“You were born an original, don’t die a copy.” —John Mason
Who started the company that you are working for? The people that started the company at some point became entrepreneurial and asked themselves, “Why they were working for their boss or organisation?”
You might be wondering, if this is the right time for you to start a business?
As Covid-19 disrupts the world and creates massive economic uncertainty, many are wondering if it’s the right time to venture out into the unknown and start that business you have always dreamt about.
Whilst it may seem counter-intuitive to start a business in an economic slump you should consider that this is also a time of great opportunity.
Entrepreneurs know that some of the best businesses come out of the worst times — because it’s mostly in your darkest moments, that new ideas and innovations provide beacons of light.
Companies like Uber, Slack, Square, WhatsApp, and Instagram were created coming out of the last recession.
“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is most adaptable to change.” —Charles Darwin.
2:32 - Authenticity
We live in a culture where many people are living someone else’s life.
To thrive through and after this current crisis needs authenticity.
It’s important now more than ever before to have the personal freedom and confidence to say, do, and be who you really are, without worrying so much about how you might appear to others and what they will think or say about you.
I have heard so many people say that they want to live in a way that is true to their deepest passions, beliefs, and desires, but sadly most people never achieve this. We’ve been taught by our parents, teachers, spouses, friends, co-workers, politicians, the media, and others that it’s more important to be liked and to fit in than it is to be who we truly are.
In addition, many assume that they are not good enough, and therefore they’re constantly trying to fix themselves or to act like other people that they feel are better than them.
3:37 - It’s time now to:
- Confront and transform your fear
- Express yourself fully and with confidence
- Take risks and go for what you truly want
- Keep things in perspective and have more fun
- Have more freedom, peace, and confidence in your relationships, your work, and your life
Many talented people are being furloughed because of the Covid-19 pandemic, so it’s a good opportunity to re-examine what you really want out of life. More people are now actively seeking to become entrepreneurs. A new report from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM), reported that 27 million working-age Americans, nearly 14%, are starting or running new businesses. And Millennials and Gen-Z are driving higher interest in entrepreneurship as 51% of the working population now believes that there are actually good opportunities to start companies. So, are you still standing on the fence?
A talented job market
With the impact of Covid-19 on the UK economy leading to job loses and low recruitment, it unfortunately looks like there will be many skilled candidates in the market looking for work. If you manage to grow your business during this time, this will be a major benefit as it is likely to be easier, and indeed cheaper, to find well qualified highly skilled workers than in normal conditions.
5:28 Business Limiting Factors
There are several reasons many people hesitate from stating up a business. To overcome these, start to identify what is holding you back by examining and then eradicating the reasons or excuses with the list below.
5:51 - Fear of failure
While starting a business could be risky, many people have now discovered that there is no job security working for an organisation either, as so many people have been made redundant and a lot have been furloughed.
At least you are in control when you start a business. Life is an adventure, working for someone else puts you at their mercy.
6:20 - Lack of funds to start a business
People worry about not having a lot of money to start and unsure where to find the capital they need initially. The lack of capital can be a stumbling block but not all businesses need a high capital injection to start. Also crowdfunding exists today where you can raise money through pre-sales of the product or even get investors. And other cloud based services like amazon marketplace, Shopify for e-commerce, etc. allow you to get up and running for very little money. There has never been a better time to start a business than now.
Don’t know anything about running a business. You can enrol on our virtual course, where you will learn everything you need to start as well as joining our leaders community where you can meet new and seasoned entrepreneurs. You can also join online networking groups. The more you meet and learn from other people, the more normal it will seem to start your own company. The more knowledge you acquire, the lower your risk factor becomes.
7:57 - Entrepreneurship can be stressful
Starting and managing a business can be quite stressful but so is working for an organisation where you have different people managing you to their own expectations. Understanding your market, developing the right products or services that will address the needs of your target market, and possessing or acquiring the skills needed to jumpstart and run the business will most certainly reduce or even eliminate any stress. Think about what your life would be like when you have the freedom of choice to determine how you live your life and what better freedom than to create your own company and be responsible to you.
8:44 - You love your job
You may actually love your current job, and consider it to be your perfect job. Well that’s great till the company goes through a restructure and makes you redundant or it merges with another company that decides that they don’t want you or the company might even get sold and you need to start proving yourself all over again after so many years of hard work. If you love “what” you do, then you can do the same thing for yourself inside your company.
9:19 - Starting a business is hard work
If you are going to work hard anyway in your career, you might as well work for yourself. Many people work very long hours and get no appreciation for their work, while some even work two jobs and are still struggling to make ends meet. It’s also worth noting that it’s not about how many hours you work but the quality of those hours that will make the difference and at least you’re doing what you love.
9:55 - You not good at selling
Whether you realise it or not, you have been selling all your life, for example, trying to negotiate with your toddler to eat vegetables, selling yourself in interviews and perhaps even selling your companies products or services to customers.
The fact is that, when you truly care about your business and your products or services, it will feel less like selling and more like helping people and the saying ‘practice makes perfect’ is really true.
10:39 - Security of a steady income
There is no more job for life or job security, so you might as well create a sustainable business that will give you a great income. It’s true that in business there might be times when you have low cash flow but it is such an indescribable feeling when your business is generating huge income.
You will need to work hard and you might as well work hard doing what you love in your own business.
Have you ever wondered, why so many companies are started in a recession?
They are usually started by people who got laid off from their jobs, so take control of your life today and do something that you will look back on years later and smile - not full of regrets of things you should have done.