{"id":1218,"date":"2010-08-09T12:37:31","date_gmt":"2010-08-09T12:37:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localenterprise.wordpress.com\/?p=1218"},"modified":"2010-08-09T12:37:31","modified_gmt":"2010-08-09T12:37:31","slug":"10-reasons-why-you-should-never-start-a-business","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/realisedevelopment.net\/index.php\/2010\/08\/09\/10-reasons-why-you-should-never-start-a-business\/","title":{"rendered":"10 Reasons Why You Should Never Start a Business…"},"content":{"rendered":"

I have just been reading Steve Pavlina’s post on 10 Reasons Why You Should Never Get a Job<\/a>. \u00a0Although written with, in my opinion, an\u00a0offensive and patronising tone (people with jobs are morons, bosses are idiots etc) it does\u00a0raise\u00a0some interesting points. \u00a0Including the one about ‘getting paid while you sleep with a pregnancy body pillow<\/a>‘ rather than while you work. \u00a0Seductive stuff!<\/p>\n

But like so much of the\u00a0self\u00a0help and entrepreneurship industry it lacks balance and feels manipulative. So, in the interest of balance, here are 10 reasons why you should never <\/span><\/strong>start a business.<\/p>\n

1 \u00a0It may lead to debt and miser<\/strong>y<\/p>\n

The stats on business success are not that pretty. \u00a0For everyone like Steve that earns $40 000 a month from their website there are hundreds if not thousands who are trapped in a business that does not make enough money. \u00a0They work long hours for little or no money. \u00a0You talk to a Venture\u00a0Capitalist\u00a0and most of them will tell you the same. \u00a0For every 20 businesses or so they invest in the majority never make a return on the investment. \u00a0A few will just about break even on\u00a0the\u00a0investment. \u00a0And, if they are lucky, perhaps one or two will make some serious money. \u00a0Serious enough to cover the failed investments in those other businesses. \u00a0So what are the odds? \u00a0Are you sure you will be one of the lucky ones?<\/p>\n

2 \u00a0It will put strain on your relationships<\/strong><\/p>\n

When you run your own business it\u00a0nearly\u00a0always takes time. \u00a0A lot of time. \u00a0If you have had\u00a0children\u00a0and gone through the ‘terrible twos’ then you will understand what I\u00a0mean\u00a0when I say a new business is demanding, just like a toddler. \u00a0It takes time and energy. \u00a0Of course, so does holding down a job, but running your own business is way, way more invasive. \u00a0 Many successful business people have left behind them a trail of broken marriages and damaged friendships.<\/p>\n

3 It is difficult<\/strong><\/p>\n

Don’t\u00a0believe\u00a0those that tell you starting a\u00a0business\u00a0is easy. \u00a0‘Just follow these 10 simple steps to business success’ etc. \u00a0Business\u00a0is hard. \u00a0And small business is the hardest of all. \u00a0Because often there is only you to get the product right, to deal with customers, to do marketing and sales and to manage the money. \u00a0In a small business one mistake can take you down for a very long time. \u00a0 Big business can afford the odd dodgy product launch. \u00a0But for small business it may be the end of the road. \u00a0You get sick as an employee and there will\u00a0probably\u00a0be a job for you to go back to when you are well. \u00a0You get sick when you are the business and that might be curtains….<\/p>\n

4 Everyone becomes a mark<\/strong><\/p>\n

Unless you are careful the pressure to sell your business will turn everyone that you meet into a\u00a0potential\u00a0sale. \u00a0Not so long back I heard a primary school teacher telling one of the charges in her enterprise class that ‘everyone you meet is a potential customer’ and ‘remember you are ALWAYS selling’.<\/p>\n

5 You become a mark<\/strong><\/p>\n

Once you have got a business everyone is trying to sell you something. \u00a0Mobile phones, office equipment, a sure-fire way to earn money while you sleep – yada, yada…And if they are not trying to sell you something they\u00a0will\u00a0portray\u00a0you as a profit obsessed capitalist taking us all to hell in a handcart,\u00a0profiting\u00a0from the poor and ruining the environment. \u00a0You had better have thick skin.<\/p>\n

6 You may become obsessed with money<\/strong><\/p>\n

Because that is how you ‘keep score’ in business. \u00a0It is \u00a0not enough to do good work. That work has to be profitable. \u00a0And if you have not got deep pockets it has to be profitable quickly.<\/p>\n

7 You become a lackey to Government<\/strong><\/p>\n

Contributing to their goals of a sustainable\u00a0growing\u00a0economy,\u00a0rather\u00a0than a sustainable planet, collecting taxes for them and generally helping them to maintain their economic scorecard<\/p>\n

8 \u00a0You become that evil bovine master<\/strong><\/p>\n

When you start a business you are the daddy. \u00a0Or mummy. \u00a0You are the idiot. \u00a0And the hero. \u00a0It all rests on your shoulders…<\/p>\n

9 You will have an inbred social life<\/strong><\/p>\n

I have met so many entrepreneurs for whom their\u00a0business\u00a0has become their life. \u00a0And they are trapped in it. \u00a0They can’t stop trading, but nor can they make good money. And if they do make good money then they have no-one or no time to spend it with. \u00a0They are literally married\u00a0to\u00a0the business.<\/p>\n

10 You become a coward<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you are lucky, you find what works and you stick to it. \u00a0 You don’t\u00a0take\u00a0major risks. \u00a0You can never\u00a0walk\u00a0away. \u00a0Just day after day the same old same old feeding the beast.<\/p>\n

Now of course my 10 reasons are no closer to the truth than are Steve’s. \u00a0And that is the point. \u00a0No-one can tell you what the right thing is for you to do.<\/p>\n

Not now. \u00a0Not ever.<\/p>\n

So, the next time a slickly dressed and white-toothed smiler promises you that jobs are for idiots and that you too can make money while you sleep, well my best advice is just to look that particular gift horse in the mouth, very carefully. \u00a0Especially when they close their post with a link to your very own ‘Make Money Online’ business.<\/p>\n