QUESTIONS TO ASK YOURSELF

BEFORE YOU START YOUR

BUSINESS

WHY YOU SHOULD START A BUSINESS

Flexibility

Independence

Freedom

Personal
fulfillment

Passion

Financial
independence

You Choose the

People You
Work With

Recognition

Create jobs

QUESTIONS TO ASK YOURSELF BEFORE YOU

START A BUSINESS?
1. CAN YOU WORK ALONE AND TAKE RESPONSIBILITY?
2. DO YOU WANT A BUSINESS OR DO YOU JUST WANT MONEY?
3. CAN YOU HANDLE STRESS?
4. CAN YOU HANDLE REJECTION?

QUESTIONS TO ASK YOURSELF BEFORE YOU

START A BUSINESS?
5. ARE YOU WILLING TO LEARN?
6. ARE YOU A LEADER OR A GOOD MANAGER?
7. WHAT ARE YOUR STRENGTHS?
8. ARE YOU PREPARED TO TAKE A RISK?

CAN YOU TAKE RESPONSIBILITY?

Working for someone else means that we have guidance,
structure, and someone directing our activities.

Must be

We dont bear the financial risk or assume responsibility for

how the business is managed.

Capable of
motivating
ourselves

Running our business requires us to manage all those

activities and ensure that they are being carried out
effectively and efficiently. We bear the financial risk and are
responsible for how the business is managed. It requires hard
work and commitment.

Manage our
time
effectively

No Manager

Be productive

DO YOU WANT A BUSINESS OR JUST MONEY?

There is a tendency
to view business
ventures as a
means to making
large amounts of
money, and while
this can be the
case, it rarely
happens quickly.

Often times it
requires years and
years of effort and
hard work. Many
startups operate for
years without even
break even, let
alone making a
profit.

By asking yourself
what it is you really
want from your
business can really
help prepare you
for any obstacles or
tough times that
you may face in
making your startup
work.

DO YOU WANT A BUSINESS OR JUST MONEY?

Most entrepreneurs
operate on fairly tight
budgets and if money
is your main motivator,
this can be a
disheartening time.

While money can

certainly be a valid
motive and the main
motive for a lot of
business owners who
desire financial
independence, it is
essential to
accompany it with
another motive or
reason.

By pursuing something
that has meaning and
value to you, you will
find it easier to get
through the difficult
times. Otherwise, it
may be too tempting
to give up when the
going gets tough

CAN YOU HANDLE STRESS?

Factors contributing to stress:

There is just simply not
enough in hours in the day
for an entrepreneur. There
will be many days where
you will have to put in long
hours, not to mention
periods of high pressure to
meet deadlines and land
key clients.

Obtaining finance and

making decisions while
facing uncertainties are
just some of the ongoing
situations that can
contribute to a business
owners stress levels.

A business will inevitably

experience ups and downs
throughout its life cycle,
and more often than not,
many face emotional and
financial turmoil at some
point.

CAN YOU HANDLE STRESS?

Factors contributing to stress:

When running your
own business, you
are likely to lose
sleep and
experience higher
levels of stress than
usual.

Running a
It is very important
business may,
to consider these
unfortunately,
things and ask
require you to miss
yourself is this
out on key family
lifestyle for you?
time and events.

DEALING WITH STRESS

Exercise

Meditation

Breaks

Balancing family
life

CAN YOU HANDLE REJECTION?

Rejection is something that every
business owner will experience
again and again throughout their
journey. It is inevitable.
Whether youre looking for
finance from a lender or seeking
potential investors, rejection will
be part of that journey.
Others will not always see your
idea as clearly and confidently as
you do.

The most important thing is not to

let rejection affect you and try to
learn something from it.
Find out what they didnt like and
identify those areas you may need
to improve on.
Feedback is crucial to stepping
forward. Use rejection as a means
to motivate yourself to push
forward and improve.

ARE YOU WILLING TO LEARN?

