It is worth reflecting at this point when you are considering starting a business. I think back to the moment when I thought it was a good idea to start an online business. There are some things I really wish I had known as I set out. Although one mentor said to me years ago, “the greater the loss the bigger the lesson,” there comes a point if the business lessons get too expensive – and, well, then it’s all over!

StartUp is never just the about an idea

This is the very first moment when you think it is ‘a good idea to run your own show’; you have read of these entrepreneurial heroes who create amazing ‘overnight’ success stories – and you think, “I could do that”. You are reading this … you are feeling excited but nervous.

You’re working on your idea – which will make the business simply slip into place and you are on your road to Nirvana. Ah, I will not get in the way of your dream. It is clear though those businesses are 1 percent idea and 99 percent execution. You do still that bright, shining idea, though – without it you only have hard work.

Don’t ask, “Will my startup work?” Ask, “Do I want to give my life to my startup?”

People share new business ideas with me regularly. They ask earnestly, “Will it work?” My response to all these queries is always the same (remembering that I don’t have a crystal ball): “Why do you want it?”

Understand your personal drivers for why you want to embark on this journey right them down. Is it vanity, freedom or contribution. Keep working on the “why” you want to start a business (let alone keep running it for a good proportion of your adult life) is essential to sustaining you, and ultimately, the success of the enterprise.

Excerpt from Ready to Soar – all about turning your business idea into a business you love