Comments on: When To Take The Entrepreneurial Route (Reader Question)

By: Olatoke olalekan

Olatoke olalekan — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 22:18:28 +0000

I really like this forum.Am a fresh graduate and all have dreamed of is to have a business of my own with a well run system that will give me enough cashflow and lots of time to do things more daring to me,but my problem is to know the right business to go into,and those that i have discovered to be feasible,i dont have the startup capital and is hard to get a loan in my country,and i dont even think getting a loan to start up a business is a good idea.Also,i,studied chemistry with no business background,i think it is necessary for me to go for programmes in accounting and finance to help me in my enterpreneural career.Please suggest which programmes i can do,or if on-the-job-training wil be better,thanks.

By: Brian Armstrong

Brian Armstrong — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 20:28:58 +0000

Congrats Jared, you took the hard road…and it will pay off eventually. Most people are much too scared to ever do that so you deserve a lot of credit. Keep going through the failures and you’ll finally get one that works!

By: Brian Armstrong

Brian Armstrong — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 20:27:18 +0000

Yep, that two year deadline could be the greatest thing that ever happened to you, it will help you get results! :)

By: Brian Armstrong

Brian Armstrong — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 20:26:21 +0000

That’s a good point…traditional jobs aren’t necessarily safe right now. My friend who works at Citi (by some measures the largest bank in the world) is watching people get laid off all around her right now.

By: Brian Armstrong

Brian Armstrong — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 20:24:30 +0000

Hi Matt, getting a job so you have something to live of is fine. But in terms of start-up funding…almost every business I’ve ever started cost less than $100 to get going. Something to keep in mind, I think start up capital is highly overrated.

By: Jared O'Toole

Jared O'Toole — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 19:54:57 +0000

I have taken the entrepreneurship road right out of college. I had internships during school that showed me enough of the corporate world to know I could never do it.

Right now I live at home, I’m broke, and I don’t know when I will have money but I love it. The important thing is to realize it all takes time and you will have to live a similar life for 1-3years. But I love picking up odd jobs on the weekends making some quick cash and knowing that almost every entrepreneur goes through similar situations.

The way I look at it is the sooner you dedicate yourself the sooner you will get where you want to be!

By: caleb

caleb — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 10:30:03 +0000

Your first goal needs to be putting food on the table TODAY.

You must have CAPITAL to do this. That capital is either SAVINGS or TIME (24 hrs/day).

If you do not have enough money capital to put food on the table today, you will need to trade some TIME CAPITAL for money. Either in a job or self-employment work.

I’ve traded 5 years of my life for a bunch of money capital. I have enough savings to live for 2 years without working a day. 10 years if I live with Mom (a LAST resort).

If I can’t get passive income in 2 years, then I’ll be forced to go back to work (or live with Mom). Avoiding such pending misery is a great motivator. But you must know the misery first for it to truly motivate you.

By: Caroline

Caroline — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 09:35:00 +0000

Although jobs are comfortable they are nowhere near safe these days, especially with the current conditions.

Starting many business’s is possible part time.

By: Matt Thomas

Matt Thomas — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 06:16:55 +0000

I completely agree with your point about getting “stuck”. People tend to get comfortable in their job because it appears “safer”.

However my main concern regarding this question is actually the funding for a new business. Most businesses need SOME form of start-up funding and the one thing recent college grads have is DEBT, not savings. Therefore it might be difficult for new college grads to finance their business to success.

I wonder if getting a temporary job just for some seed money would be a good idea, so long as you ensure that you don’t get stuck.