If You Want To Start a Business, Ask These Questions First

If you are toying with the idea of self-employment, you should ask yourself the following three questions first. Your journey as an entrepreneur will become a lot more predictable (and enjoyable).

I have a new YouTube video: How To Create Accountability for Yourself. Have a look and leave a like! :)

I. "How broad or narrow do I want to go?"

Imagine you want to start a digital marketing agency. You can go about it in two ways. You can go very broad and offer every imaginable marketing service under the sun, for any kind of industry.

Or you could go very narrow. You could offer one service for one industry, e.g., SEO for IT providers.

The advantage of the narrow approach is that you will get customers fast. When you speak to a narrow subsegment of the market, these clients will feel seen and respond quickly.

That is why many business gurus will tell you that the narrow approach is the "right" approach. I think that's too easy, though.

Because the narrow approach doesn't just get you customers really fast — it also gets boring really fast.

I see this with personal brands a lot. If you are the dog trainer who only works with obese poodles, you will eventually grow tired of giving the same view dietary recommendations.

This should be a real concern. Self-actualization is a big reason why people go into entrepreneurship. But the more you niche down, the more that goes out the window.

There is no right or wrong here. Ask yourself where you fall in the spectrum. Are you in this to become happier? Then go broader, but be okay with the fact that it will take longer.

Or is cash flow your prime concern? Then go narrower, but be okay with feeling less fulfilled.

II. "Which 2 out of 3 do I want?"

As an entrepreneur, you can only have two out of three:

• Money

• Passion

• Time

For example, you might make good money with your dream coaching business. But then you'll be working nonstop. That's how it is with these lofty passion businesses.

Or you might make good money and have plenty of time for your family still. But that boring accounting business you run is not what you dream about at night.

Or you might own a small yoga school that you love and still have weekends and a social life. But the downside is that financially, you will just be scraping by.

Again, no right or wrong here. Know yourself and pick the option that corresponds to your personality.

III. "Do I want to fly solo or in a flock?"

There are two types of entrepreneurs — solopreneurs and team builders.

Solopreneurs tend to be more concerned with independence and the quality of their work. If it's just you, you are not reliant on anybody else (and most employees are fickle). You can do it right.

However, your overall output is low. You are just one person, after all. That means less money and less impact.

Team builders tend to be concerned with exactly those — cash flow and footprint. They want to build something big and earn big. And for this, they need other people. It's the only way you can scale up any business.

The downside is that teams come with drama. Not everybody is cut out for that. Also, over time, teams grow ineffective. More and more incompetent people join and quality suffers. You need to be okay with that too.

You already guessed it — there is no right or wrong here either. You need to understand who you are and what you want. And then choose the model that is appropriate for you.

Have you ever thought about starting your own business? What held you back? Shoot me a message!

Until next week,

Niels