WHY START A BUSINESS?

Ask Yourself These Three Questions.

It is great that more people want to start their own business and I love it when people follow their passion and want to share what they love with others. 

Why I started my first business

I started my first business when I was a teenager, and I started the business because I had to.

When you grow up in a small town there were not a lot of job opportunities. I had to start saving money for university, so I started an interlocking brick installation company with my brother. It was hard work. The days were long, it was a very physical job and don’t even get me started about working with my younger brother.

This was the best way to make good money for my time and I needed the money to pursue my dream of playing varsity volleyball at McMaster University.

The next summer I ran a cottage repair business. The work was still physical but not as physically demanding. It was more painting and small repairs which I actually enjoyed doing.

The Problem with Chasing Money

These two businesses were not my passion though, they were a means to an end. I was chasing money. The problem with chasing money is that your business won’t last. You will get tired, frustrated, and eventually burn out. You will want to quit, and you will quit.

On average, 20% off all businesses fail in their first year. And, if you look at the stats in Canada 96% survive first year, 85% survive to year three and 70% to year five. Here are some quick tips to about how to avoid failure.

Just as a side note these stats talk about surviving, there is no mention of thriving. We should also take into a account that some business owners don’t take the time to officially shut down their business as well. But the point is – you can see the slow burn over time.

If you start a business and are just doing it for the money, you might get burned out faster especially if you are not seeing a good return right away and that is what you were hoping for. Just to be clear – there is no such thing as an “over night success story”. You do have to put in the work over time to achieve success.

You might also burn out faster if the business you decided to venture into requires skills that are not your strength and you start to dread doing specific tasks each day that really need to get done but you just don’t have the desire to do what it takes.

Love What You Do

I am a firm believer that if you love what you do you can make it work.

If you are passionate about what you do you will:

• Want to continue to learn and grow so you can continue to offer the best service or products to your customers
• Have customers that want to work with you and will recommend your products or services to others
• Want to be the best in your industry
• Find ways to evolve and have an impact
• See the money will come

Take Action: Ask yourself these questions before you start a business.

1. Why do you want to start a business?
2. Are you passionate about the industry, your product or helping your customers?
3. Do you want to be the best you can be in this business?

Be honest with your answers. It will help you figure out the right type of business to start.

If there is anything I can do to help you be sure to contact me. 

Until next time,