5 Cold Truths to Prepare for When Starting a Business
Failure is coming, but success often follows
Odds are, your business will fail.
Sorry, but it’s true. That’s not me being cynical either.
I say this because studies show that 65% of businesses fail in the first 10 years. And depending on what business you’re starting, your odds of success can be a lot worse (cough cough, restaurants).
That’s why I want to quickly break down 5 cold truths you should prepare for when starting a business.
1. Few will believe in you
One of the many fatal mistakes new business owners make is overestimating their support system.
Most people in your network will root against you and those close to you will often not believe in you.
The reason people root against you is because you are doing something they could not bring themselves to do – take a giant risk.
And the reason those close to you don’t believe in you is because they have trouble viewing you as a business owner. They have a preconceived notion of who you are and you being anything else is hard to believe.
This only gets worse once you start, and don’t see success right off the bat.
People will tell you to quit and go back and get a safe 9-5 job.
They’re not telling you this out of hatred, they’re telling you this because that’s what they think is best for you.
You have to be prepared for the fact that at one point, you may be the only person who believes in yourself.
Sometimes you may not even believe in yourself!
But, you’ll have to keep on pushing forward anyway.
2. Running into financial troubles
Unless you are sitting on some endless trust fund, there is a good chance that at one point (likely multiple points) you will run into financial troubles.
You’ll be faced with making hard decisions to keep your business alive, and you may even be wondering how you will feed yourself and your family.
Like everything else in life, businesses also have ups and downs.
It’s during those downs when you’re back is against the wall that you will often produce your best work. You find workarounds that help you for years to come.
It is important though that you keep a (semi) calm mind.
A calm mind in a difficult situation can be the difference between making a game-changing decision and a business-breaking decision.
A calm mind is a mind that thinks clearly.
Financial difficulties will come. Be prepared for the inevitable and decide ahead of time what you will do when that time comes.
Oh, and it’s probably a good idea to have a personal safety net for those times too.
3. Almost no one will support you
Time and time again, new business owners assume that their entire network will buy their product and support their business.
And then, they don’t.
It can be soul-crushing when only your mother purchases your product and everyone you thought was your friend has no interest in what you created.
Don’t make this mistake.
You need to make your product so desirable that everyone (in your niche) will want it. Whether they are family, friends, or a random stranger 2000 miles away.
The last thing you want to do is assume because you have 200 cousins, you will sell 200 products.
And even worse, don’t assume that all you have to do is get 10% of your Instagram followers to become buyers.
That won’t happen.
You need to earn people’s support. You need to earn their business.
No one owes you anything and you’ll find that out real quick.
4. It always takes longer than you think
A lot of businesses don’t get sales right from the start. Even fewer businesses are profitable from the start.
Businesses take time to build.
Whatever timeline you are expecting it to take before you are profitable… prepare for it to take twice as long.
We are all optimistic about jumping into a new business. Otherwise, we would not be starting a business. (duh)
While blind optimism can be a good trait in entrepreneurs, it can also lead to unrealistic expectations.
What I’m getting at is you need to be ready to be at this for years.
5. You will fail
No matter what you do and no matter how well you prepare, at one point, you will fail. You can’t avoid it.
Failure doesn’t necessarily mean your whole business will go under. You could get lucky and this business lasts forever.
But, it could mean something you do within your business fails and the result is you having to lay off a bunch of staff or having to put more money in.
Failure can mean a lot of different things and there are levels to it.
The important thing is you are aware it will happen, that you know how to deal with it and that you don’t let it crush you.
You have to keep moving forward.
Conclusion
Whether you are planning a little side project or dumping your life savings into a huge endeavour, you need to prepare for the potential outcomes and the inevitable scenarios.
Business is tough. The last thing you want to do is go into it ignorantly.
Do your research
Figure out distribution
Connect with mentors
Build some sort of safety net
Educate yourself on what you’re getting into
It’s going to be a fun, soul-crushing, exciting, emotional roller coaster ride.
Good luck and thanks for reading.