THE KEY TO SUCCESS OFTEN CORRELATES WITH YOUR ABILITY TO CONTINUALLY
INVEST IN YOURSELF AND YOUR ABILITIES.

KNOWLEDGE IS A FUNDAMENTAL ELEMENT OF A STARTUPS SUCCESS. IT IS

IMPORTANT TO KEEP UP TO DATE WITH INDUSTRY TRENDS AND CHANGES BY
ATTENDING COURSES, TRADE SHOWS, NETWORKING, ATTENDING SEMINARS,
READING ETC.

CONTINUAL LEARNING AND SELF-IMPROVEMENT IS A FUNDAMENTAL ELEMENT OF

THE ENTREPRENEURIAL JOURNEY.

ARE YOU A LEADER OR A GOOD MANAGER?

THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO ARE GREAT LEADERS AND PEOPLE WHO ARE GREAT MANAGERS.

ITS NOT ENOUGH JUST TO BE A GOOD MANAGER. GOOD LEADERS HAVE BIG IDEAS
COMBINED WITH THE ABILITY TO COMMUNICATE THOSE IDEAS EFFECTIVELY AND
CONVINCINGLY TO OTHERS BOTH INSIDE AND OUTSIDE THE BUSINESS.

THROUGH THEIR ENTHUSIASM AND PASSION, THEY HAVE THE ABILITY TO INSPIRE AND
ENCOURAGE OTHERS TO FOLLOW THEM.

LEADERSHIP IS AN ESSENTIAL ELEMENT OF A SUCCESSFUL STARTUP. ENTREPRENEURS NEED TO

BE ABLE TO LEAD, INSPIRE AND MOTIVATE THOSE AROUND THEM.

Warren Bennis (in his book, On Becoming a

Leader) composed a list of the differences:

GOOD MANAGER

GOOD LEADER

Managers administer

Leaders innovate

Managers imitate

Leaders originate

Managers rely on control

Leaders inspire trust

Managers have a short-range view

Leaders have a long-range perspective

Managers focus on systems and structure

Leaders focus on people

Managers accept the status quo

Leader challenge status quo

Managers have their eye always on the bottom line

Leaders eye is on the horizon.

Managers do things right

Leaders do the right thing

WHAT ARE YOUR STRENGTHS?

KNOW YOUR STRENGTHS. KNOW YOUR WEAKNESSES. DONT
BE AFRAID TO TRY THINGS AND FAIL IF THOSE FAILURES WILL
TEACH YOU WHAT YOUR STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES ARE.
AND WHEN YOU TRY AGAIN, BUILD YOUR BUSINESS AROUND
THE STRENGTHS! THE MORE YOU KNOW THYSELF, THE CLOSER
YOULL BE TO SUCCESS.
KEVIN HARRINGTON
(INVENTOR OF THE INFOMERCIAL, AS SEEN ON TV PIONEER, AND SHARK TANK)

ARE YOU PREPARED TO TAKE RISKS?

STARTING YOUR OWN BUSINESS WILL INVOLVE SOME RISKS.
THESE MAY INCLUDE:

LOSING
YOUR
SAVINGS

GIVING UP
A REGULAR
PAYCHECK

DEPENDENT
ON A
REGULAR
CASHFLOW

ENTRUSTING
KEY
EMPLOYEES

ADVICE FROM
ENTREPRENEURS

DONNA NODSON
STARTED BUSINESSES, WORKED WITH START-UPS - CONSULTING, BUSINESS STRATEGY
20 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE SPANNING EUROPE AND NORTH AMERICA, BA, MBA
Entrepreneurs
should know how
to read, write
and manage a
business plan

You dont have to be an

expert at this, and you may
be going through the
process for the first time
while starting your business.
This is a critical skill that will
serve you well as you work
to navigate the constantly
shifting landscape of
business.

Work through the business plan

filling out the information you
know. Identify the information you
still need and come up with a
plan for obtaining it. Your business
plan will change, probably quite a
bit. Don't get frustrated; this is part
of the process. You might make
one decision based on the
information you have available at
that moment. A week later, you
find out different information and
need to re-evaluate whether your
initial decision still makes sense.
This is ok.

