Every entrepreneur knows how much one needs to give up when starting a business. However, it actually takes a lot more than that. It’s like having a newborn baby. Just like welcoming a newborn to a family, starting a small business also does have its “birthing pains”, and can be as demanding as a little helpless newborn!
1. A New Business Needs a Plan.
If you want your business to succeed, you need to have it planned, just like when having a baby. You need to know and prepare everything it needs. Knowing where you should give birth is like knowing where you will establish your business. You need to make sure you have everything you need to execute the business, and you need to have every little thing planned!
2. A New Business is Expensive.
Having a newborn is expensive, and so does start a business. It’s so expensive that you might lose all your savings! Aside from needing a capital, you also need other funds to sustain the business and other expenses that may come about at the beginning of the business.
3. A New Business Can Be Painful.
Starting a new business, much like the act of giving birth, can be really painful. Sometimes, it can be so painful that you cannot bear it. It can take an emotional toll on you if you are not psychologically prepared. It is also a fact that a startup can have physical demands and your presence is needed to make it work.
4. A New Business is Unpredictable.
If you’ve ever been with a newborn, you know how unpredictable that baby can be. One second it’s going well, the next second, it’s crying for help! It’s almost exactly the same with a start-up: one minute, everything’s going great but it can turn around in just a matter of a few seconds! A new business is unstable at the beginning, so prepare yourself to be surprised.
5. A New Business is Demanding.
Nothing can ever be more demanding than starting a business. Just like newborn babes, you need to attend to every concern, and to every detail. It is the most critical part of the business and it can be costly to take for granted even the smallest detail. A new business demands almost everything you have – the time, attention, your energy, and even your well being!
6. A New Business Will Give You Sleepless Nights.
A new parent understands how having a newborn means getting sleepless nights – and so do start up entrepreneurs. When you start a business, you will lose a lot of sleep! Your mind will be filled with worries about how the business will be. You will lose sleep as you face challenges and concerns you’ve never even imagined. You will lose sleep as your mind is filled with so many ideas on how to grow your business. If you have a thing for slumber, well, you would definitely miss it when you start your own business.
7. A New Business Needs to Be Constantly Fed.
A start-up like a newborn always needs to be fed. Thousands of businesses and business ideas sprout each day, and a new business needs to keep up in order not to be driven out of business. A new business needs constant feeding of how to improve the product or service, how to market the business, and the what not.
8. A New Business Needs its Mess to be Cleaned Up ASAP.
Challenges and troubles are inevitable in a new business. Like a baby who constantly cr*ps, troubles in business come at an unexpected time, and you need to deal with them. Since a startup is like a little baby learning the ropes, there would definitely be a lot of trials and failures, and you need to clean up the mess before it stinks so bad. When it’s a startup, the business needs to be in the best shape it should be, and you need to act quickly when there’s trouble before it’s too late.
9. A New Business Needs Some Reinforcement.
Just like raising a newborn, you almost have no idea what you’re doing, and you would need a lot of reinforcement. You need advice from mentors, you need a team of consultants, and you may need to hire staff. When you’re just starting a business, let’s face it, you need as much help as you can.
10. A New Business When Properly Cared for, Can Become Great.
Despite all the hurdles and challenges, every new business, just like a newborn baby, is full of potential. When properly cared for, it can become great and successful. The sleepless nights, the demands, everything you made effort for will be worth it.
Ready to take on a new business? Keep in mind that all it takes is a lot of courage, commitment, and the right care to make it grow. Good luck!
