit. Start small, and expand gradually. Understand your customer. Have any one speciality for which people will be willing to pay money. Always be ready to improve for the better. If your product has quality, and you’re able to make it reach its target audience, then you’ll surely find buyers.
Remember
Don’t become an entrepreneur because you’re unhappy with your job. Rather, stay there, earn money and save as much as you can. Observe things around you. Because for all the shortcomings your company has today, in the past it was an idea that the founders executed. It is their success that they made the company survive and got people like you on board. Every rule that might seem unreasonable to you today, was made for a specific reason, that you will probably realise later. Hence, chances are if you do become an entrepreneur in future, you may end up doing some of the things you didn’t like as an employee.
Therefore, be an entrepreneur only if you genuinely believe in something, and are willing to do all it takes to make it a success.
Yaju Arya Dot Com 