Starting a business is 10% inspiration, 10% aspiration, and 80% perspiration. The first two, the motivational elements, are essential and need to be held within bounds, too little is a problem, too much disastrous.
Clearly there is no one-size-fits-all for business start-ups. A little thought throws up at least three possible scenarios:
1. The natural entrepreneur, the Richard Bransons, Henry Fords of this world, whose every bone is written through with the word 'entrepreneur' and has been since birth;
2. The professionals or tradesmen, the accountants, plumbers and builders who are naturally self-employed and for whom setting up a new business is a simple 'right of passage';
3. The middle-aged men or women who find themselves suddenly unemployable.
Each group is exposed to different risks. The first may go 'gung ho' at the whole business start-up, the second may suffer under the delusion that his basic skill - be it an accountant or a builder - equips him or her to be an entrepreneur, whilst the reluctant entrepreneur may be everlastingly looking over his shoulder for a more comfortable outcome.
The new entrepreneur must be a whole-hearted enthusiast for the project, but must serve up that enthusiasm with a significant dose of realism.
In every case the 'perspiration' has to be there from the start: save your 'castles in the sky' until after bed-time, every daylight hour has to be focused on hard reality. That doesn't mean that your start-up can not be fun: indeed it should be enjoyable. You will be confronted with issues you have probably never seriously considered before.
• How deep is your market? Will it support you and your family for the foreseeable future?
• How much money will you need to invest? When will you be able to start paying it off?
• What administration will you need? How much will it cost? How will you recover this 'overhead'?
The questions are many and variable and the answer to most is itself a question.
And as each answer is approached we need to maintain the magic balance: 10% inspiration, 10% aspiration, and 80% perspiration. We need to maintain our motivation but inspiration and aspiration on their own will never cut the mustard. We need hard facts and rational analysis to succeed; and we need them now, not in a few months when we have invested time, money and reputation and can see no way to retreat onto safer ground.
If it sounds like a battle, and looks like a battle, take it from me it almost certainly is a battle.
But the rewards of victory...
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