DONNA NODSON
STARTED BUSINESSES, WORKED WITH START-UPS - CONSULTING, BUSINESS STRATEGY
20 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE SPANNING EUROPE AND NORTH AMERICA, BA, MBA
Make sure
every person
who is part of
your company
knows your
business plan.

Everyone should be
able to read the
company business
plan and understand
where they fit in the
strategy. How does
their job contribute to
the company goals?

It gives your management

better visibility. Its not just

about employees interpreting
this for their own work its
also about managers (at all
levels!) being able to better
structure their departments
and the employee
requirements to align with
company goals.

DONNA NODSON
STARTED BUSINESSES, WORKED WITH START-UPS - CONSULTING, BUSINESS STRATEGY
20 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE SPANNING EUROPE AND NORTH AMERICA, BA, MBA

Think that the business

plan has far too much
confidential
information?
You dont need to share
a version that includes
line-item visibility on
things like salary or
exactly which clients owe
how much money. Give
broad information.

Salary costs need to

be x% of the overall
revenue in order to
achieve [goal]; today
the company is at y%.
This makes it much
easier for people to
understand and
manage salary
increases and hiring
constraints.

The company has $/

amount of funds outstanding
based on past-due client
payments; this falls below the
companys requirement of $/.
Cash flow relies upon client
invoices being paid on time.
Lack of cash will impact the
companys ability to make x
other purchases.
Then employees understand
why a purchase might be
delayed from one month to
the next.

CAREY GREEN
BUILT HIS BUSINESS TO OVER 6 FIGURES IN UNDER 3 YEARS, GROWING MORE DAILY
Strengthen your
determination muscles. You
wont succeed if youre not
willing to get back up every
time you fall. And I mean
EVERY time. There will be
lots of mistakes, missteps,
and difficulties on the road
to success. If you cant
overcome the
discouragement to keep
going, you shouldnt start in
the first place.

Maybe take up something

that requires a lot of you running, martial arts, fitness
of some kind - to strengthen
your mental game ahead
of time. Im convinced that
those kinds of things will help
you when it comes to the
mental discipline needed to
be an entrepreneur.

HAN OOI
STARTUP FOUNDER CREATING IOT PLATFORM FOR OUTDOOR SPORTS
AND VR/AR INDUSTRY
Deep Network of
Friends/Associates with
complementary skills Launching a startup is tough
and scary and there are
many things you dont know
that can hurt you. So
volunteer your time to build
relationship with other
people who may have parts
of the knowledge that you
need. Joining a tech startup
incubator is also another way
to meet such people.

Develop good money

management skills in your
personal life and startup life
- burn rate is one other
those factors that can
impact your success or
failure. If you fail to
manage your cash flow
well, you will die on the
vine. Being competent at
managing finances is also
a skill investors like to look
at when determining
whether to fund you.

Courage and Passion - I was

reading in the Hypomanic Edge
on how some societies have
low rates of entrepreneurship
even though those societies are
well off financially.some
cultures and societies lack
courage even though their
people are technically
competent So the final
ingredient is this intangible.
- Doing a startup is like
Jumping off a cliff while trying
to learn how to fly.

GERICKE POTGIETER
FAILED AND SUCCEEDED AT NUMEROUS BUSINESSES - CO-FOUNDER OF ARTIFEX
KNOWLEDGE ENGINEERING PUBLISHED WRITER AT INC
That was to be one of my
best business lessons.

Bread-andbutter money
first, then you
can play.

My mentor was a very

wealthy man, yet he still
gave weekly math lessons
to high school kids with his
wife. I thought it was funny,
why would a man driving
the latest Porche give math
lessons?

He did it because it paid the

bills and had nearly zero risk.
There would always be kids
who struggle with math.
All of his other investments
and businesses could fail but
the weekly math lessons will
carry him through.

BUSINESS | CAREER | EDUCATION

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