According to SBA, there are roughly 627,000 businesses started in the US every year. Unfortunately, the vast majority of those businesses fail within their first year. With so much competition and so much chance for failure, it can be scary to start a business. Some people put everything they have into their startups. Much like any other industry, there are many myths shrouding the truth, making the world of startups and entrepreneurship seem scarier than it actually is. I’d like to do my part in assisting any up-and-coming entrepreneurs by dispelling a few common myths surrounding startups.
You Need Millions in Order to Even get Started
Not true. Plain and simple. Most businesses don’t even start with half a million dollars to their names. There’s a common misconception that startups believe they need several angel investors injecting millions of dollars into the company in order to make any progress. While this may be true down the road as the company grows, it isn’t exactly a necessity at the start. Believe it or not, according to Business2Community.com, more than half of all businesses started with less than $25,000.
You Have to Start in an Industry that you are Well-Versed in
Again, not true. Obviously, if you have a great deal of knowledge on art, it would probably be easy to start a new art-centered business, but you can delve into industries that you have no experience in. With that being said, you shouldn’t just dive headfirst into a completely new industry without any assistance. My advice would be to find an advisor or someone with a great deal of experience in the industry you’re looking to get into. They can serve as something of a mentor during your startup phase.
You’re a Swiss Army Knife
It’s true that most entrepreneurs are jacks-of-all-trades, and they can carry out several daily activities required for starting a business, but they aren’t superheroes. And you aren’t either. You can’t, and shouldn’t, start a business on your own. If you have the capital, hire new members to your team to handle the tasks that you either can’t get to yourself or you just don’t know how to handle.
This article isn’t meant to mislead you to thinking that starting a business is easy. It isn’t. It’s very difficult. But it isn’t impossible and isn’t as scary as others would lead you to believe. But if you’re willing to put in the time and effort to make your idea come to life, then I wish you the best of luck.