What's Stopping You-websiteWhat Is Stopping You?

What is Stopping You? I might be guilty of getting involved in too many things to do with marketing and entrepreneurship, but I hear people come up with excuses why not, far too often.

There are some simple steps you can take to “bootstrap” any new idea and validate it, but most importantly before you even get to that point, here are my simple questions to ask yourself that will get you on the path to success before you start a business. And before we even start with the questions a lack of time and money are not excuses.

Question One: Is what I am thinking of doing illegal?

This is a fairly simple one to ask, but it’s not just about criminal activity, it should also take in to account the market you intend to service, as there are specific aspects that are not just generally unlawful, but industry specific rules and regulation that have to be followed.

Question Two: Am I comfortable being associated with this activity?

Next comes more of a moral dilemma and this is just as important if not more so that the legal point from question one. At no point would I want to be associated with a product of service that was considered less than scrupulous, even if it was legal and I would also want to be proud to tell my friends and family what I did, if at any point those things were not possible, I would seriously reconsider starting off in that direction and I think you would agree you have to uphold your personal beliefs, no matter what the financial opportunity.

Question Three: Will it or could it seriously harm or even kill me?

I hope to have a long, healthy and enjoyable life and if what I am about to embark on is exceedingly dangerous or will require me to do things that will harm my health, then I would not even start developing the idea.

I appreciate that we can not predict what will happen in the future or prevent problems occurring as many are unforeseen, I also appreciate that I enjoy activities like skiing and motor racing that are not without risk, but doing a job, every single day, that puts me in danger is something I would not consider.

Some people have a different view on the risks of certain jobs so evaluate this in your own terms and those you are close to, if you want my advice.

Question Four: Will it bankrupt me?

This final question is the one that people often consider and then dis-regard. I am a general risk taker when it comes to businesses and I also appreciate many if not most of the successful people have had more than one or tow failures and financial challenges on route to success, but my view is that you should always consider your obligations and not risk “everything”, because it’s now easier than ever to research and evaluate and opportunity and also raise funds using crowdfunding sites like Kickstarter, which can turn an idea in to a viable product or service with a pre-built customer base.


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By Adrian Fleming