Editor’s note: This article was first published in December 2010, during Spain’s economic crisis, and its references to the current bad situation and to many people being out of work reflect that time. The test questions themselves are not tied to that moment.
For anyone who feels their job doesn’t fulfil them, or who is currently out of work and thinking about starting a business… if the fear of setting up your own business is eating you up, here is a simple test of 10 questions to help you work out whether you’re ready to become an entrepreneur, or whether entrepreneurship is for you at all. Answer it with complete honesty. Once you’ve finished, you can move on to another set of questions we published in “How to know whether starting a business is for you“.
1. What would you do if you had all the money in the world?
Many people would say that if they had all the money in the world, they’d stop working and devote themselves to enjoying life. Clearly that isn’t how an entrepreneur thinks, because, as we have said many times, today’s millionaires have something in common: they’re passionate about what they do, and even with all the money they could wish for (which they have), they’re reluctant to give up their businesses (their passion).
2. What do you like to spend your time on when you’re not working?
Think about whether the thing you can’t wait to spend time on when you finish work could make you money. If your hobby can be monetised, that may well be your business. If your hobby or passion can’t be monetised, you’ll need to rethink a few things.
3. Where do you see yourself in 10 years, or where would you like to be?
If you can’t see yourself anywhere because of the current bad situation, don’t worry: lots of people feel lost these days, and many successful people didn’t know what they wanted to do. If you tell me you’d like to see yourself as a civil servant or behind the counter at a Banco Santander branch, and that’s your dream and what you’re working towards (not just for the time being), then clearly entrepreneurship isn’t for you. If your dream is to see yourself running a big company and creating hundreds of jobs, or changing the world in some way, we’re on the right track. (Read: Entrepreneurs: chasing a dream)
See also: 10 tips for raising entrepreneurial children
4. What did you dream of becoming when you were 12 to 15?
Sometimes we abandon the dream we had as teenagers, because as we grow up we let ourselves be swayed by the word “impossible”. If you still have the dream you had at 12 or 15, start thinking like an 8-year-old, who sees nothing as impossible and still even believes in the Three Kings (the Three Wise Men who bring children their presents in Spain).
5. What do you consider yourself good at? What qualities do you think stand out and set you apart from other people?
If there’s something you consider yourself very good at, even much better than everyone else, think about how to turn it into a business or company, because that’s where the profitability lies and, as a rule, the passion too. (Read: How to know what to do for a living)
6. Do you think you could make money by combining your skills and your dreams?
If the answer is YES, what are you waiting for? The time to start is today.
7. Have you prepared a business strategy to measure the viability of your plan?
A yes would show that you’ve thought it through, and perhaps you haven’t got down to work out of fear or neglect. We’ll help you with 15 questions to analyse a business idea (a preliminary feasibility analysis of a project).
8. Are you innovative, and do you work intensively with technology and knowledge?
Innovation, creativity and the like are qualities of entrepreneurs, but if you lack them it’s not the end of the world, since some entrepreneurs do business by reviving the most traditional things. It’s what we call innovating towards the past, and sometimes it’s a good idea. If, on the other hand, you’re creative and technology-intensive, congratulations, because the most profitable businesses today are coming out of these fields.
9. Do you have enough financial backing to get your business off the ground?
The biggest problem in getting a business idea off the ground is usually finding the funding. If you have enough resources, or getting them wouldn’t be a problem for you, you’d have an advantage over everyone else. If not, you’ll have to start walking anyway, and the resources will come.
10. Do you have enough self-confidence to keep going?
Self-confidence is an essential requirement, because when you start a business you’re making an investment in yourself. If you don’t have confidence in yourself, you’d probably be making a terrible investment.
Further reading
- 7 things every entrepreneur will go through that they may not be mentally prepared for
- 7 crowdfunding platforms for raising money
- 7 steps to define your market once you have a business idea
- 6 things the world’s most innovative companies do that we can apply too
Featured image: Archives New Zealand, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
