In this modern day and age a lot of us are sick of the current rat race that we are in. That's why so many people are turning to alternative sources of income. Starting your own business or even a nice side hustle has become a very appealing option in these times where people are only valued for their output instead of their attributes.
Large multinationals dominate the sector instead of smaller more personal businesses and employees are treated as such by the companies. Just another number on a spreadsheet of thousands instead of individuals with a life outside of their work. Paid just enough to survive but never enough to thrive and create a comfortable life for themselves to prevent them from moving on.
So more and more people are looking to home grown enterprises and small businesses as an alternative. That is even before we see the rise of AI replace a lot of the current functions in the office space.
Starting your own business.
Myself and my partner have a couple of ideas that we would like to take on in the near future. Ones that we could start on the side of our real jobs and then try to expand enough to replace one of our incomes if not two.
But is it as easy as that?
I've always heard about the failure rate of start ups, especially food establishments so I looked for a few figures online.
- Globally, 16% of the workforce is now entrepreneurial, indicating a significant rise in business creation post-COVID-19.
- Approximately 20% of new businesses fail within the first year, 45% during the first five years, and 65% within the first ten years in the U.S.
- Only about 25% of new businesses make it to 15 years or more.
- Only 40% of small businesses yield a profit, with 30% breaking even and 30% losing money.
Ref: Grok
The three biggest motivations to starting your own business is not being happy in your current job, following your own interests and spotting a gap in the market.
We would be saying that two of those three apply. As for a gap there are competitors to our plans but none in the area and none as broad as we would plan.
Unfortunately it's not as easy as just getting started with reality getting in the way. Time, money, equipment ect... It's hard to get started and harder to attract customers.
Even looking online at where you can fail there are three major issues.
-42% fail due to no market need.
-29% because of cash flow issues.
-23% due to poor teamwork or communication.
These statistics provide a snapshot of the challenges, motivations, and outcomes associated with starting a new business, highlighting both the opportunities and risks involved.
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While those numbers sound frightening, it's very hard to stay in "a specific sector" for more than 5-10 years... Not just because of running your business badly, but also because some sectors aren't out there anymore! I suppose the right way to do it is to change businesses once in a while, making them more challenging and motivating, plus, developing new ideas and investing in new sectors/niches...
Personally, when I was younger I was running multiple businesses...I'm getting older, and if I start a new business, I'm aware that most of my profits would go to taxes, banks, and corrupted politicians than in my pocket...
It's a wild west outside, but there are good ideas and I would never change the entrepreneur way of living and working for any 9-to-5 job!
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I've heard similar stats before so they would be roughly accurate in most countries.
I would say however that a lot of it comes down to how a business is run. I've worked with a lot of managers over the years who were bad at their jobs and would have a problem if they were in total control of a business.
I think that the right people can make a success of most businesses if they have the right skills.
Fair play to you for being able to keep multiple businesses going over the years. It takes a lot of time and effort.
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Good man Niall. Glad to hear it. Try get something up and running while ye are both still working. If it starts taking off, one or both could go to 4 day weeks. There's lots of potential out there for the right ideas.
That would be the goal.
After the wedding this year we will start to put in some research to getting something off the ground. With two of us working full time and two kids under 6 something will need to change if we don't want to go crazy trying to stay on top of life.
If we could both go onto a four day week or less it would really change our lifestyle for the better.
The issue that I have noticed which is affecting our present age is the fact that a whole lot of people are rushing to start a business without not been ready for it
Your doomed to fail unless you put in the hard work first.
Having a good idea.
Research.
Planning.
Building up funds.
Long term planning.
If you just jump in it's never going to work since most businesses take years to turn a profit.
The statistics you've shared highlight how tough it can be to not just start but sustain a business long-term.
That said, having two out of the three main motivations on your side is a great foundation to build on, especially if you've identified a gap in your local market.
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