Episode 30 Deciding to pursue entrepreneurship
1. Is Now the Right Time to Start a Business? Your idea may never take off if you try to start your business at an inopportune time. Are you currently in a position to pursue entrepreneurship? Consider your relationships, financial well-being, and physical health.
On the flip side, perhaps you’ve recently been laid off from your role in corporate finance. This turn of events could spark an ambition that can be poured into starting your new venture, backed by your professional experience.
Also, consider if the timing is right in the broader economy and the specific market you want to enter. You should ensure your offering meets a current need.
2. Do You Have a Business Idea, and Is That Idea an Opportunity? When starting your business, you need to know what you plan to sell. If you haven’t fleshed out those details yet, brainstorm using the following prompts:
• Why does it take so long to? • Why does cost so much? • Can I deliver with a new business model? • What can I change about to improve it?
Your idea doesn’t need to be a new invention—it simply needs to fill an unmet need. If you have an idea for an original product, that’s great, but an improvement to an existing product’s cost, production, functionality, or accessibility can go a long way.
You should also determine whether your business idea is a viable opportunity. Opportunity is defined as “a proposed venture to sell a product or service for which customers are willing to pay more than the required investments and operating costs.”
To find out if your idea is an opportunity, first come up with a hypothesis. Next, test your hypothesis by conducting market research.
Sahlman recommends reaching out to strangers from your target market segment, rather than friends, family, and colleagues, who may sing false praises. The feedback you receive can inform if your hypothesis was correct or whether you need to test other ideas.
3. Are You Prepared to Pivot and Adapt? Entrepreneurship is an iterative process. If you know that absorbing new information and pivoting when ideas fall flat aren’t your strengths, develop those abilities before becoming an entrepreneur.
Say you produce pull-up bars, and 75 percent of the people you interview aren’t willing to pay $80 for your product. Given this information, you need to adapt.
You test further hypotheses and discover the majority of your target segment is willing to pay the original $80 if the equipment is both high-quality and easy to install. This leads you to develop a new prototype, reassess manufacturing costs, and conduct another round of testing.
Your ability to frequently adapt—especially in the early stages of your business—is essential. 4. Do You Have a Strong Team, or the Ability to Form One? No successful entrepreneur got to where they are by themselves. “All great companies, even those with iconic entrepreneurs, had many other people who were involved and, without whom, the company might not have made it so big,”.
Apple is used to illustrate the power a team can have when growing a business. Co-founder Steve Wozniak was the mind behind the company’s early products and, shortly after its incorporation, Mike Markkula and Mike Scott joined as seasoned executives who proved themselves essential to the company’s growth. Co-founder Steve Jobs, who had previously been forced out of the company, returned when it was on the verge of failure and revitalized its products. Without each of them, and countless others, Apple wouldn’t be where it is today.
Keep in mind that successful business owners know when to ask for help and delegate tasks. Whether that means starting your business with a partner or two, building a strong team as you grow, or simply accepting any help and advice you can, know that your potential success relies on the strength of the people around you.