Why Do People Start Businesses in The First Place?

I write in the book about meeting a man at a chamber event who started a business purely for the money. He had no interest or passion for what he was doing. That struck me as bizarre. Why would you want to spend all of your time doing something you cared nothing about? Turns out, lots of people do it.

I recently read an article in The Wall Street Journal on http://www.wsj.com titled: Why are Women-Owned Firms Smaller Than Men-Owned Ones? They site several reasons, one of them that men “. . start businesses to be the “boss,” and they aim to grow their businesses as big as possible. Women start businesses to be personally challenged, to integrate work and family, and they want to stay at a size where they personally can oversee all aspects of the business.”

Although I do agree that women in general don’t think big enough, I have to wonder if the WSJ is getting an honest answer from their survey. Would anyone want to say, “I’m afraid of doing what is necessary to succeed in a big way?” I doubt it. I also think that many may not even be aware that that is their mindset.

That’s why you want be certain that you clearly define what success looks like to you; whether it is a growing into a big business, (remember, Bill Gates started in his garage!) or keeping a small manageable operation that provides a good living and low stress.

And remember, nothing is set in stone. It is your business. If your life and your goals change, so can your business. You’re the boss!