Starting A Business Soon? – 4 Bitter Truths No One Will Tell You

Thinking about starting a business? You definitely would have done your assignments well; investigating the business in all ramifications, thinking about resources you’ll need (manpower, money, machine etc.), and how to combine these resources.

There’s no doubt you’ll have thought about your monthly profit projection, even in worst case scenarios and you must have made plans to source for funds, among other necessary plans.

So are you good to go? People that have been in business for long knows that it is the situations they didn’t see coming that ruins them. The funny thing is that these situations are not so readily discussed.

Things to Know When Starting a Business

This article points out 4 not so discussed crucial things you should know when starting a business:

• Your motivation drops gradually

When starting a business, the motivation you have from the on-set comes from the preparations you’re making to tackle the challenges you know about (e.g long hours of work, week end work, financial stress etc.)

But when these situations actually surface, you may not be able to handle them as you thought and the psychological effects may get you demoralized.

Remember that most start-ups fail within the first 5 years. There will be times of discouragement and without motivation. You can’t buy motivation and you can’t do without it in business.

So, be prepared to always find your way around staying motivated even when things are not going your way.

• Unexpected direct and indirect expenses

If you have not been told, every business has risks to undertake, it could be internal risks (those you can control) or external risks (those you have little or no control over). Now you’ve been told.

Things will not just come out as planned or prepared for because life itself is a risk. For example let’s say you’re into polythene production, what if the cost of materials you need for production increases?

What if the one single machine you’re starting with develops a fault and you have to pay huge amount to get it restored? Even if you rent machinery, the cost of rent may increase (external risk). Your proposed profit margin may take a nose dive and you’ll be disappointed.

The instances above are just few out of many possibilities that you might experience either you’re just starting a business or you’ve been in business for long. Expenses are pocket zapping and very annoying. You need to be ready for this.

• People will take advantage of you

Always keep an eye on possible fraudulent actions. You’re just starting your business and chances are you’ve got little or no experience. People will do whatever it takes to make quick cash out of your inexperience.

For example, even your own customers may use your policies against you. You could be taken to court over very trivial matter just to take advantage of you. Obviously, you know there are scammers everywhere, so be fully prepared.

• Little or no reward in the first few years

Start-ups demand a lot of hard work and devotion. This may mean spending more of your time to figure out and get things straight, depriving yourself of the enjoyment you derive from spending quality time with your family and friends.

You must know that most start-ups make little or no profit during the first few years. This alone is enough to make you want to quit. This is the reality, so be prepared for it.

In conclusion, you can’t just prepare for everything but the tips above are possibilities you may experience as a start-up. You just have to be ready to adapt when these situations arise.

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