In entrepreneurship, “what if” is the cornerstone of our industry. Entrepreneurship is built on promise and possibility — the willingness to imagine the unimaginable and take the risks to make it real. We all engage in the “what if” game.
A lot of individuals seem to associate entrepreneurship with risk. You will hear friends as well as family mention the turnover ratio in business, or possibly share stories of individuals they know who lost all their money in a failed start-up. There are surely many people who choose to not create a small business or build off their idea as they’re afraid of failure.
The risk involved with establishing a start-up and small business is obvious to many. However, if there is so much risk that is involved, who do entrepreneurs try to do what they do? And is it even worth it?
The absolute best way to tackle this is by comparing a failed start-up with a successful one. When analysing a failed start up, we are able to see patterns that formed: poor planning, failure to analyse the market and a lack of structure are all common traits of failed organisations.
Successful start-ups tend to have quite a lot in common:
- A clear goal,
- Knowledge of the business and competitors, as well as
- A strong business ethic.
Common Characteristics Of Successful Start-ups
In both of the scenarios, there is inevitable risk involved. However, there is a massive difference between the two organisations. The failed company took a larger risk by entering the market without a proper strategy in place. The successful company still had to deal with risk, however the entrepreneur behind the business took calculated risks, which are intelligent risks.
