

Why People Are Afraid to Start a Business - elblanco
http://grasshopper.com/blog/company/2010/06/16/6-reasons-why-people-are-afraid-to-start-a-business/

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patio11
What Will My Girlfriend Think is a non-trivial issue for some people, too.
This was mentioned at a conference in Tokyo this week.

My advice, for Japanese salarymen and other folks who have to worry about
this: it may be easier to sell her on the startup as sort of an extended
interview process for Google than it is to sell her on the startup qua
startup. (Substitute Microsoft or another "solid, stable job appropriate for
the kind of guy who is dating me" if required for your area.)

Ironically, this was pretty much my tact with my parents up until this year,
when (prior to going full-time) my mother said "So are you still planning on
quitting the bingo thing and joining Google? Because that sounds stupid. You
should totally go for the business instead." There is no easier idea to sell
someone on than the one they thought up for you, right?

~~~
yummyfajitas
_"solid, stable job appropriate for the kind of guy who is dating me"_

It's certainly more difficult, but you could try to find a girl who wants you
rather than 50% of your future earnings. You'll probably have a better time
with her as well.

~~~
TomOfTTB
I hate to be harsh but I'm inclined to think the type of guy who wouldn't
follow his dream because his girlfriend told him not to is not the type of guy
who will be able to weather the amount of rejection and emotional stress that
goes along with starting a business.

~~~
davidw
Perhaps it's not so much about "told him not to" than the fact that in many
places, going off and doing your own thing is _not normal_ , so it's pretty
much guaranteed to be a point of contention, if not outright conflict.

I don't think Italy is nearly as bad as Japan from this point of view (I don't
know Japan at all, though), but there's certainly more of a mentality among
many people that it's for the best if you get a Permanent Job with a Stable
Company.

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TomOfTTB
My 2 cents on these 6 for what it's worth...

Economy: Many successful startups have succeeded in a down economy (Microsoft
and Google were started in recessions). The truth is a down economy is good
for a startup because it weakens larger competitors who need large amounts of
money to support their existing infrastructure.

Uncertainty: Job security is a myth. Even if you work for a big company that's
secure against going out of business there's nothing to say you won't lose
your job tomorrow because of some cost cutting initiative. So you really
shouldn't let this become a factor.

Indecision: If you aren't passionate about what type of business you want to
start you shouldn't start it. So if this is a problem you should just stay in
your existing job.

Debt: If you have good credit you can get a small business loan to ensure you
have a consistent salary until you can get customers or VC money. If you have
bad credit AND debt you probably shouldn't be starting a business

Family: This is legit. If you have a lot of family obligations you shouldn't
start a business

No Benefits: Private benefits actually aren't that expensive. I just checked
ehealthinsurance.com and they quoted $79 a month for me. As for 401(k) and
such you're making a bet on your new business that it will pay out big for you
so you shouldn't really be worrying about retirement for that 2 year period
where you're trying to start-up

~~~
kiba
Why not just start a side-business that you do for "fun". You could aim for a
really small goal like 5 bucks a month.

Totally doable.

~~~
Periodic
It seems like this is a course more of the pre-obligated entrepreneurs are
taking. With a stable income it is possible to start a company on the side,
and hopefully it will become a sole source of income, but you will likely
never see anywhere near the explosive growth a dedicated startup would have.

~~~
kiba
In my opinion, a "Tim Ferris" style business is going to be worth more its
weight in gold compared to a business that require constant manning and may
not work out in five years.

It just require an almost inhuman amount of efficiency and dedication to
incremental improvement.

~~~
jaxn
A "Tim Ferris" style business also might not work out in five years.

I love mostly-passive income (it is the bulk of my current income), but that
doesn't mean that the income source needs to start out passive. Just have a
plan for stepping away since freedom is really the only thing worth buying
with money.

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reitzensteinm
You know, I think it's a _good_ thing that people are afraid to start a
business, up to a certain point. Success requires so much determination that
anybody put off by reasonably small barriers to entry probably wouldn't make
it anyway.

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joe_the_user
Articles like this seem to have a misplaced emphasis. Rather than soothingly
anyone's fear about entrepreneurhood, starting a business should only be
"sold" in the way the marines sell themselves - "the few, the proud...".

At least in the US where the entrepreneurial spirit is very much celebrated,
there are probably many more people who want to start a business who shouldn't
than there are people who should start a business and are afraid. Each of the
fears listed in the article is absolutely justified for some people.

Starting a business involves investing a lot of time and/or money. While money
is something you can always earn back, a person only has certain amount of
time in their life. You could be advancing your career and/or on a real
vacation in time you spend on a business that fails. If you're 30 and business
takes ten years to "try", are you willing to "be a failure" at 40? Ask
yourself that now.

It's not a matter a matter of X things that stop a person who would otherwise
do just great in business. It's a matter of X things that a person needs
before they can reasonably contemplate beginning a business. Skills:
reasonably organized, pro-active, self-motivated, persuasive, _willing to fail
again and again_. Just having _some_ of the skills and vague entrepreneurial
bent is not enough...

