Should you be jumping on the building-your-own-business bandwagon?

Image: ClassPass

Whilst we would love to start off this article with a success story about Mark Zuckerberg or his counterparts, we thought we’d shine the spotlight on some other lesser shared examples. Enter ClassPass: An online booking platform for fitness classes that was created in 2013 by Payal Kadakia.

The then corporate employee used to run an Indian dance company as a side-hustle, and one day had trouble finding a ballet class without all the overload of choices available. To combat that issue, she wanted to develop a search engine that allowed users to book classes all in one place. It was only after many failures before she was able to found ClassPass, which was a successful hit with the exercising community worldwide.

Image: Unsplash

In Singapore, the entrepreneurial market is very much active—from home-baked goods to tech start-ups—despite the advised traditional route of being a stable employee at a reputable company.

Even though it can be alluring to be a successful business owner, there are some questions to ponder on if you are thinking of jumping on the entrepreneurship bandwagon.

Are you doing it for the passion or the money?

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Don’t get us wrong—we’re not saying that you can’t start your own business purely because you want to bring home the big bucks—but a key question you should ask yourself is whether you are passionate about your business or if it’s just about the ka-ching.

According to an article by CNBC, the late Apple founder Steve Jobs once said, “People say you have to have a lot of passion for what you’re doing and it’s totally true.” He explained that the reason was because of how building something of value is so hard that without passion, any logical person would give up.

Whilst money and having bills to pay can be great motivations to keep your business afloat, having passion for your craft plays an important role in pushing yourself and your venture forward.

Is this a side-hustle or long-term business?

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Perhaps you have a main job that provides you with a steady flow of income, and you’re planning to start a business as a side hustle; this means that you’re less likely to depend on your new venture to support yourself, and you might feel less stress about whether it takes off or not. You can probably also have a little more freedom to be creative or experiment with how you want to operate your business.

The risks of your side project are thus much more minimised compared to if you were to establish a venture that can support you in the long run. If you are deciding to focus all your time and attention on running your business full-time, the risks are obviously higher and you should really think your idea through.

Do you have a back-up plan if your business fails?

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If you are planning to run your business full-time, it is important to figure out whether you will still be able to support yourself even if it fails. You certainly do not want to be entangled in the situation where you end up absolutely broke because you used up all your money to fund your business. Thus, it is crucial to figure out whether you have enough financial ability to back yourself up or cushion any blows from a potential business failure.

Whilst being an entrepreneur certainly comes with unavoidable risks, it would be foolish to start your venture without doing the proper planning and ensuring that you have sufficient financial means.

If you are an aspiring entrepreneur, you might be interested in NPR’s How I Built This with Guy Raz podcast, which shares on the stories behind many businesses and their founders. For more ideas on what to listen to, check out our podcast recommendations here.

Feature image from Unsplash