The article will begin below this paragraph
soupornuts is moving!!! In order to have more control over my blog (how it looks, plugins, etc.) I have decided to move soupornuts.wordpress.com to soupornuts.com. When you come to soupornuts.com, you will see my new postings along with updated and edited versions of most of my old articles. Don’t panic if the site looks different the first couple of times you visit. I am trying different themes to see which I prefer.
At some point, I think everyone toys with the idea of going into business for themselves. It is definitely a romantic notion – to be able to hang out your shingle, start selling and shipping your products and just watch the money roll in. Well, take the advice of this entrepreneur and many others, “It just ain’t so.”
A quick perusal of any bookstore, magazine rack or online article repository will reveal a plethora of reasons to “start your own business”, “become your own boss”, or “go into business for yourselves”. Yes, there are quite a few benefits to consider, but you may also want to consider the possible downside. Here’s my short list of reasons NOT become an entrepreneur.
1. You believe at least eight hours of sleep per night is mandatory.
Once you start your own business, you realize that any sleep is a highly sought after commodity. Unless you have built up quite a “nest egg” or had a huge windfall ( ie – you won the lottery, Uncle Joe Bob left you a sizeable inheritance, cashed in your 401k / IRA, or have been befriended by some angelic venture capitalist), you will have to work at some other job to provide the needed cash flow for your current living expenses and maintain a minimal level of necessary insurance coverage.
If you are working at your “mandatory” job to provide cash flow and benefits, then when you are “off” from that job is when you will be promoting, growing and maintaining your new, fledgling startup business. This leaves precious little time for your spouse, kids and sleep. So if eight hours sleep each night is important to you, rethink the whole entrepreneurship thing.
2. You’re not into research and details.
Let me guess, you’re an “idea” man and you may be the greatest “idea” man ever, but someone still has to address the research and details. Is there a market for your products and/or services? Who? What are their demographics? How will you reach them? Have you set up manufacturing, inventory, delivery and tracking platforms? Who’s verifying and validating your bookkeeping? What type of business structure will/have you set up? Sole proprietorship? Partnership? LLC? Corporation? Do you have a lawyer, a CPA, a patent or a mentor? Do you have a budget? Do you have a business plan?
As you can see, the research and details can be mind-boggling. I’m not trying to scare you away or rain on your parade, but you need to be realistic and methodical in your approach to starting a business. The issues above are just a minor sampling of the details that must be addressed. Is it doable? Yes, definitely and I encourage you to, but only after you throw away your rose-colored glasses and dive into the research and become acquainted with the possible ramifications.
3. You have a “good” idea.
I don’t remember who, but someone said, “Good is the enemy of great”. Truer words have never been spoken and that’s why having a “good” idea is not good enough. Having a “good” idea does not stir up the fires of passion. Your idea must be great. It must create within you a passion to defend it against the onslaught of detractors who will be standing in line to tell you why your idea won’t work. “Someone else is already doing it”, “It’s been tried before and didn’t work”, “What if you fail?”. You’ll hear all the protests and derogatory remarks. Are you passionate enough to defend your “great” idea?
If you’re not, then don’t waste your time and money. Keep your day job.
