Starting your own business, whether it is a law firm, accounting firm, internet based business, restaurant, or whatever your dream may be, is an incredibly daunting and stressful process. I can only imagine how many people write-off entrepreneurialism as way too much work with high risk and no guaranteed reward.
I recently read a bleak statistic saying that after 2 years, 80% of start-ups fail. And it gets worse: 93% of start-ups fail before they have reached the 5 year mark. Wow. That’s depressing. Seeing that statistic would surely scare away any hopeful dreamer. But let’s think about it for a minute.
Starting your own business is all about planning and research. You must research the market you are entering, learn about existing competition, and really explore every single facet of the business. You must investigate the accounting side, the legal side, marketing, all costs and overhead, the list goes on! So I wonder how many of those 93% failed businesses actually researched and planned well? Failing to plan and research well sure is setting your business up for failure.
So, by the time you do all of your proper research and business planning, starting your business is a very calculated risk. It’s not a gamble as I’m sure many people see entrepreneurialism to be. The real risk lies in not starting your business. What do you have to lose if you plan and research properly? You risk your reward: chasing your dream, and making money doing so.
