Here is my bad advice when someone asks me, “when should I start a company?”
In the circles I hang in, I get this question quite a bit, “When should I start my company?”
And my answer is always the same. “Now.”
I should point out that many entrepreneurs would disagree with me on this, and in fact, many have. So there’s that.
There are loads of studies that show that 1 in 10 new companies will actually make it in any meaningful way. Those aren’t good odds. But what isn’t tracked is how many dreams are never even given a chance. I would say 1 in 10,000 companies actually get started. Maybe 1 in 100,000.
Do I think you’re ready to start your first company? Of course not. You’re not. No one is. Until you get into it, you have no idea what to expect. And I’m technically on my third business and I still often don’t know what I’m getting into.
Is your dream to start a company? If the answer is yes, then you either need to just do it, or put that dream aside and find a new one. Why can’t you start it now? Here are some reasons I hear:
- You don’t have enough money saved up? You never will.
- You don’t have enough research on the industry? You never will.
- You haven’t put together a proper business plan? You don’t need one.
- You just need to wait six months until you get your bonus at your current job? Then that’s more important than starting a business to you (which is fine), so find another dream.
- You think the market is going to collapse and its a risky time to start a business? It’s always a risky time to start a business, and you can’t predict the market.
Life only gets more complicated. Money only gets more important. If your dream truly is to start a company, then your chances are almost zero if you don’t just go ahead and start it. And your chances are 100% if you go ahead and start it today.
