Ask Don't Tell Leadership: When To Start Your Own Business?

Are you ready to start your own business?

A lot of people ask me when they should start their own business—especially if they’re feeling stuck in a job or open to change. It’s a tough question, and it usually doesn't have one easy answer. There are many factors that go into determining whether or not the timing is right for you to pursue entrepreneurship.

Before we can talk about how timing plays into things, let's take a step back and talk about the difference between being an entrepreneur and having your own business.

Ask yourself: why do you want to start your own business?

The idea of starting your own business isn't necessarily a bad thing. In fact, it can be very rewarding. But if you're not sure what kind of business to pursue, you might feel like you should just stay in a job that's familiar and comfortable. That's ok, too!

What matters is figuring out what's right for you—but in the next section, I'll give you some tips on how to figure it out.

Tips for figuring out when it is right to start your own business:

1. Define your Mission: What problem are you trying to solve? What is your end goal? Taking the time to consider what kind of impact you want to make will give you much more clarity than just trying to make money.

2. Get feedback from others: Connect with other entrepreneurs, friends, and family to get their perspective on whether or not it's the right time for you.

3. Start something now: Try starting a small side business. This can give you valuable experience and help you decide if entrepreneurship is right for you right now.

Even if you're ready to start your own thing, there's still one more question you need to answer: what kind of business should I start?

There are a number of factors that go into determining which type of business is right for you. I’ll dive deeper into this in the coming pages.

Chapter Summary

· Ask yourself: why do you want to start your own business? Define your mission and be specific about impact. Get feedback from others. Start something now (even if it's a small side hustle).

1. Define your Mission: What problem are you trying to solve? What is your end goal? Taking the time to consider what kind of impact you want to make will give you much more clarity than just trying to make money.

2. Get feedback from others: Connect with other entrepreneurs, friends, and family to get their perspective on whether or not it's the right time for you.

3. Start something now: Try starting a small side business. This can give you valuable experience and help you decide if entrepreneurship is right for you right now.

3

Different Types of Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurial adventure suits strong souls, full of vitality and optimism, who are not afraid to peer into the unknown, hear the silence and feel the void between their own lives. A true entrepreneur is an idealist who ventures into the clouded unknown in pursuit of a dream. ~Robin Sharma

There are many different ways one can start a business. Some (like me) choose to sell products directly to consumers, while others focus on providing services. Some businesses require a lot of upfront capital for physical assets like tools or machinery; others don’t even cost anything at all because you can do them virtually from your computer.

While the ideas in this book are applicable to nearly every type of business, I focus mainly on businesses that sell a product (or products) to consumers. This is because it’s the model I’ve followed—and one that I believe has the most potential for success.

I’ve tried and failed at many different ways of making money, and I know that when I get into something new, it takes time to feel my way through things and start to learn what works for me and what doesn’t. You may find that you like some parts of what we teach here but not others. That’s ok. Don’t feel guilt about it, and don’t compare yourself to others; focus on figuring out what works for you at this point in your life.

How do we earn money in a business?

Our goal in any business is to sell the product or service that we provide. This can be done through our own direct selling, by selling through a distributorship, or by providing a service for someone else and charging a fee. Many times it won't be immediately obvious which route will make the most sense for us. As you gain experience, though, you'll find your strengths and learn which types of businesses are right for you.

After you've successfully sold a product or service to a customer, the money you earn is called revenue. You can either sell your product directly to your customer (called retailing) or sell it to someone else who then sells it to the end user (called wholesaling or white labeling).

If you're on the production side and making products, there's also what's called a factory cost—this is how much it costs you in materials and labor to make one unit of your product. For example, if I want to make t-shirts and sell them for $25 each, my factory cost will be $10 per shirt. $10 doesn't sound like a lot, but it will determine how much of each unit I'll be able to sell, and that is the money I'll receive.

In addition to your revenue and factory cost, you also need to think about how you're going to handle your expenses. Keep track of how much money you’re making (a good thing to do) and what you’re spending it on (also a good thing to do). You'll want to track both your revenue (what's coming in) and expenses (what's going out). This can be done with a spreadsheet or through cash flow tracking tools—we discuss both of these options in Chapter 5.

While making and selling your own product is one way to produce revenue, you don’t have to do it yourself. You can also partner with a manufacturer that makes your product or service for you, or you can sell someone else's product (as in the case of an affiliate). This is known as private labeling or wholesaling.

In addition to selling something directly to customers, there are companies out there who provide a platform for other entrepreneurs. These business owners act as a broker between the customer and producer and help bring the two together. There are many different platforms for this kind of business, including Amazon, Etsy, Shopify, eBay and more.

Conclusion

I'd like to leave you with a final thought on the different ways you can start a business. As you can see, it can be a bit overwhelming, but don't let that stop you. If entrepreneurship is what you're after, then start something! It's not that difficult. Love what you do and put your heart into it—and as long as you love what you're doing and putting your heart into it, eventually that will translate into enough revenue to sustain itself.

Check out Chapter 5 for more information on how to “live” (as opposed to simply “work”) from the money coming in from selling your product or service.