So, you are thinking of starting your own business. What do you have to lose, right? Well that’s a good question. If you answer the question without too much thought you may say, “Probably not too much.” But there is way more to it than that.
What do I have to lose when starting a business?
What you have to lose is your most precious commodity of all: your time.
It’s also your reputation, it’s your hard-earned money to get things started or, worse, it’s money from family and friends. It is also your credit score, it’s making mistakes, it’s coping with the fear and embarrassment when others ask how you are doing and you want to yell from the top of your lungs, “Please leave me alone!”
These are some of the things you have to lose.
If you do it correctly, you will boil these things down to one thing and at its simplest, it is all about managing your risk.
Managing your risk simply means considering the above as well as the many other variables that are important to you. So before you start your journey to see if you can monetize your idea, be sure you are as clear as you can be about any downside.
But there is a bigger question: What do you have to win?
The reason this is a bigger question is because if you are managing what you have to lose, you know your worst-case scenario. However, if you are trying to manage what you have to win, you rightfully don’t know and, just as importantly, have no way of knowing.
What do you have to win when starting your business?
So, if you are thinking of starting your own business and want to know what you have to win, consider the following.
Regardless of the ups and downs you encounter as you start and build your business, the most important thing you can do without deviating is always run your business as if it is for sale.
Always run your business as if it’s for sale
Why do you always want to run your business as if it’s for sale? There are a lot of reasons. Here are just a few of them.
- You obviously believe in your idea or you would never start your own business. What if you start your business and it’s more successful than you expect and you can’t get the money to keep it going? After working through all your options, your final choice may be to sell your business and take your risk off the table.
- What if your idea is genius, but some other entrepreneur sees greater potential and wants to know how much you would be willing to sell your company?
- What if you have an unexpected health issue or a personal issue like divorce or some other option that means at its simplest level you are better off selling the business or the company?
- What if the economy, industry, or market for your product changes and you want to sell?
- What if the government introduces a temporary tariff or passes a law that in the short term affects the performance of your business, be it negatively or positively?
Am I getting ahead of you? Probably!
Am I getting ahead of your sales results and proof of concept? Probably!
But here is the critical piece.
What is the value of your business?
Everything has a value, including a business. If the price is right and the circumstances are right, why wouldn’t you sell your business, take a break and then start again? When you start again next time, you’ll have money you can invest plus all the knowledge and experience you’ve gained from starting and operating your business.
If you receive an offer and it is too good to refuse, or whatever the circumstances are that you need to sell your business, you will get the best price for selling your business only if all the financial statements are in order. Plus, if the key items of your business such as marketing, operations, finance, technology and more are clear and in order.
There are many steps to start and finish the process to sell your business. Here is the roadmap I share with a business owner that wants to know the many steps to sell their business.
Congratulations on your decision to become an entrepreneur! May your journey be uplifting and a total success.
For more insight on selling your own business, connect with Andrew Rogerson on social media or leave him a comment down below.
This article originally published on GREY Journal.
Very enlightening article. it definitely gets your thinking about your business. I also agree with the fact that you should always run you’re business like its for sale. Look at Kylie Jenner, she sold her makeup brand for .