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Entrepreneurship #1 - When is the right time to plunge into entrepreneurship ?

March 21, 2007 · Posted in Entrepreneurship 

Is this the right time for me to delve full time into entrepreneurship ? Should I wait ? Will there be a better time (lesser risks) ?

These questions germinate from the fact that its not easy breaking off from the shackles of your 9-5 secure job and all the associated benefits. The transition from having a regular paycheck to not knowing where and when your next paycheck will come from is a difficult pill to swallow for most of us. The uncertainties associated with being an entrepreneur make it a risk friendly and consequently a very difficult decision to make. And considering how difficult a decision it is, very few have the balls to actually take the next step. In my opinion, this is the single biggest attribute that distinguishes entrepreneurs from the rest of the world - and thats exactly why not every one is an entrepreneur.

I am pretty sure several of you wannabe entrepreneurs out there are trying to seek answers to similar questions. There may be a possibility that those of you who’ve crossed this chasm may have also pondered about such questions. Congratulations on taking the big step. Now you’ve a different battle to wage.

So, why am I writing about this topic ?

Well, this post is a direct offshoot from an ongoing dilemma in my mind:

Should I become a full time entrepreneur ?

My gut is totally sold on my entrepreneurial idea and says that I should go for it. There is a lot of potential and there’ll never be a right time. There will always be bills to pay and responsibilities to take care of. As time goes by, the responsibilities will only increase and the ability to tolerate risk will keep diminishing. Enough thinking, just start doing it - it says.

The reasoning part of the brain then takes over and analyzes the risks associated with such a step - bills to pay, wife in grad school, medical insurance to be covered, India trips to be made.

So, if one were to become a full time entrepreneur, is there a right time ? If so, what is the right time ?

The more I try to seek the answers to my questions, the more I feel that there is never going to be a best time to become an entrepreneur. The decision has to come from within. At one point or the other, I have to go with my gut feeling and believe in myself. I have sought advice from friends and family and trust me - that’s not going to take you anywhere. The only thing it will accomplish is to confuse you even more.

I’d like to mention a couple of truly inspiring quotes -

I have already posted this one, by Mike Arrington, earlier:

The best entrepreneurs don’t ask for my advice, and tend to ignore it when I give it anyway. If they listened to everyone with an opinion, they would have stayed at their old job and never left the security of a steady salary, health benefits and stock options. Entrepreneurs are crazy, almost by definition. They attach utility to risk, which doesn’t make any sense.

The other is from Steve Job’s commencement speech at Stanford:

Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure - these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.

If you are an existing entrepreneur, I’d like to hear about your experiences when you made the decision to go full time into entrepreneurship. Was there anything that made your decision easier ? Any advice for rest of us ?

Wannabe entrepreneurs, if you’re in the same quandary as me, I’d like to hear what you have to say too.


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4 Responses to “Entrepreneurship #1 - When is the right time to plunge into entrepreneurship ?”

  1. SamY on March 22nd, 2007 2:08 am

    ++wannabe(me) :D … I know plenty who are plagued with the same q

    I wonder if it is doubt/uncertainty/lack of confidence in the idea which holds people back … we always talk of successfull entrepreneurs and rarely about the ones who failed coz they couldn’t sustain (business/personal) … no point in making a suicide attempt when you can’t sustain

    if you can sustain yourself for a year with ur savings and without ur 9-5 job, thats a good pre-condition to pitch in (business investments not taken into account). Its amazing how much u stop spending when you are in such a situation ;), just spending on bare essentials.

    IMHO, the right time is when you have very good confidence in you, your team that you’d trust in full, its motivation, teams execution skill and the idea. And I feel when people don’t take the step, its coz they don’t have confidence in one of these. Most people who fail lack in some dept’s.

    And I feel that some ppl take the step when they feel the risk is worth it now, when considering just living-out being a 9-5′er :). Hope you don’t haveto wait for long ;). Good luck.

  2. Mukul Kumar on May 11th, 2007 11:08 am

    I recently faced a very interesting experience about “Startup Joining Dilemma”, when I was interviewing a few candidates to join my startup. I have posted it here:

    http://mukulblog.blogspot.com/2007/05/startup-joining-dilemma.html

    I would appreciate your thoughts.

    Mukul.

  3. pranav on May 12th, 2007 4:13 am

    Mukul,

    I can see what you mean…Somehow, the lure of a big, brand name company seems more promising than a startup.

    Good luck with Komli.

  4. Ajitesh on July 18th, 2007 9:34 am

    I think this is the most tough question any entrepreneur faces. Is this the right time to take the plunge? I believe the one that could only help us is faith on ourselves. In my own experience, all I heard is keep your day job and then, keep trying. I tried doing it but couldn’t find FOCUS and commitment. So, one fine evening, decided to quit and took the decision abruptly. That helped, I guess. As they say, you fear from dangers of life only upto the point that you are away from them. Once you are in danger zones, all you would do is try to fight out and win.