The best time to start your business was a year ago. The second best time is now.
-Jay Samit (Host of the Wall Street Journal’s series Startup of the Year and President of ooVoo)
I appreciate this quote that Jay Samit shared during a podcast interview with John Lee Dumas on Entrepreneur on Fire. It fits perfectly into my topic for today’s post…starting! (Side note: If you listen to podcasts, I definitely recommend subscribing to Entrepreneur on Fire!)
The only good reason that I can think of for not starting a business is simply that you don’t want to do so. That is a totally fine and valid reason. Not everyone wants to be an entrepreneur! However, if you do want to start your own business, then don’t let anything stop you. Below are the two main reasons that I hear people (especially moms) use for not starting their own businesses:
1. I don’t have the time (or energy). While you might not have the time or energy to start a huge business, I would argue that 99% of those who say this could make the time to start a small business if they really wanted to do so.
Do you have 15 extra minutes a day or 1 hour a week? If so, then you can use that time to start brainstorming ideas and doing research – setting the foundations of your business for when your schedule opens up more. Don’t tell me that you don’t have 15 minutes if you are frequently on Facebook/other social media sites and/or constantly updating everyone in your circles on the latest television show happenings. Yes, I’m looking at you Gladiators ☺.
2. I don’t have the money. The saying, “You Have To Spend Money To Make Money,” is not entirely true. Obviously, you will have to spend something but not as much as you think. For instance, I started my first site with less than $10 and reinvested a portion of my earnings into it (web design, etc.) only after it was profitable/leading to paid jobs. It’s even “trendy” to start businesses on small budgets now. The Lean Startup: How Today’s Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses by Eric Ries, The 100 Startup: Reinvent the Way You Make a Living, Do What You Love, and Create a New Future by Chris Guillebeau and The Barefoot Executive: The Ultimate Guide for Being Your Own Boss and Achieving Financial Freedom by Carrie Wilkerson are all great books that you can purchase through my Amazon affiliate partner – or check out from your local library – for more detailed training regarding starting a business on a small budget.
In my next post, I will give you a practical case study of a friend whom I recently helped to launch her own side business. She was short on both time and (extra) money to start her business…but ended up being profitable in her first month simply because she STARTED!
All of that to say…Stop waiting. Now is the right time to start!
Is there anything that is currently holding you back from starting your business? Let me know in the “Comments” and let’s see if we can get you out of the “99%” :-).