Comments on: 3 Traps to Avoid When Starting Your Own Small Business

By: Eric_Rudolf

Eric_Rudolf — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 16:24:37 +0000

I understand your perspective, and I agree. The point I was trying to make in the article is simply that being ‘passionate’ about something does not in any way guarantee success—and that the old saying “Do something you love, and the money will follow” is meaningless drivel, better suited for a commencement speech than a small business handbook. Thanks for taking the time to write, and good luck to you!

By: Cees Quirijns

Cees Quirijns — Sat, 11 Dec 2010 15:20:11 +0000

Thanks for your feedback. 1) to 5) are potentially true, but the point that you are missing is that 1) to 5) can be true for ANY business. I fully agree that passion alone won’t make a successful business, but it sure helps a lot in having the perseverance to make it a success.
I’ve seen plenty of startups who went in it for the money primarily, because the prospects looked so good, only to find out that they were part of the 8 who failed anyway. I believe passion, TOGETHER with several other factors are essential in buidling a succesful company. It’s not either or but and and.
I think that people should always do what they’re passionate about. Whether to do that as an entrepreneur, as an employee or as a hobby, obviously depends on the person and the circumstances. But no matter what form, please follow your passion.
Thought provoking discussion by the way, nice.

By: Eric_Rudolf

Eric_Rudolf — Sat, 11 Dec 2010 03:52:06 +0000

I’ll grant you this not-so-subtle plug of your book, in exchange for telling you you’re completely missing the point. “Passion” should NEVER be used as a primary determinant for starting a business, and I can give you at least five reasons why: 1) the business you’re passionate about might not pay a living wage, even if run perfectly, 2) it might be a dumb idea, 3) it might be in a declining industry, 4) you might be a terrible business person, and 5) you might figure out down the road that you hate it. If you had bothered to speak with entrepreneurs who succeeded AND those who failed when writing your book, you would have discovered something quite enlightening—that the 8 out of 10 small business people who failed were just as “passionate” about their businesses as the 2 out of 10 who succeeded.

By: Cees Quirijns

Cees Quirijns — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 19:39:45 +0000

Don’t underestimate the power of passion.

I fully agree that passion alone doesn’t pay the bills, however, it’s a false assumption that making money and having passion are opposites. The two go very well together imho. Even more so: without passion for what you are doing, it’ll be very difficult to achieve financial success; you’ll drop out too easily when the unavoidable hurdles appear.

In a book I wrote, “Startup Best Practices: Conversations with Silicon Valley Entrepreneurs”, passion consistently ranks as an essential merit for successful entrepreneurs.

Have a look at more tips and tricks by downloading my book for free at http://www.efactor.com/sbp or visit http://www.StartupBestPractice.com.

By: Eric_Rudolf

Eric_Rudolf — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 17:26:14 +0000

Hi Shalon:

You make some GREAT points. For whatever reason, over the years various entities (media, professional speakers, life coaches, mentors, etc.) have been beating this “Chase Your Dream–Work for Yourself!” drum, without taking any time to also explain the multitude of downsides, risks and traps that also exist. You speak as if you have definitely been there before

Thanks for writing, and good luck!

- Eric -

By: Shalon

Shalon — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 21:54:21 +0000

Great post. And it speaks directly to my annoyance with so many people and their “fairytale” mentality. I think many small businesses fail because the owners just don’t realize HOW much work it is going to be, how much time they will spend getting it started and growing it into a successful endeavor. They subscribe to the Disney version of owning your own business…being the boss and having all the little birds and mice happily singing and doing the work for you and everything just falling into your lap. Meanwhile successful companies have the owner realizing they will be doing the dirty work, that they actually ARE Cinderella, and that there is no fairy godmother to come magically make it all work!

Shalon

By: Eric_Rudolf

Eric_Rudolf — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 14:22:00 +0000

Thanks for the comment, Anderson. We’d love to see you back here again soon!

- Eric -

By: Anderson Curry

Anderson Curry — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 02:35:54 +0000

Great post Eric..

Anderson..

By: Eric_Rudolf

Eric_Rudolf — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 14:52:09 +0000

Agreed! A few hours of surfing the web or talking to a current business owner can go a long way. I think in many cases, people don’t do the research because they truly do not want to discover that their idea might not be feasible.

Thanks for writing!

- Eric -

By: Robert Rogers

Robert Rogers — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 14:20:25 +0000

A little research goes a long way when starting a business. It gives you the foresight necessary to try to build something successful.

By: Cory

Cory — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 22:15:53 +0000

All 3 are very common factors in small business, and a huge factor in why most fail. Starting a business is just not as easy as some people make it seem. Sure, I guess some can be easy, but most are tedious work, and people realize that once they actually set out to make that dream a reality.