Listen, You Should Probably Not Start a Business

Not everyone is cut out for being in business. Not everyone has the fundamental skills and work ethic necessary to meet the necessary minimum operations. And most people quite before hitting a milestone that is recognized as “successful” in their own mind. Too often new entrepreneurs fall in to the falsehood of expecting to be profitable in 12-months, a cause of watching movies, TV shows, and videos that misrepresent the reality of 99.9% of entrepreneurs.

Business Traits

All businesses are certainly not equal. Starting a new business, however, usually requires the same 4 traits that other businesses contain. You must be ready and willing to fight what’s constantly being thrown at you.

Time Investment

You must be ready, willing, and able to devote time. I’m not talking about an hour a day, 4 hours on a Saturday, or random hours during the week. How about 4 hours a day, 5 -7 days a week? That’s what I’m talking about. And that’s just a minimum.

Ask any entrepreneur how much time they’ve had to invest each week of their first year and it may make you choke. While it certainly isn’t an exact science or mathematical equation for every business, it’s a safe, reasonable amount of time to expect (and need) to invest.

If 20+ hours a week is out of the question for you? Do not start a business.

Income Reality

Your business model certainly may differ but in most cases you should never expect to take home an income in your first 6-12 months. The reality of most business is substantially opposite; you spend more than you make for 1, 2, even 3 years as a small start-up business. The revenue you DO bring in to the business? …that goes straight to paying debts, acquiring software, purchasing new equipment, hiring outsourced professionals (lawyer, CPA, consultants) to keep your business operational and growing.

You can, however, decrease the risk and increase how much sooner you can write your first check to yourself. It’s not magic or guaranteed, but entirely possible with the right commitment.

Instead of trying to mass market your product or service, focus on finding one client/customer that you can partner with as your pilot. You’ll work a deal with them where they’ll agree to pay 100% upfront (which would cover all of your costs (other than paying yourself and taking a profit) and they’ll pay a 0% margin. Both parties win as you experience little risk and the client pays nothing more than the actual costs.

Now, it’s not a perfect model for every business, but if you can find just one client/customer who can be your shining testimonial AND agree to recommend you to a dozen contacts? You’ll be in a great position.

The reality is, if you’re not able to survive taking home $0.00 your first year or two? Do not start a business.

Negativity

Complaining, whining, frustrated because you “can’t”? It’s a big red flag. In fact, it could cripple your business so fast as those around you (clients, customers, partners, vendors) will stop working with you. The only guarantee with negativity is it’s surely a disaster in the making if you car about the success of your business.

More than words, though, negativity comes in the form of psychology and body language. People around you can feel it, without question. You will face problems in your business that will test your patience. Every single bone in your body will ache, but you must be positive.

Don’t complain that you’re not making sales, clients are facing problems that are affecting you, employees not meeting deadlines. Deal with it professionally and be positive as it will go much further than the alternative. And if you can’t change your attitude away from negativity? Do not start a business.

Hustle

It’s not going to be easy. You’ll need to work your ass off. If you have a day job, and there’s nothing wrong with having one, be prepared to shift your priorities away from watching your favorite TV show, going out to dinner 5 days a week, and sleeping in until 9:30am. Time, as mentioned before, is key. Use every living moment you get in your business that you can, and work intelligently hard.

Cut out the noise that distracts you from making progress and commit to being a “Great” in your market. Become an expert by devoting as much energy as possible, even when you think you’re out of steam.

You’ll run in to obstacles that will test your patience. There will be times when uncertainty is heavy on your mind. People will challenge your ideas across all aspects of your business. Without the willingness to truly hustle, you should probably not start a business.

Original post published at at MattKoshko.com