Misconceptions About Choosing Between A Startup & An Established Company
I read this article on Today and while it's a decent article on an important topic, I felt the urge to discuss the article so that misconceptions about startups do not continue to be perpetuated by the media, or by people who have never started a business before.
Firstly, there is no need to take a "leap of faith". I am not sure if the quote was taken out of context, but we need to stop thinking that starting your own business, or even going into self-employment, automatically translates into taking a significant risk.
As a potential entrepreneur, the first thing you need to be good at, before starting any business, is to be able to evaluate risk properly. You should ascertain if a business plan is sustainable (even if you are just pitching to yourself) and only proceed if you are very confident with 1) the risk that you are taking and 2) your ability (and your cofounder ability) to pull it off. Going in blind is just dumb.
Over the past six years, I have toyed with tons of ideas - of which only 3 of them translated into actual investments (i.e. money) being put in. Two of them are doing well today (you guys know at least one).
If you are unsure because you never started a business before, but for some reason, you really want to try something, bootstrap first. Exchanging time for service is the easiest way to get started on a business/side-hustle - unless of course, you have access to tons of capital (hint: many business owners are successful because they have capital in the first place).
If you are not able to find the time and the skills to get started, then you have no business (pun intended) trying to start a company.
And while you are at it, do yourself a favor and read this article about 4 bad reasons for wanting to be an entrepreneur and to start your own business.
Stop glorifying the differences between startups and established companies
While there are indeed some differences between working at startups and established companies, it’s not as much as what people sometimes try to make it out to be.
The truth is, the same attitude and willingness to learn that many quality employees in established companies have will also help them become great employees in startups, and vice versa.
From a job stability standpoint, you can join a financially sustainable startup that is well-placed to navigate and grow even during the pandemic, or you can join an established company that is losing money and do not have enough funds to last through 2020 if things do not recover soon.
If you are considering between a startup and an established company, don't base your decision on common stereotypes between the two. For example.
- I am joining a startup because I am young and I want growth, empowerment, and work flexibility (not necessarily true that you will get that in a startup).
- or I am joining an established company because I am now older and I want greater structure, higher pay, and job stability (also not true that you will get that in an established company).
If you find yourself needing to consider a decision this way, then more likely than not, you just don't know the companies well enough and didn't do enough research - which is why you have to rely on stereotypes to help you with your decision.
Corporate Real Estate Strategist | Occupier Strategy & Solutions
3yWell said. Be it you are in a start-up, MNCs, government agencies, you are in a business with one employee - which is yourself.
I Help Leaders Accelerate Their Future Readiness and Find Joy in Their Next Chapter | REINVENT Coach | ICF PCC | Board Member | Keynote Speaker| Author of REINVENT 4.0 | Startup Advisor | Artificial Intelligence | ESG
3ygood article. regardless to thrive in this VUCA world, you need to be able to deal with ambiguity and also be a self starter. Also be clear of the deliverables. Some companies don't have job description and may not be fair to the candidate when the skillsets are very different from what is required