10 reasons why you shouldn’t start a business
Hi, we’re here to scare you off ever starting a business.
Kidding! We want you to do it. But we also want you to have all the facts before you dive in and end up doing a huge belly flop where your swimmers fly right off. (That’s meant to be a metaphor about starting a business without being prepared and then failing, but did it just sound a bit creepy?)
Running your own business or working for yourself is exciting and rewarding in so many ways. One of the biggest benefits, for us anyway, is that it can give you a greater sense of ownership over your own life. And who doesn’t want that?
But it’s not all rainbows and unicorns and pots of gold and happy Instagram posts. And it’s definitely not glamorous. Here at BLL we like to keep things real, so we thought it’d be fun to explore the reasons why you shouldn’t start a business. (Yes, that’s our idea of fun…)
This isn’t designed to put you off, but to help give you some perspective. If you’re thinking about starting a business, we say DO IT, but go in with eyes wide open!
Reason 1: You’ll feel like you don’t have enough time to do the thing you actually want to do
Really passionate about energy healing and decided to start a business? Congrats, you’re now also a finance officer, salesperson, logistics manager, copywriter, website designer, marketer, administrator and so much more.
Just want to focus on energy healing? You might be better off working somewhere where you can just do that. However, if you want to spend half your time figuring out websites and social media and email marketing platforms and tax, go forth and start a business!
Reason 2: It’ll probably take you longer than you think
Generally speaking, it can take a good 3 to 5 years to get your business to the point where it’s solid, sustainable and making you a decent income. That’s years of hard work and often not much money. Of course that’s not the experience for everyone who starts a business, but it is for most.
Reason 3: There’s a good chance you’ll fail
Ouch. Sorry. But unfortunately it’s true. Which makes reason 2 up there suddenly seem not so bad! Sadly, data shows that more than half of Australian small businesses in the startup phase fail. We don’t have data on the fail rate of solopreneurs like coaches, consultants and health/wellbeing practitioners, but we’re betting it’s no better and possibly even worse.
The risk of failure is always looming. And it’s a very personal variety of failure. To be a success, you have to be willing to live alongside that risk like a shadow. BUT! Your chances of success can be good if you start your business right – it’s just that most people don’t do it that way.
(That’s actually why we created LaunchKit. To help people start right and avoid becoming a statistic on failure.)
Reason 4: You become an enigma
Unless your idea or business is really straightforward, like you’re a dog walker or a wedding celebrant, chances are most people won’t fully understand what you do or are wanting to do. And you’ll get sick of explaining it.
You’ll be out to dinner with your in-laws and they’ll ask you how “your special project” is going and look bored as you try to explain your latest adventures in social media/networking/digital marketing/offering free services to build your experience... eventually just answering with “Really great thanks! Just gotta keep pushing!” because it’s easier for everyone.
Don’t want that? Be a teacher or a doctor or a plumber. Easier.
Reason 5: It’s a shortcut to constant guilt
Watching Netflix after dinner and getting cosy on the couch? Shouldn’t you be writing that blog post?
Out for brunch? Shouldn’t you put that money towards a business course?
At work? Why aren’t you brave enough to work on your own business instead?
Finally writing that blog post? Shouldn’t you be reading to your kid or calling your dad?
Finally invested in that business course? Shouldn’t you have used that money to pay off your credit card debt?
Spending a day a week working on your own business? Can you really afford a whole day without pay every week? This is stupid!
Starting a business? Welcome to Guiltville. Population: you.
Reason 6: You’ll never feel sure about anything
Think you struggle with self-doubt now? Start your own business and experience what real self-doubt is.
Reason 7: You’ve gotta sacrifice
You will have to sacrifice things you don’t want to. Family time. $300 haircuts. Netflix. A new winter wardrobe. Going away for the weekend. Paying your bills. Socialising.
Your fledgling business owns your time and your money. You are its bitch.
Reason 8: Finding self-motivation day after day can be hard
No one is going to hold you accountable except yourself. If you know that’s not going to work for you, don’t start a business. Or find a way to be held accountable. Having a partner or collaborator, or being part of a group (like the LaunchKit Facebook group!), can be a good way to do it.
But if you don’t have a strong personal drive, or a super compelling personal purpose behind your business that’s going to motivate you when things are feeling hard or scary or overwhelming (which is most of the time), starting a biz might not be for you.
Reason 9: No one will pay you to go on holiday
Annual leave starts to take on urban legend status. “Wait, they pay you to take time off?” Ditto sick days, personal leave and public holidays. Oh yeah. Public holidays will mean nothing to you anymore. They’ll become just a normal work day, but extra annoying because there are more people around.
Reason 10: You’ll come to find the notion of work-life balance hilarious
Starting a business? Work-life balance does not apply to you. It takes a HUGE amount of work. Probably more than you think it does. Biz Launch Lab has taken us way more work than we expected and we’ve both worked for ourselves in various capacities for years. This can absolutely change as your business grows. But you’ve got to get it to that point first.
Having said all that…. We still think you should start a business!
Are we crazy? A bit. Are you? Hard to say.
Despite all those very good reasons listed above for why you shouldn’t start a business, it can be one of the best things you’ll do in your entire life. Truly, nothing beats the feeling of starting something from nothing. Of building something from scratch that people want. And if you can build wealth too? AH-MAZING.
If you want to be a raging success story, and you’re also prepared to be just another failed business story, you’ve got the right mindset for starting a business.
If you’ve got a great idea or a persistent passion to change the world, and you really believe that failing would be better than not trying at all, START YOUR ENGINE.
Being prepared – in every way possible – will make a huge difference to the success of your business. We want you to do well.
Which is exactly why we created LaunchKit. It’s an all-in-one kit that helps you get your business off the ground THE RIGHT WAY, with a rock-solid foundation, compelling services that your ideal clients actually want, a strong online presence and essential skills for building your biz. Plus a private Facebook group to keep you accountable. And much, much more. Learn more here.
Join us in the comments
Be honest, have we terrified you into deer-in-headlights mode? Are you rocking in the corner? Or are you hungry and determined? And what is it about starting a business that scares you the most? Or maybe you’ve already started your biz and one of the reasons we listed above rings alarmingly true for you? Let us know :)