Starting your own business is a liberating, exciting, and pretty scary thing to do. It’s an opportunity to strike out on your own and build something from the ground up. Starting your own business is like building your own empire where you are the ruler.

But starting a business is not an easy thing to do. It requires taking risks, a ton of hard work, and a bit of luck to find success. It’s not an easy thing to do, which is why you need to make sure you are fully ready to commit before you get started.

Are You Ready to Take a Risk?

Opening your own business is a very risky choice. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, about 20 percent of small businesses fail within their first year and 50 percent fail by the end of their fifth year. You might invest a good amount of money, time, energy, and stress just to have your business not work out.

But with great risk comes great rewards. Your business might last throughout the years, become very successful, and be incredibly fulfilling. Plus, you get the opportunity to be in charge, to be your own boss and make the important decisions.

Starting your own business requires taking leaps of faith. If you don’t feel comfortable taking big risks or can’t afford failing, starting business might not be for you. You’ll need to weigh the pros and cons before making a decision. But often, to get the greatest results, you have to take a risk.

Do You Have An Idea That Could Work?

Everybody thinks about fun ideas for opening a business from time to time, like starting up a mac and cheese taco food truck or launching the next social media platform. But there is a major difference between some fun idea you come up with your friends late at night and a business idea that could actually work.

To start, the idea needs to be something you are passionate and have some experience with. It wouldn’t make sense to open a construction company if you have no construction knowledge or a magic shop if you don’t like magic.

Next, you need to figure out if there is a demand for your business and what your competition would look like. If your market is already full of competitors, or nobody is interested in what you are selling, you’ll have a very hard time finding success.

But if you do your research and find that your idea could actually work and competition is relatively light, you might have a great opportunity!

Can You Afford It?

Whether you are starting a side business for some extra cash or building something that will be your full time job, you need to determine how much starting and running the business is going to cost. Will you need to purchase equipment and supplies? Does your business require office space? Start up costs for a business can get very pricey, and that will need to come out of your wallet, or you’ll need to find investors or take out a loan. If you need some start-up funding to purchase equipment or to get you rolling, you can use a Signature Loan or an Equipment Financing loan.

Apply for a Signature Loan!

Thinking of pursuing your business full time? You need to make sure you have enough savings or income to cover your living expenses alongside your business costs. With many new businesses, the average time to become profitable is around two or three years. That might mean taking a salary will extend how long it takes for your business to get into the black or not taking a salary for a couple of years.

Being the Boss Can Get Stressful But Also Rewarding

It’s incredibly freeing to be your own boss, but it also comes with extra stress. Whether you are alone in the company or you have employees, often the hardest choices and tasks fall to you. It might mean having to let employees go, staying longer hours to fix mistakes, and even deciding when to call it quits.

It’s also likely, if you’ve never been a boss before, you might not have all the skills and knowledge necessary to be successful. Running a business is more than just showing up, doing the work, and heading home. You’ll need to make plans for things like marketing, payroll/accounting, sales, HR, taxes, and so much more! Either you learn to do it yourself, hire someone else to do it, or find a solution that helps you do it. There are tons of resources online and in the world to help new businesses like the Idaho Small Business Development Center.

Being in charge can be a lot of fun and very fulfilling. You get to grow as a person and have the opportunity to do what you think is best. It’s hard work, but if you are up to it, can lead to some great experiences.

If you are thinking of opening up your own business, open up a Pioneer business checking and savings account so you can keep all of your accounts in one place. You can access your funds through myPioneer and earn Rewards! points whenever you use your business debit or credit card. To open a business account, stop by your local branch or give us a call at (208) 587-3304

Visit a Branch to Open a Business Account!