Every year millions of people answer “Yes” to that question, and every year that answer costs many of them money, time, confidence, and heartbreak. The Small Business Administration estimates 580,900 new small businesses are opening each year, and that number does not include the small one-person entrepreneurships that pop up every day. However, even if you are your business’s sole employee, there is still something to be learned from the SBA’s numbers.
According to the SBA, two-thirds of new businesses survive at least two years, and 44 percent survive four years. Two of the critical factors in the business’s survival and ability to thrive: the owner’s education level and the owner’s reason for starting the firm in the first place.
How can you ensure that you are among the winners rather than the losers in this high-stakes game? The answer is inside of you. You must ask yourself four key questions to determine whether your own small business will survive and thrive.
- Are You Ready
Have you mentally prepared yourself to switch from employee to boss? You are going to be the one making decisions now about everything from office products to product lines. This total control is one of the driving forces behind many people who take the plunge into starting their businesses. However, when you begin, there is an endless list of decisions that need to be addressed.
Even more important, you will need to remember that you will wear many hats in a small business. Even if you manage to start with one or more employees, you will fulfill more than one role in your new business. And if you are running a one-person show, you will serve in every capacity from file clerk to maintenance crew to salesman to CEO. Can you handle switching from task to task and role to role like that? Are you willing to make those switches?
Similarly, have you prepared your family and friends for this switch in attitude? Your life will change, and that change can have a positive or negative impact on your family life and social interactions. It will make things much easier if your friends and family are supportive going into the process.
- Where Is Your Niche?
Have you identified your niche yet? One of the reasons many businesses fail is that they fail to focus on a target audience. Yes, if you are a significant discount chain, you can sell everything from peanuts to wallpaper. Still, this type of business requires vast resources that aren’t available to many small businesses. Knowing your niche means you are better able to find, target, and maintain your customers and provide the best possible goods and services to that customer base. That focus is one of your best chances to not only survive but to thrive in a very competitive marketplace.
- What Is Your Plan?
Another critical factor in your business’s survival and ultimate success is good planning before starting a business. You need to decide if your business will be based on the internet or include more traditional models. Are you going to work full-time or part-time at your new business? Are you going to hire help? Have you written your business plan? Dreaming, thinking, and planning can save you much trouble and waste later when things are hectic, and problems strike. Planning can also help keep you focused and to balance your spending and time.
- Who Are You Going To Call?
At some point, no matter how experienced a business person you are, you will need help. You will need support, advice, tools, or information, or all of the above. One of the beautiful and most frightening aspects of growth is that it can lead you to places you never imagined. No matter how much planning and experience you do, the unexpected will arise. How will you cope with this? It is essential to recognize that no business grows without help. It is not a failure to seek help. Failure is when your business shuts down because you didn’t get the help you needed.
The best way to get timely help is to work on your support system while building your business. That way, you will already have a ready list of resources available that you can quickly tap into when emergencies strike. There are many great resources available to you in today’s world, no matter your business model. These include:
- Publications (newsletters, magazines, books)
- People (professional advisors, mentors, teachers, consultants)
- Networks (organizations and forums in your niche)
- Education and trainings (tutorials, courses, and seminars)
After answering these four essential questions, you are now ready to ask yourself that one big question again. Are you indeed prepared to start your own business?
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