The 3 Must-Answer Questions for Aspiring Entrepreneurs

Just like every young aspiring entrepreneur out there, you’re probably on the brink right now of quitting your regular job. You have that entrepreneurial itch that you won’t be able to scratch unless you start your own business and be an independent business woman.

If you feel that you have the drive, then go for it. But before you go into the entrepreneurial world, find out if you’re really ready to take on the challenges ahead of you. Below are  the 3 big questions to help you assess your “readiness”. 

1.       Why do you want to be an entrepreneur? Answers like “I want to be my own boss”, “I hate my job because it’s too stressful” won’t cut it. You have to remember that if you start a business, you are not your own boss. Your customers are your boss and they can be pretty demanding.

And if you want to start a business so that you can get away from the stresses your corporate job is giving you, then you have to reconsider your decision. Starting a business is not a walk in the park. If you hate stress, then you may end up hating your business because there’s just so much stress that comes along with being an entrepreneur. 

2.       Do you possess the right business skills? Analyze your personal skills, your core competencies as well as your weaknesses. Find out how you can leverage these skills when starting up your dream business. Here are some of the questions that you must consider to help assess your skills:

• Are you more of a thinker or manual laborer?
•  Are you good at analyzing numbers or solving abstract equations? Or are you more inclined to manually fixing or installing things?
•  What are your hobbies and interests? 
•  Do you like planning events? Or do you prefer attending events?
• Do you like to work with a team? By yourself?
• Would you rather work in front of your desk than speak in front of people?

3.       Do you have the resources? After establishing that you have what it takes to run your own business, the next big question you need to answer is: Can you afford to run your own business?

 Is the business feasible and do you have enough resources to run it in the every early stages of its life? Remember that it may take months before you actually see an income coming in. Are you ready to make sacrifices? Do you have enough savings to support yourself during the first few months?  If you don’t have the resources, are you ready to talk to investors, the banks or to a potential business partner? 

Final Thoughts

To be able for your startup to thrive in a very uncertain business world, you need to have a business mindset right off the bat. You have to be ready to embrace and take on every challenge and uncertainty that comes your way – the stresses, the crazy demands and the ups and downs. At some point in your entrepreneurial journey, you’ll find yourself deep down the trenches. But if you have a winning mindset and attitude, you’ll be able to bounce back and eventually succeed. 

Over to you..

Are you a woman entrepreneur? What made you decide to run your own business? What are the challenges you had to face during the early stages of your business? Please share your experience below, the MACsWomen community would love to hear them.