Starting a new business venture offers the expectation of great rewards and in most cases there is a high element of risk involved. It’s common to hear that when we’re operating our own business, every time we jump out of bed in the morning we’re unemployed until we make our first transaction! Familiar?
According to reports, people who are self-employed account for about 25% of our population. And reliable statistics show that just about all of the highly-successful people we hear about started out being self-employed in their own business.
Of course there are many occasions where people have no option but to start their own small business. This may have resulted due to things like becoming unemployed, made redundant or downsized, collapses of their employer’s business, etc. These days these situations are not uncommon, and unlikely to improve much in the short to medium term. There are many industries where this is more widespread, such as automotive, real estate and retail, to name just a few.
One of the significant results of this is the creation of new businesses by a growing number of entrepreneurs. Are there risks involved? You betcha, and most of us know the failure-rate of new ventures is very high in the first five years, apparently around the 30% to 40% mark according to reliable university studies. So it’s often survival of the fittest in order to have a business that lasts.
But despite the risk, according to a Master Card study done recently, the majority of small business owners advise their friends to start a business now, instead of delaying for 12 months. And according to an MSNBC report, small businesses employ over 75% of the net new jobs in the economy. Of these businesses, although they start out small, many of them grow very quickly. These new start-up businesses, many of which are home-based by the way, employ over forty million in the United States alone, plus the millions of others in other countries, and are rapidly growing in numbers. Yahoo recently reported that over 75% of business-owners indicated that the internet directly influenced the launch of their venture in this new economy.
So it doesn’t really matter what your situation is, when you make the decision to become an entrepreneur and start your own business, and you’re passionate about achieving success with a business that lasts, if you’ve made your decision after careful research, the risk-reward factor is well-balanced and in your favor. The potential benefits are huge and are unlimited. Although there is the risk factor of about a fifty-fifty chance of failure, you can get around that by doing some very basic things and having a proven system to work within.
Owning a successful business, particularly one that is home based, requires a lot of self-discipline, so that when you come across obstacles, as you certainly will, being completely clear about your “why” for operating a business will greatly assist you in staying with your decision and never quitting.
Successful businesses, especially when you work from home, are based upon commitment and taking massive action. Don’t ever give-up, know exactly what you want, and just go for it. The rewards you’ll receive from operating a successful small business that lasts are phenomenal and enable people like you and your loved ones to enjoy the type of lifestyle normally reserved for the ultra-rich.