Recently in the United States, a record breaking 4.4 million new businesses registered in late 2021. With this, we can conclude that we will see more people taking the risk, leaving the rat race and starting a path all their own that may inspire others. This now begs the questions, how do you know that you are ready to take those risks and make your own income? How do you know you have the mindset to begin this journey? If you can answer yes to most of these questions then you are definitely ready to take the leap of faith.
- Are you comfortable with failure?
A huge roadblock for many people is the possibility of failing at an endeavor and feeling like there is no point if you can’t get it right. People who take the road of building a business or their own income, tend to see failure as the next step towards success. Trial and error are key components to making your own business. Because each business is unique in its own shape or form, people are the scientists behind their success, constantly making hypotheses and learning from mistake after mistake until they get it right.
- Do you consider yourself a creative person?
One of the fun parts of running a business is being able to adjust solutions according to the situation. Need to make a logo? Work with a designer or learn to use Canva? Need to organize your finances, use Bill.com or Quickbooks? Working in the business of digital products, where do you expand? Managing online business? Make content about mindfulness? You are constantly thinking about what will be your next big idea to expand from where you are. Being able to know where you are and the different avenues you can go down are essential to make sure your business can survive for the next few years.
- Do you mind working for free?
This is the most difficult one for myself as well but, is a hard truth that must be told to many looking to travel down this path. There are days and nights when you may be coming up with ideas or trying to make sure everything goes well when you launch a new product or service. It may be hours of editing or running around getting supplies to get things done for a deadline that you have created for yourself. Mind you all the free work that you are doing will pay off but instant results are never guaranteed so this is another key feature of being able to handle the business world in general.
- Do you have a passion for the things you are interested in expanding on?
To avoid doing something that you do not enjoy, it is best to make sure you honestly love the field that you are pursuing. Why bother working on a fitness brand when you enjoy working out but don’t enjoy making videos or answering questions about the matter. Hobbies are hobbies, we do them because we enjoy them but do not always see them as a career interest. To be passionate, you must be interested in talking for hours about the subject, the different ways it can tie into other fields, and the future of this particular topic. Anything goes and ranges from pursuing a cooking career and brand to a prepping career and brand, just be passionate and know your niche.
- Are you a patient person?
Patience is key in order for you to achieve the success that you are setting to have under your own business. It takes YEARS to see the results that you want, most people want to see their active and passive income equate to 6 figures within a few months and when that doesn’t happen, most people quit. The slow climb is what makes starting your own business or building your income worth wild. If waiting quite some time to get your business where it wants to be is something you are mentally prepared for, you should be fine!
- Are you comfortable risking your own money?
This step usually determines the breaking point for some people. Another unfortunate truth for most but not all because in this day and age, crowd funding is very possible but, it does take time away from possibly saving up your own money to move forward with your endeavors. You are looking to invest a good portion of your income that could have been spent on eating out, going out drinking, or attending a concert to pursue your dreams. Tie into the fact that you have to do work for free sometimes, wait for results, and learn from mistakes; it’s understandable why people are hesitant to take this path.
The reward of working for yourself and pursuing your dreams by starting that business does make all these sacrifices worth it if you truly want it and believe in yourself. Your own hours, different avenues to explore, more control over your life; from my perspective, it would be personally hard to go back to the corporate world. I will end with a final note in that it is not a bad thing to not want to start a business and do other things. We are all unique and different so the concept of what will make us happy varies from person to person. Don’t be afraid to take risks but, don’t be afraid to say this is not for me :).
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