Entrepreneurship, Is It Worth the Risk?
With respect to starting a business, is it ever too late to start? Some of the very succesful entrepreneurs started out young. Examples are:
Bill Gates –He started out at the age of 17 and developed a programmed called Traf – O – Data Traffic reporting technology. His net worth is estimated at $82 billion.
John D. Rockefeller – He first ventured into business at the age of 19 and invested $2000 into the Clark & Rockefeller Product Commissions. His net worth is estimated at $192 billion.
Andrew Carnegie – He first ventured at the age of 19. He started Adams Express Freight Transport with a $500 investment. His net worth is estimated at $75 billion.
These are some exceptional cases, but for Henry Ford, he did not begin under he was in his early 30s. He developed the Ford Quadricycle self propelled transport. His net worth was estimated at $54 billion.
A survey of 549 successful business founders revealed that most of them were middle aged when they started their companies. The average age was 40 years old. About 70% of them were married, while 60% had at least one child.
Biggest Obstacles
According to the 549 successful business owners interviewed, they revealed that the biggest obstacle they faced was the risk of starting up. Here is the breakdown of the responses.
• About 75% said the risk of maintaining a stable job is the greatest obstacle.
• For about 82% of the participants, they said a knowledge of the industry was a hindrance.
• 84% attributed to the knowledge of how to start a business.
• About 90% said it was a result of business management skills.
• 93% said it required time and effort.
• 98% attributed to the lack of ability or willingness to take risk.
• 91% said it was the capital required that was the obstacle.
What is Required to Start
The follower were the findings from the sampled population. For 73% of the sampled population, they admitted to having a good professional network. 70% said they required university educations, 68% said they needed financing while 62% attributed to a personal network.
The Success Key
The requirements for success differ from person to person. But here are some important traits that need to be in place to succeed.
1. Have the courage to take risk.
2. The perseverance to endure and wade through tough times.
3. The ambition and inner drive to work towards your goal.
4. Knowledge and understanding to make wise decisions.
5. The ability to improve on existing ideas.
Although millions of people visit Brandon's blog each month, his path to success was not easy. Go here to read his incredible story, "From Disabled and $500k in Debt to a Pro Blogger with 5 Million Monthly Visitors." If you want to send Brandon a quick message, then visit his contact page here.