Why businesses fail.
A lot of people want to step out of the 9–5 race and jump head-first into their side hustle (if they have one) and become entrepreneurs. But, we have to admit that entrepreneurship is not for everyone. Sometimes people fail to recognize that and see that perhaps the 9–5 is what they were built for.
“Hey Siri, play 9 to 5 by Dolly Parton”, let’s get deeper into this.
Now don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with the 9–5 grind. What goes wrong is when someone is trying to leave it without a clear-cut plan or path on how they are going to do it. However, that is not what this article is about, maybe we can cover that in a later one. Today we want to talk about the hard part of being an entrepreneur WHEN YOUR BUSINESS FAILS! And most importantly, why it fails.
The 9–5 has a lot that it comes with, there is the stability and reliability of it all. Though jumping out of it can mean that you have some extra time on your hands. Maybe you are following your passion, maybe you want to spend a few extra hours with your kids, and all your reasons for wanting to get out are valid, but you want to be able to sustain yourself and your family as you go forward.
One of the biggest problems new startups face is money. You believe that your idea is the best thing ever, and your friends and family do but does your market? We are living in an age where nothing is unique, someone somewhere is doing something very similar or possibly the same. Let us think about how if you think of a paid software, and Google search it with the word “alternatives” at the end, you will get a very comprehensive list of free products that do the same thing. This shouldn’t in any way discourage you but inspire you to work on your product so that it stands so far above the competition that no one would ever think that there is an alternative. How does this relate to the money aspect? Well, if you think like that, you will ask yourself where your profits will come from and most importantly if your idea is sustainable and scaleable. Ultimately, your profits will come from that fact.
You also need to think about the kind of structure you want for your startup. A big mistake a new founder makes is not defining the structure of their startup. Some people might not believe in your dream, but they believe in you, and some people might just be along for the ride so that they can say that they worked for you. Maybe you are just filling out a goal for them. You have to be the one who is not just there to pass time nor can you afford not to believe in yourself, and being the founder, you have to step up and be the clear leader. Not everyone will have the right ideas for your business, not everyone will understand what your ideas for the business will be and possibly won’t agree with them. It goes back to the age-old saying; Too many cooks spoil the broth. The same reflects here. With all the voices chiming in with opinions, you might end up getting lost and an outsider would not be able to see who the leader is.
When you are thinking about your business, you need to think about the problem that you are solving. You need to keep this in the back of your head so that you can continue to build your solution around it. By clearly defining your problem, you have the easiest path to understanding what the solution is going to look like. Building a solution that you are passionate about always helps because you are going to have a better understanding of the problem itself. Be it either from experience or from someone else’s story, the level of understanding would be very different compared to if you just decided to start something just for the sake of it.
All this being said, being a founder and running a startup has its rewards, you decide what they look like for you, but there are rewards. Just make sure to do your research, find the fire in your belly and your driving force as you startup, and, most importantly, give it your all, you will be as successful as you want to be.
