How do you start a business if you are desperate for money?
I recently read this on a major Q & A forum. “I am a 22 year old desperate girl – I have no money, no job, no college degree. Do you have any advice, or book recommendation about how to start a business?”
Being desperate is no laughing matter, but are you kidding me? Do you really think that starting a business is the best thing for you to do when you are desperate?
Let’s look at this systematically.
You have no money, no education, no job, but you want to start a business. You have much bigger problems than trying to become an entrepreneur.
The first and best thing you can do for yourself is to get a job. Any job. Most entrepreneurs, at some points in their lives, were employed. Working for someone else teaches you a lot of great skills that will benefit you once you are ready to start a business.
When you work for someone else you are getting paid for learning. Being employed is important because you learn to get along with people. You learn how to be productive in a team environment. You could also get a paid internship position in a business similar to the one that you want to start one day.
22 is a very young age to start a business. I know you hear about whiz kids like Mark Zuckerberg, but in reality, if you learn new skills for a few more years you will be much better prepared to start your own business.
Being an entrepreneur is a lot of hard work. Often you end up doing things you don’t really enjoy, but you do it because it gets you closer to your business goals. If you are not willing to get a job, learn, or save a bit of money, you have no chance of succeeding as an entrepreneur.
Going to college is not a requirement to succeed in business, but learning is. What have you learned that will help you succeed as an entrepreneur? Money management is another crucial skill. Going into business because you are broke is a surefire way to fail. Get your finances in order before you start a business. Pay off your credit card debt, your student loans, car loans, etc.
If I had a chance to speak to this 22 year old, I would tell her that there is no one book that will take her from desperation to starting a business. First you need to fix your life. Start by getting a job, save some money, then start reading books about successful entrepreneurs. You will get an insight into what it takes to start and build a successful business. You are very young and that is a huge advantage.
A final recommendation is to blog about your experience. Journaling your experience through your blog could help others who struggle with similar difficulties. You could get a WordPress blog up in no time for free. Your blog might also help you to stay true to the goals you set for yourself.
Image credit/Flickr/amy gizienski