How to Overcome the Personal Challenges of Starting a Business

Starting a business is rewarding. You might have a dream of what your business will look like once you get the doors open and despite the business plan, there is one key component missing and that’s the more personal side of things. As you make plans for your business startup, don’t forget to factor in these personal variables.

The Money

You’ve certainly thought about how to pay for everything you’ll need to get your business off the ground but according to experts, you probably didn’t come up with a high enough price tag.

Some costs are very easy to forecast. You can ask a landlord about rent and utilities, you can work with suppliers and factor in the costs of supplies and merchandise and if you’re hiring employees, you know how many hours they’ll work and their starting salary.

Unless you’ve opened businesses in the past, there are a lot of unknowns. Just like remodeling a room in your home, you never know what you’ll encounter until you get the project started. Budget an extra 20% for the unknowns.

What are You Losing?

When you start a new business, there’s something that is often missing that you’re used to having: a paycheck. Not only are you not getting paid, you’re also not contributing to your retirement funds making your retirement date further away unless you have a high income earning spouse. Can you live without a paycheck for possibly the next year? Can you scale in to the business by keeping your current job?

Your Time

How does your family feel about your business venture? Although opening your own small business is often rewarding and provides a healthy income, it will take a lot of your time and effort to get there. Is your family ok with you working nearly non-stop in order to make your business successful? Is there a way you could include them to make your business a family activity?

Finally

When you’re in charge of generating your income, you’ll gain a sense of freedom that you didn’t have when you were working for somebody else. Your financial future is controlled by you instead of your boss but starting a business isn’t easy. It will take a lot of time, money, and effort, something not to be underestimated. Before committing to opening your business, speak to others in the industry in order to get a more realistic view of what’s to come.