There are many reasons people would want to be an entrepreneur. No matter what your reasons are, intentions aren’t enough. The question is not if you want to be but if you are ready to be. I have seen many people jump around celebrating their ideas as though they have started earning millions with it, designing logos and noising all around social media. Enthusiasm is not enough, that first enthusiasm will die off. Yes! more is needed. Having enough capital to spend doesn’t mean you are ready, capital is not your biggest problem if you know how to negotiate or start a business. People telling you, you look like a good business person doesn’t mean you really are. And sorry for this READING TOO MUCH BUSINESS BOOKS DOESN’T MEAN YOU ARE READY TO START A BUSINESS!
Go through these 4 tests to see if you are ready to be an entrepreneur
1. Do you see a problem?
This is the first thing to evaluate. You seeing a problem is not enough. I guess the right question is if you have a solution to a problem. Every single business you can think of is solving a problem. The issue most times is that people get a solution without knowing a problem it should solve. So they spend all their money looking for the problem to the solution. They then call this money-marketing expenses.
How do I mean? E.g someone starts developing a product or imports a high quantity of a product and then start looking for who to buy. This is putting the cart before the horse. Find willing buyers and possibly have them pay in advance before purchasing. This is what Jumia, Konga, and your popular e-commerce business do. They only pay to purchasers when you buy.
Read Also: 5 Events That Boost Entrepreneur Motivation
2. Is your solution new?
New does not mean it should be out of this world. There is a problem of hunger and the solution is food, right? But people have to leave their office walk down miles just to eat. People would have to leave their house to buy groceries miles away and still come back to spend hours cooking the food.
See the inconvenience they pass through just to solve a problem. Now someone brings a new solution, let us go buy you the food and deliver it to your office. Let us do this shopping and come cook it for you at your home while you rest. Same with transportation with bikes, someone brought the convenience that you book a ride and pay from your app. The problem must not be new but keep the solution new. When you have a new solution like no other person, you are ready to start a business. This is why Opay, Oride, and Ofood are winning the market in the Nigerian space.
3. Do you have a team?
No one person builds or starts a business. Having a team is not enough, a right team is what’s important. Even the smartest people in the world can’t build a significant company without the help of others. If your vision for a company is compelling enough to get you to work flat out for years to realize it, you’ll only succeed if you can convince talented people to join you in that quest.
Your vision must be more than just average — since you won’t be able to pay people as much as, say, Google. Your vision will have to offer them enough emotional currency so they will trade off the big salary to work for you.
4. Did I say Money? No!
Lack of money does mean lack of readiness as long as you know how to attract investors to your business. Some business actually has failed because of lack of money but the whole of the money you need to start a business must not come from you. Find people who would believe in your ideas well enough to invest. Don’t borrow to start but you can borrow to expand. I repeat don’t borrow to start so you don’t bear the burden of loans and interest before the business starts paying except the loan is a zero percent interest loan
CONGRATULATIONS!
CONGRATULATIONS!!
CONGRATULATIONS!!!
Now that you are ready, go start that business.
