When it comes to making money, there are a lot of people out there saying you should just start a business rather than find a job that works for you. But should you? There are so many factors that go into the decision to start a business. Starting a business is a huge undertaking, so it’s important to take everything into consideration. Hustle culture and financial freedom gurus will tell you that the best time to start a business is always right now. Get started immediately! But I don’t necessarily subscribe to this because there are periods in our life during which starting a business isn’t really feasible. So, let’s talk about if it’s the right time for you to start a business.
Do you have enough time?
It may come as no surprise to you that businesses require a lot of time, regardless of what type of business you’re opening. Even an online business is going to take time. It’s a lot of prep work and then you have to maintain everything. Once you start getting work or selling products, you’re combining all the actual billable work with the day-to-day of your business. And you’re doing this until you can afford to hire someone to take some things off your plate. If you’re working a full-time job, going to school, doing childcare, and/or managing a home, it can be difficult to find the time to do everything.
Take a hard look at your daily schedule. Is there space to work on your business every day? Can you create space to work on your business every day? Don’t just assume or say, “I’ll figure it out as I go.” Really document what your days look like and examine them. Figure out where you’re going to put your business.
Do you have enough bandwidth?
By bandwidth, I mean energy and mental head space. This is something we don’t usually think about, but it’s super important. If you get to the end of the day, and you can’t imagine doing anything mentally taxing, you might need to work towards balancing your life before you start a business, which might mean taking on a regular job first to take off some of that financial stress.
If it’s a time management issue, you might need to cut something else or create a better routine that leaves you something to dedicate to your business. You might need extra help, such as a freelancer to help you manage things or someone to help you keep your home clean and functional. It’s important that we can give our business our honest attention for a period of time, even if it’s only an hour a day. So, on top of space in your schedule, you need space in your brain.
Do you have startup money?
It’s true that, depending on the business, you might not need a lot of startup money. For example, if you’re going to be a freelance writer or a blogger, you might not need too much to get started. However, you’ll still need a little money because you’ll need some things like a professional website. This means you’ll have to pay for your domain and hosting. You may need to pay an email service provider too, so you can start collecting emails. Depending on your state, you could need to register your trade name with them or set up an LLC, which can also cost money. You might need to join professional organizations, get industry books, and take an online course. And this is just for an online business.
If you need supplies or professional help, your startup costs might be higher. If you’re opening up something brick-and-mortar, your costs are going to be much higher. For this reason, you may want to save a little money each month until you can reasonably afford the startup costs for your business. If you’re confident your idea is good, you could look into a business loan as well.
Do you have a good idea?
Speaking of good ideas, do you actually have something to sell? Are you an expert in something that you could teach to others? Are you good enough at something to provide it as a service? Do you have an idea for a really cool product that you could sell? The key to having a successful business is having something worth selling and then selling it. If you’re sitting here and you’re unsure what you’d even want to do, I would encourage you to take some serious time to brainstorm and figure it out before deciding the best path is opening a business.
Even if you know exactly what you want to do or you have a great idea, I would encourage you to really do your research and market test first. See who’s out there doing similar things. Are they successful? If there’s no one else out there, is there an untapped market or is your great idea not going to sell? On the flip side, is the market super saturated for your idea? Would it take a lot more work and effort to stand out? Look into Facebook groups, check out Quora, and see what people are saying online.
Starting a business is a big deal – bigger than most people make it out to be. So, if you’re thinking about starting one, make sure you’re as ready as you can be and that it’s actually what you want to do. You’re never really ready, but you can at least do what you can to prepare. If you want to open a business after all this, I would encourage you to check out my blog for your first seven steps! If this doesn’t sound appealing to you, getting a job is a valid option. Either way, you’ve got this.
Have questions? Pop them below!
