Some people just don’t fit the mold – go to school, get a job, work hard, impress your boss and climb the corporate ladder. It’s a great and reliable way to make a living, but some people have a drive and ambition that takes the down a different path. If you’re one of those people, then you’re just going to know. You feel like your wasting your time working on someone else’s projects when in reality you’re destined to be out there working on your own.
The good news is that if you’re one of these people, you’re not alone. There are more entrepreneurs out there making an impression on the world than ever before. What’s great is that this means you’ll have access to communities and support networks that will help you get through the rough times. The bad news is that this means that the competition is fierce, so you’re going to have to work harder and smarter to make sure you stay distinguished in your path.
Going out on your own certainly isn’t going to be easy. However, if its the right path for you than you know very well that this won’t be enough to stop you. You’ll do whatever it takes to make the life that you want for your self. Just make sure to keep it ethical – you don’t want to end up in trouble for taking shortcuts that you really shouldn’t have taken in the first place.
Taking the Jump
It’s a good idea to keep in mind that your first several business ideas simply aren’t going to work out. Don’t get discouraged, this happens to just about everyone who decides to go down this path. You’re better off knowing what to expect and planning for it. Failures are going to happen, you just have to keep your head up, your eyes on the prize, and keep moving forward.
If you’re just getting started on the entrepreneurship path, it might make sense to look inward to get your first business idea. What skills do you have that others might think are impressive? What do you love to do? How can you help people? Finally, what is it that the people around you could use help with? The intersection of these four questions is a great place to get started with a business idea.
A Word of Caution
Once you have the ball rolling it’s easy, tempting, and probably even beneficial to get swept up in everything. My best advice to be incredibly tuned into your financials. The first several years on this path are going to be quite volatile – scarily so in most cases. You want to plan your spending so that you have six months to a year of runway in the event that everything starts to unravel. Naturally this might seen like a moon shot at first, and that’s OK. But it’s one of the first things that you want to get in place as you start gaining momentum.
If this means that you need to boot strap it, you simply need to boot strap it. Not everyone is lucky enough to know where to get investments, and frankly in a lot of cases getting investments makes your whole operation a lot more risky. Investors want results, and if you and your company are unable to deliver them they just might pull the plug. Making sure your financials are in order is the foundation of good business. If you can get that right from the start, then you’re going to be so much better off for it in the long run.
If this is the life for you, then congratulations. You’re going to find it extremely fulfilling. We’re glad you’ve stumbled upon our site, you’ll find plenty of like-minded people in our community.