Re:Climbing the wrong hill (2009)
by adventured on Monday April 17, 2017 @03:30AM
(#14129682)
At least going back to the mid 1990s, I've always asked friends & acquaintances if they were interested in starting their own business at some point (when the topic happens to come up).
Close to maybe 90% of those people said yes.
Something closer to 5-10% of those people have ended up starting their own businesses.
Anecdotal for sure. I'd bet that it's a statistical outcome that's not too far from the average however.
They like the idea of finally being their own boss. Most people don't know very much about running a business or starting one, so they think it means immense amounts of increased freedom, to take vacations when you want to for example, or set more convenient hours for yourself.
Then any time they think about taking concrete steps on it, the reality wall hits: the risk (financial & personal) is terrifying (often for good reason). Or they're intimidated by what seems to be a very difficult process ('where do I even start?'). And then they just never do start, the idea never leaves the drawing board, where it remains a sweet fantasy.
I've found you can quickly tell whether someone has a real intention of starting the business they have an idea for, just from the vocabulary they use when discussing it. For one thing, if they're not going to, they'll immediately turn away from any encouragement toward getting started or learning more about it (no matter how small the suggested first step is); they'll shoot down conversation that veers too close to reality, preferring to keep it as that nice thought.
Polling people about such things is ridiculously unreliable. Based on a common view of owning your own business, you might as well ask people: would you like to be your own boss, get rich, set your own schedule and love what you do for a living?
Close to maybe 90% of those people said yes.
Something closer to 5-10% of those people have ended up starting their own businesses.
Anecdotal for sure. I'd bet that it's a statistical outcome that's not too far from the average however.
They like the idea of finally being their own boss. Most people don't know very much about running a business or starting one, so they think it means immense amounts of increased freedom, to take vacations when you want to for example, or set more convenient hours for yourself.
Then any time they think about taking concrete steps on it, the reality wall hits: the risk (financial & personal) is terrifying (often for good reason). Or they're intimidated by what seems to be a very difficult process ('where do I even start?'). And then they just never do start, the idea never leaves the drawing board, where it remains a sweet fantasy.
I've found you can quickly tell whether someone has a real intention of starting the business they have an idea for, just from the vocabulary they use when discussing it. For one thing, if they're not going to, they'll immediately turn away from any encouragement toward getting started or learning more about it (no matter how small the suggested first step is); they'll shoot down conversation that veers too close to reality, preferring to keep it as that nice thought.
Polling people about such things is ridiculously unreliable. Based on a common view of owning your own business, you might as well ask people: would you like to be your own boss, get rich, set your own schedule and love what you do for a living?