Six Important Questions You Need to Answer Before Launching a Startup Business
The thing about starting your own business is that you’re going to encounter a lot of difficult obstacles along the way. Just some of the key challenges that will test your mettle include trying to raise capital for your business and filling out tons of paperwork to ensure that your business is legitimate. The road to becoming an entrepreneur isn’t easy, especially since that the climate of the global marketplace is defined by a steady stream of change.
Building your own company from the ground up isn’t a walk in the park even if you do have the resources to make your goals happen. But aside from thinking about the fiscal aspects of your business aspirations, there’s also the mental, emotional, and psychological elements to seriously consider before you even market yourself to consumers. These various intangibles are important because they are the driving forces that can determine the future and longevity of your proposed venture.
That being said, you have to be holistically prepared for what lies ahead because it takes more than financial stability and sheer force of will to make a startup a success. In fact, you must be prepared to answer a few questions to determine whether or not you are capable and ready to launch your dream startup. To know exactly what these essential queries are, look to the information featured below to educate and inform yourself of this matter.
Question #1: Can you handle criticism well?
If you’re the head of the company, then you should expect to hear a barrage of criticisms—both constructive and destructive—once your business takes flight and consumers are aware of your presence. Always remember that you can never please anyone, and that it’s very likely that there will be people out there who will nitpick on the shortcomings of your brand rather than focusing on the positive aspects that you’re actively promoting.
People react differently when confronted with negative comments, so you have to possess a thick skin if you intend to open any business. Although the customer isn’t necessarily always right, they do still have the freedom to voice out their opinions if they don’t like what you’re offering to them. The real challenge here is whether or not you’re able to take any and all lemons you’ve been given and transform them into batches of tasty lemonade.
Question #2: Are you in this for validation?
You should be aware of the fact that if you want to start a business just so that you want the praise and adoration of others, then perhaps it’s not a good idea for you to do a startup in the first place. If you’re of the mindset that you’re entering the world of commerce just to garner fame aside from earning a fortune, then you might be faced with an onslaught of passive-aggressive resentment from others because you’re not being genuinely altruistic.
Aspiring for success doesn’t need validation from others because at the end of the day, what really matters is the personal fulfillment you are able to experience knowing that you’ve made other people happy with the hard work that you’ve done. Selflessness is an admirable virtue for any ambitious entrepreneur, and you’d be surprised at how people will come to appreciate you if you’re the kind of person that doesn’t need any validation.
Question #3: Are you good at resolving conflicts?
In a perfect world, a business should run as smoothly as possible without any problems whatsoever. However, life doesnt work that way, and you’re bound to get into disagreements or conflicts with other people regarding the direction of your own company. But the best and wisest entrepreneurs are aware of the fact that conflict resolution is an integral part of any successful business, and that they should rise above any ugly disputes.
Suppressing your personal feelings when conflicts arise can be quite difficult, particularly if such arguments directly involve you. It can bode really bad for your own business if you aren’t able to keep your emotions in check every time you get into a disagreement with someone, especially if that someone happens to be an integral part of your company’s success. Above all, you should make a conscious effort to remain calm and composed when diffusing tense situations and admit to your faults if you know you are in the wrong.
Question #4: How empathetic are you?
In relation to the element of conflict resolution, another fundamental facet you should think about before starting your company is your level of empathy towards other people. Whether you’re dealing with your clients or your employees, it’s important to remember that how you interact with other people—particularly your ability to read social cues and analyze body language—is a reflection of what your brand or business represents to others.
Being empathetic is something that you can’t exactly learn overnight, since most people tend to have difficulties relating to others, especially if business matters are involved. Do you have what it takes to satisfy the demands of an unhappy client? Are you prepared to face the complex scenarios of dealing with various issues raised by your stressed employees? These are the quandaries that you must be prepared to wrestle with if you’re dead set on launching your startup any time soon.
Question #5: Do you have long-term plans?
With so much competition out there, not all startups manage to make it past their first year, and this is a scary fact for any budding entrepreneur to reconcile. If you’re just thinking about doing a startup as a get-rich-quick scheme, then chances are that you’re not going to last very long in the ever-changing global marketplace. It’s one thing to start a business, but it’s another thing entirey to maintain a business so that it won’t go bankrupt really quickly.
This is why aspiring entrepreneurs are strongly advised to make stable long-term plans that must be carried out in order to ensure that their business will enjoy a considerable amount of longevity. Such decisions can affect the future of your livelihood, so you have to take it seriously and be prudent about the choices you’re going to make. If you want to be in the market for the long haul, then you need to think twice before diving into the deep end.
Question #6: How much are you willing to sacrifice?
This is admittedly a really tough question to answer for anyone given that businesses are not an easy thing to handle, especially if it’s still in the early stages of development. That being said, if you are unwiilling to risk everything for something that you truly believe in, then it would be in your best interest to back out of your business intentions. You’re not likely to achieve your full potential unless you’re going full throttle with everything that you’ve got.
The things you need to sacrifice—time, money, and effort among other things—in order to see your goals come to fruition will be returned to you tenfold once your risks pay off really well in the end. And this attitude of risk-taking is something that you must be consistent with even after your startup has successfully launched because you can’t afford to be extremely cautious all the time. The whole point of being an entrepreneur is to make risks and sacrifices for the benefit of everyone involved, so leave no room for doubt.
