It’s not about taxes or any public policy, or economic statistics, or red tape. The right time to start your new business is …
- When you think you can…
- When you’re pretty sure people will buy what you want to sell…
- When you understand the market… You know why people might make purchasing decisions, and where. That doesn’t mean, by the way, that you necessarily have some fancy expensive market research full of numbers and charts. It does mean that you understand the market.
- When you have at the very least a simple practical business plan, just big enough to cover the key information, that feels like it makes sense, and …
- … that includes reasonable educated guesses about the basic numbers … You don’t have to correctly estimate future sales, by the way — nobody does — but you can’t have no idea. And you ought to have some reasonable estimate of real costs. Don’t forget your rent, overhead, and what you pay yourself. And an estimated guess for the assets and early expenses you need to have. And (this is important) ….
- … you already have or have a way to get the resources your plan says you need…
- When you’re not betting your life or your important relationships on business success.
- When you really want to.
- When you have no other options.
Good luck with it. When it works, it’s great. And if you have no other options, that’s a very powerful reason. But here’s hoping you’re not making bets that you can’t afford to lose.
Tim Berry is the founder and chairman of Palo Alto Software and Bplans.com. Follow him on Twitter @Timberry.
