The ads are everywhere -- Start a business today and be rich tomorrow! Of course, most of us get that those results are unlikely, but many entrepreneurs still set unrealistic expectations for their startups.
Launching a business requires sufficient planning and a good balance of time and cash.
You aren't likely to be rich overnight, or even in the first year or so.
But, you will be on the only path available to most of us to ever become rich, and you will certainly be taking control of your own work and financial future.
There are entrepreneurs, and then there are dreamers.
Dreamers are the ones who think you can start a business with a halfway good idea, no money, and little effort and begin shopping for the Ferrari that same day.
Entrepreneurs get that the idea needs to be solid...
not just sound good, but pass the test of viability that comes with actually planning out the business.
Entrepreneurs know that money and time are critical commodities and that more of one gives you a bit of room for less of the other.
But still, both cash and time are needed to get any idea off the ground.
The best business startups set an initial goal of Ramen-profitability.
That is, within 6 or 12 or 18 months, the entrepreneur expects to be able to keep their family comfortably fed with Top Ramen...
at least when it's on sale.
Building a successful company just takes time--time to work out the kinks in the operations, time to build a customer base, time to develop an effective marketing program.
The Pit of Despair, our name for the time between being ready to sell and actually selling, is a given for most startups.
The reason for the name is obvious -- these are the dark days where you start second-guessing your decision to go out on your own and wonder if you'll ever break-even at all.
The thoughts of the Ferrari are long gone, you are just hoping to make enough to cover the Camry payment.
But for those entrepreneurs who gut it out, stay on track, and keep finding the right paths to making their business succeed, the Pit of Despair will pass.
It will become a cocktail party anecdote and the foundation of empathy for the next guy you meet who is just starting out...
and dreaming of his new Ferrari.
It will make you stronger and more dedicated to your independence.
And once your business is up, running, and making money, you may feel an unrelenting urge to do it all again.
Thus are born serial entrepreneurs.
Startup reality is a tough but exhilarating road.
There are very few other things you can do in life that will offer as many extreme highs and devastating lows.
And there is nothing else that offers you the autonomy over your work life and financial future as working for yourself.
Of those 600,000 new businesses started each year, more than half fail.
The odds are that those failures are counting on an unrealistic outcome for their business -- they don't have enough cash on hand to get it going or they don't give it enough time to get its sea legs.
Either way, starting a business isn't the way for those looking for instant gratification, but it is the be-all, end-all if what you are looking for is a way to take control of your future.
Launching a business requires sufficient planning and a good balance of time and cash.
You aren't likely to be rich overnight, or even in the first year or so.
But, you will be on the only path available to most of us to ever become rich, and you will certainly be taking control of your own work and financial future.
There are entrepreneurs, and then there are dreamers.
Dreamers are the ones who think you can start a business with a halfway good idea, no money, and little effort and begin shopping for the Ferrari that same day.
Entrepreneurs get that the idea needs to be solid...
not just sound good, but pass the test of viability that comes with actually planning out the business.
Entrepreneurs know that money and time are critical commodities and that more of one gives you a bit of room for less of the other.
But still, both cash and time are needed to get any idea off the ground.
The best business startups set an initial goal of Ramen-profitability.
That is, within 6 or 12 or 18 months, the entrepreneur expects to be able to keep their family comfortably fed with Top Ramen...
at least when it's on sale.
Building a successful company just takes time--time to work out the kinks in the operations, time to build a customer base, time to develop an effective marketing program.
The Pit of Despair, our name for the time between being ready to sell and actually selling, is a given for most startups.
The reason for the name is obvious -- these are the dark days where you start second-guessing your decision to go out on your own and wonder if you'll ever break-even at all.
The thoughts of the Ferrari are long gone, you are just hoping to make enough to cover the Camry payment.
But for those entrepreneurs who gut it out, stay on track, and keep finding the right paths to making their business succeed, the Pit of Despair will pass.
It will become a cocktail party anecdote and the foundation of empathy for the next guy you meet who is just starting out...
and dreaming of his new Ferrari.
It will make you stronger and more dedicated to your independence.
And once your business is up, running, and making money, you may feel an unrelenting urge to do it all again.
Thus are born serial entrepreneurs.
Startup reality is a tough but exhilarating road.
There are very few other things you can do in life that will offer as many extreme highs and devastating lows.
And there is nothing else that offers you the autonomy over your work life and financial future as working for yourself.
Of those 600,000 new businesses started each year, more than half fail.
The odds are that those failures are counting on an unrealistic outcome for their business -- they don't have enough cash on hand to get it going or they don't give it enough time to get its sea legs.
Either way, starting a business isn't the way for those looking for instant gratification, but it is the be-all, end-all if what you are looking for is a way to take control of your future.