From the course: Entrepreneurship Foundations

Pre-launch: What to know

From the course: Entrepreneurship Foundations

Pre-launch: What to know

“

- Imagine you are on day two of forgetting to shower. You're in your pajamas at six p.m. and you can't quite remember if it's been two days or three since you stepped outside. This was my life for the first year of my business. I am still apologizing to my friends for living in my robe for that first year. If this sounds doable, then entrepreneurship might be for you. Here, we'll go over the three things you should ask yourself before starting your business. The first is, am I ready financially? Determine if this is the best time to start. What your roadblocks are and how to work around them. Personally, I had a scholarship for college and I had no debt following me. I had no house, no car, no kids, and no husband, so financially, I was in a good place, but make sure you take the time to decide if you are ready. Most founders spent countless hours assessing and preparing for risks long before ever taking them. Now, I know it's sad news, but the majority of startups fail, so you'll also need to ask yourself have I assessed my worst case scenario? Before starting, I envisioned my own worst case scenario. I was 25 years old, living with my two best friends in New York City and what if I wake up tomorrow with $0? I start this company and it doesn't make any money. I have three months of savings. Therefore I have three months to make money, or I can't pay rent, and if I can't pay rent, I'll have to leave New York and live with my mom in Florida. I'll need a job, as I have no money after burning through all of it, so I guess I could work at Starbucks. So my worst case scenario was living at my Mom's, in Florida, and working at Starbucks. Honestly, not bad, in fact, sounds pretty good. Now, I'm extremely lucky and have enormous privilege that even if my bank account read zero, I would have my family to fall back on, but you may not. So really take the time and make sure you've thought out the worst that can happen. Lastly, a question I wished I had asked when I started, are those closest to me ready? While you decided on entrepreneurship, those around you did not. You signed up for the late nights, for the emotional roller coaster, for the instability, but your friends and family, they didn't. Prepare them for what's ahead, let them know that you won't be your normal self, and you'll miss family events and parties and trips and you're definitely not going to be as responsive. This helps them to understand that you still care about them. Now that I've walked you through my examples, it's time for you to tackle your own. To evaluate your lifestyle preferences and financial situation, put pen to paper in you own worst case scenario exercise. I've created an exercise file to help you get started. Dive in, and realize that being prepared for bigger waves only means that if and when they do come, you'll be ready to surf the big ones.

Contents