There are many reasons people think about becoming an entrepreneur. Sometimes it is out of necessity, lost job, birth of a child, or illness of a family member. Sometimes it’s because they believe it is easier to be an entrepreneur. If you ask ten entrepreneurs why they started their own business you would get ten different answers. Determining why you want to start the journey is one of the first steps to discovering your dreams.

Reason #1: Making more money.

Making more money is often a desire of new entrepreneurs. Unfortunately, this is not the reason to start your own business. Starting out you will more often than not, spend much more than you make. It can take up to five years to start seeing a profit in a new business. Many business fizzle out and go under within a couple of years. If you stick with it and work hard eventually you may make more money, that is the goal of most businesses, but it isn’t the reality of most businesses in the beginning.

Reason #2: Being your own boss.

I hear this one almost everyday, “I want to be my own boss, doing things my way.” While that sounds great, it isn’t based in reality. See, the problem is your clients, customers, and even bill collectors are going to still tell you how they want it their way. All of the responsibility of running every aspect of the business will be on your shoulders, every day, all day.

Reason #3: Setting your own hours.

Flexibility ranks high on the list of reasons people want to start their own business. The truth of the matter is that is that starting a business is extremely time consuming. While there may be some flexibility, deadlines and customer expectations are usually the guiding aspect to your daily routine. Time management skills will come in handy here, so if you have trouble in this area do some practicing.

Reason #4: Solving a problem.

Some people are skilled in the area of identifying a problem and coming up with a solution. This is a good reason to start a business. If you can solve a problem someone has than you have a market. You still have deadlines, client and customer demands, and a difficult road to profit but if you can solve a problem that many people deal with than you are a head of the game.

Reason #5: Changing the world

I feel like this is the best reason to start a business. An owner still needs to understand the cost and risk of starting a new business but doing something to make the world a better place for others can be worth it. Sometimes this goes hand in hand with reason #4, changing a problem and making things easier, other times it may be about your passions. Your passions in life may be what sends you on your entrepreneur journey. The desire to change something about your world can be a motivating factor when times are tough.

It can be scary to choose a life of entrepreneurship, or it can be liberating. Consider your options and your desires carefully. Think about why and how you want to start your business and above all else be truthful with yourself about your goals.

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