Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about starting a side business. I’m happily employed as an accountant, but I am confident that I can get something going on the side and make a little extra income. And why on earth would I want to come home from a full day of work and keep on working? Here’s why:
- The opportunity to own my own source of income, and not really on an employer (because I may not want to work forever)
- The opportunity to earn money independent of location
- The pride of running my own business (because it’s not always just about money)
I don’t believe I’ll have to work my whole day away, either – I plan on taking it at my own pace. That’s the beauty of many online businesses – you can grow it as quickly or as slowly as you’d like. Many of them, like blogging or affiliate marketing, won’t come crashing down when you take a break.
So why do I think now is the best time in history to start a business?
With the amount of technology available today, starting a business is easier than ever. Computers and the rise of the internet have made it possible for you to reach an audience of potentially billions of people who might enjoy your content, or buy your product, or engage with your business in any other way imaginable. That’s a HUGE opportunity.
It takes less time to start a business than ever before. Sure, this depends on what type of business you are starting, but there are options for someone who wants to get up and running within a month and work on their business only a few hours a week. There are tons of places you can look to outsource the tasks that you either don’t have the time to do, don’t have the skills to do, or maybe just don’t have the interest to do. At attractive, competitive rates, you can outsource just about anything: content creation, marketing, social media management, bookkeeping, and so on. This can save you a ton of time, and free you up to work on growing your business—or to take a much-needed break and relax.
And the best reason of all? Starting a business has gotten cheaper. 50 years ago, if you wanted to start a business, you would need to spend thousands a month to rent an office. You would need to spend thousands of dollars on inventory before you have any idea whether anyone will buy your product at all. Now, you don’t need to rent office space – you can work anywhere as long as you have a laptop. You don’t need to spend thousands on inventory before you figure out what sells – you can start a profitable online business that doesn’t hold any inventory at all. Thanks to the internet, it doesn’t take a ton of money upfront to start a business and be competitive. Some businesses can be started for only the cost of web hosting, under $10/month. All it takes to get started is a few bucks a month and a lot of perseverance.
What really reassures me about my decision to start an online business is that it can totally flop and I’ll still be doing just fine. As I mentioned earlier, I’m working full-time and don’t need to give up a full-time income to give this a shot. If the business doesn’t work out, and it doesn’t earn me a single cent, I won’t lose a minute of sleep. I’ll have lost nothing, but most importantly, I’ll have gained experience. The kind of real experience you get only from trying something yourself—not something you can read in some textbook, or blog post, or from your know-it-all friend who has never actually tried to start a business himself.
There’s this one business quote that I love because it relates to how I’ve felt for several years now, always interested in starting an online business but too stricken by analysis-paralysis to take action. It goes like this:
“The best way to succeed in business is to get started in business.”
Simple as that. You don’t have to pick the perfect idea, or do everything right the first time. You’re new and you’re going to make mistakes. Get them over with sooner rather than later so you can start to learn what works. This is why I’m taking advantage of this exciting time in history and giving my own online business a shot.
