Posted by kari.petroschmidt
There are many reasons why you might want to start a company. People talk a lot about “push and pull” factors. Push factors being anything that forces you to start up (like being fired from a previous job) and pull factors (like the desire to earn more than you are currently being paid). I want to talk about two primary pull factors of entrepreneurship; the desire to do your own thing and the desire to make as much money as possible.
There is no one correct reason for going into business and often people will be motivated by a variety of factors. But of course it depends on who you ask. New Zealand Trade and Enterprise for instance would like people to make as much money and grow as big as possible, preferably exporting as well. This makes sense, as bringing money into the country benefits the national economy, which in turn benefits everyone. On the other hand, not- for-profit organisations like The Malcam Trust are more concerned with people starting socially conscious businesses than they are about making as much money as possible, which is an equally valid stance.
From a “likelihood of success” point of view, I’d have to say that starting up to score big is probably going to help you more than being overly attached to a specific product or service that you want to provide because you love it, regardless of what the market looks like. However, you could argue that being ultra passionate about your business is more important because of the motivation you have to have to actually succeed in business.
I guess the point of this article is that regardless of why you chose to start your business, you should consider looking at it from the other perspective. If you are just trying to make as much money as possible, consider at least going into a industry that you enjoy, especially as you’ll never know for certain how much money it’s going to make you. Likewise, if you are just trying to do whatever you’re passionate about, be realistic. If there is no real market for it, consider adapting the idea to better meet market demands.