5 Good Reasons to Start Your Own Business
Let me guess, you’ve thought about starting your own business. Being your own boss, making a lot of money, getting away from the rat race, retiring early… These thoughts have probably crossed all of our minds at some point. Some people make their business dreams come true, but for most of people starting a business of their own will always remain merely a fantasy.
What makes some people start a business and others just dream about it? Here are some driving forces behind people who have started their own companies.
1. They Had a Great Idea
We all know that stereotype of an entrepreneur: they come up with a great idea or magnificent innovation, the crazier the better! These entrepreneurs work really really hard and eventually become billionaires while their companies dominate the world. A few obvious examples are Amazon or Tesla.
Fortunately, most businesses out there don’t follow this pattern, and neither will your business. You can put the stress of coming up with the idea for the next Netflix or WeWork behind you. Fret not, there is another way.
All businesses do start with a great idea. An idea that will help people, delight the customers, resolve a problem, but most of the ideas are not novel. Generally, the founders just want to do things better than existing companies do: make that barbecue just the way it’s supposed to be, with the secret ingredient, provide customers the quality of service they don’t get at the competitor’s store, help customers resolve their problems better than anyone else.
The founder of Gravity Payments, Dan Price, is a great example of an entrepreneur whose journey started with a great idea. He recognized that small businesses struggled with high credit card processing fees and decided that he was going to change that for startup entrepreneurs’ benefit. And he did, along with providing his employees with $70k minimum pay.
2. They Wanted to Gain Freedom
Working for a corporation has its perks. Like the paycheck. And who wouldn’t love those annual reviews, absurd quarterly sales commitments and having to let people go when company results don’t satisfy the shareholders. Anything for the stock prices to go higher!
Being a career hotshot and climbing up the corporate ladder is does not satisfy everyone. Generation Z is a great example of this. This generation has realized that happiness comes from other things than money, career and title.
A corporate career or rigid work schedule doesn’t necessarily fit everyone’s life situation either. Parents of small children and adult children of elderly parents are two groups that need more flexibility than the corporate world can provide.
Combining your everyday life with work life can be a stretch. Having your own business can help you gain the flexibility you need and allow you to enjoy life more or to travel the world and work from anywhere you want.
The Minimalists are examples of people who have gained freedom when turning their backs away from corporate life and starting their own business. Joshua Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus are two friends who came to the realization that their corporate career ladder life was empty and unhappy. They left the corporate world and are now changing people’s lives with their podcast, books, blog and documentary.
3. They Had a Plan B
Especially during these uncertain times, it is very common for people to start developing a plan B, in case something happens. Recently, that something has happened to more than 40 million people in the United States. If you find yourself being let go all of a sudden as a result of something unexpected such as a pandemic, it will not be as big of an issue if you have something to fall back on.
It is never too late to start preparing for plan B. It is often recommended to start a business while you still have a job, as it can take a long time to finalize your idea into an actionable plan and get the business up and running. Many famous businesses have actually started as side hustles. When I say famous, I truly mean famous. Think Apple, Twitter and Instagram!
4. They Didn’t Want to Retire from 9-5
Once you’ve been in the corporate world for a while, you start to question things. Why am I unhappy? Why is my coworker unhappy? Is it going to be like this until I retire? According to research, 65% of American workers feel unsatisfied in their work, and less than 13% feel engaged and committed to their work. Running your own business is hard work, but it will bring satisfaction and purpose back into your life.
People start companies at all ages, even later in life. Very famous entrepreneurs that started later are for example Vera Wang, Martha Stewart, and KFC’s founder Colonel Sanders.
5. They Wanted to Pursue Their Passion
They say that when you work with something you love, and it doesn’t even feel like working anymore. That is so true, and it is the best part of being an entrepreneur! Every day feels like an adventure (sometimes a nightmare too!), and there is always something new to discover and learn.
All you need is a little bit of courage to take the first step and start pursuing your dreams.