Why Start Business?

Why do you want to start a business?

There are many reasons why start business; some achievable others not so much. Here are a few that I've been involved with:

Financial: I need more money and I think starting my own business is the best way to get it.

Career Development: I’m an attorney and I want better control of the cases I work on so that I can specialize in internet security.

Philanthropic/Fulfillment: I’ve had a very successful business career and I’d like to give something back to poor people and help them live a better life. That's why start business!

Family tradition: My dad has his own construction business and is very successful. I’d like to start a dry walling business that works with him.

Pursuit of happiness: I’ve also done better working for myself and I don’t like the lack of freedom and creativity of working for someone else. That's why start business!

To meet creative objectives: I’m an artist and I want to create and sell my art!

To work in sports: I love sports and it’s the best way for me to be able to work in the sports industry in communications.That's why start business!

These are just examples for use to use to come up with your own statement why you want to start a business,

What are you goals; why start business?

First, think about why you’re even considering your own business. What are you goals? Try writing down all goals related to setting up your business and BE HONEST with yourself.

Secondly, analyze these goals. Are they most mostly financial, creative, fulfillment related? Do you have a financial component that you MUST meet? Or do you have enough support that financial issues can take a back seat to your true goals?

Analyzing your goals will help you truly answer the question of WHY you would consider going into your own business. Once you understand why you want to start a business and define your goals you can begin to QUANTIFY your business.

Financial goals usually the most obivious and important

For example: My goal is that I want to stay at home and be with my children. This is probably both a financial goal and a fulfillment goal because it implies you can only stay home with your children if you make enough money to do so.

So to quantify (Add link to how to truly QUANTFY your goals) (Click here to determine how much it will cost to be in your own business) this goal the next question is how much money would you need to earn so that you can stay home with your children?

Now using the definition of what you want to do that you did in Start-up (click here for Start-up) you can begin to define how much business you would need to do to generate in order to pay you the money that you need.

Another Example: I’d like to start my own firm in advertising because I want to expand my creative freedom. Let’s look at this goal carefully. Sounds like a creative goal but it’s really a financial goal as well. If this person were to start his/her own agency and it loses money or just breaks even it may meet the goal of offering creative freedom, but not paying the bills may put a huge crimp in the freedom.

But not always!

Let’s go back to DK Designs, my friend Deanne’s jewelry business. Her goal is to create one-of-kind jewelry and support herself with her business. But there is only one problem with that--supporting her creative freedom to create one-of-kind pieces may NEVER produce a profit and will likely lose money. In her instance she has conflicting goals.

When you have conflicting goals you have to decide which goal is the highest priority. In Deanne’s case she has a ton of money saved and she really doesn’t need to work, allowing her to put her creative goals first rather than her financial goals.

In summary

So to summarize, determining why you want to go into your own business is a process of defining and prioritizing your goals. Create a list, put the most important at the top and try to quantify what you need from each of your goals.

Then you’re ready to think about HOW you might go into your own business. You have a preliminary idea of what you want to do, and you have a prioritized list of goals that you have quantified, now you can begin planning HOW You have completed Why Start Business and can move to HOW