Opportunity vs Desire
But what kind of business should you start? And how do you go about that making that decision?
On opposite end of the scale are:
- What you already have and know
- What you you want to do
I call these two opposites “opportunity” and “desire”. Desire is the easiest concept to understand so I will start there.
Desire
Starting a business based on your desire is to go with your passion and interest, with your desire. It’s the business you have always dreamed of. Pretty much regardless of your knowledge or resources.
Ultimately these come into play but in the early stage you just focus on what you want to do. It has nothing to do with reality or what you know or are capable of. It just centers around your interest and desires.
Some people will tell you this is the kind of business your should start because you’ll be with it for years to come so it might as well be something you enjoy doing. It’s also suggested that you might lose interest in a business if it’s not something you strongly desire.
In theory this is a good idea. But in reality it doesn’t account for the additional obstacles you might have to overcome.
When I was younger I wanted to own a night club. I thought it would be a great way to meet people. I also wanted to be a professional writer. I had no sort of experience or talent or resources for either of these two businesses.
If I seriously wanted to pursue either it would take years more to make money because I would had to learn the basics and build a foundation. In addition, starting a night club would require tremendous amounts of capital. And I had none.