Entrepreneurship : Do You Have What It Takes?

Starting a small business can be exciting and rewarding. However, roughly 50% of new businesses cease to exist within their initial 5 years. They fail to suceed for a variety of reasons, such as insufficient demand for products and services, poor location, and insufficient funding.

It needn’t be this way though. As a result of thorough planning, a new business can suceed indefinitely. A variety of factors should be taken into consideration for this to happen. A few of which are, how and to what level will the business be financed? How solid is the business plan? Is the product or service marketable?

Perhaps the largest challenge facing you is securing adequate funding to get yourself off to a good start. Of the financing options, you may want to fund the fledgling business using financial aid from friends, family, or business partners. If that isn’t possible, a small business loan may be required. Each option should be researched and evaluated to determine which is best economically. Be patient, as the first offers received may be unsuitable, and be persistent, as you’ll likely get rejected more than once.

If funding can be arranged you then need to perform an analysis of yourself. Entrepreneurs who succeed tend to have similar personality traits. They are bright, inquisitive, positive, and like tackling challenges. Do you have what it takes to start and run a small business? You should sit down and consider the following:

Do you have a positive attitude and a strong drive for success? Are you balanced emotionally? Can you devote yourself to the business full-time? Are you a follower or a leader? Are planning and organizing strong points of yours?

If you’re at all concerned about your ability to build a business from nothing, you might want to look into a franchise system rather than setting up your own business. Franchising is a sort of turn-key business where you use a proven business model (including marketing, branding and customer base) to work for yourself.