So you have a great idea. You might even have a mentor to help walk you through the whole process of starting up a business. But when is the right time to start one?
If there is one thing that I have learned from my mentors and from reading up on small business start ups, it is that you should always have a back up plan. Of course, no one plans to fail but you have to open yourself up to the possibility of things not going exactly the way you should. It is not negative thinking, it is being realistic. And if you consider those possibilities, you can plan for them and solve them.
So what kinds of back up plans can you lay down? One thing – start a business while you are still employed. Why am I saying this? Think about it, how long can an average person live without money? I don’t know about you but I wouldn’t last a week. And if you start a business, you can bet that you have to live off with no earnings from your business for a while. If you have no other source of income, how are you going to live?
If you have a job, on the other hand, you will at least have a steady stream of income coming in. Never mind that it might not be that much, but at least you will have something to live on. Makes sense?
Originally posted on September 30, 2008 @ 11:16 pm