Let us be honest. Most of us cannot stop being jealous of the life of wealthy business owners.
Just imagine the life they live. They do not have to worry about EMIs, they do not have to go
work every day to survive. They can go on foreign tours anytime they want. They never have
to look for a price in the restaurant menu card. They do not depend on the corporation water.
They make their own rules.
But let‘s not just envy them, let‘s appreciate a fact that someone in their family took a bold
step of starting a business or risked buying lands when nobody thought that land price would
skyrocket making many of those middle-class people rich.
So when we know that starting a business generates wealth for us, why does not all of us start
a business and become rich.
Well, it is never an easy job to start a business. Particularly in Indian society where most of
us embrace the routine jobs that get us a regular monthly income, starting a business was not
only seen as a risky decision but broadly discouraged. A couple of my friends who are from a
well off business family and continuing their family business had to leave their business for a
few months and join some other companies for a bottom level executive job. It was a terrible
idea, why would someone leave their existing profit-making business and join somewhere
else as a starting level employee. Well, if you think of it in other terms, it might actually be a
good idea. They had to do that because nobody was willing to marry their daughters to these
business people. Parents in our society not only force their children to get a government job
or high paying private job but as well, wants their son-in-law to be employed with a good
monthly salary in a company known for job security. Leave alone parents, even finance banks
do not issue loans for business people. Our society is formed in a way that rather than trusting
the talent, we trust the nametag better. Even those young people who desire to start a
business, most do not make it.
Two things that stop people from starting their own business are fear and laziness. Among
different types of fear, fear of failure is the biggest one that holds people from starting their
business.
One worries of consequences if failed in business. In a society where many of us closely
monitor what other people are doing, we fear getting attached to the failure tag. You fail just
once and people see you as a failure in everything you do. A good example is that in the
Indian film industry when an actress‘s movie does not perform well commercially, she is
considered as unlucky and does not get another chance to perform.
Fortunately, unlike the film industry, where a female actor getting a second chance is in the
hands of cinema producers, in business, it is totally up to one‘s individual decision. Nobody
has the power to stop you from starting your own business. Let them say whatever they want,
but let‘s accept the fact, those people are not the ones who are going to feed you when
needed. If you research some of the most successful business people, most of them were
discouraged and even ridiculed on creating their own path, but it is their perseverance and
conviction they had on the business that had made them what they are today.
I have not failed. I‘ve just found 10,000 ways that won‘t work. — Thomas Edison
On the other perspective, we cannot wipe out all these fears as unnecessary ones.
Traditionally, starting a business is expensive and complicated. Most common business
models require one to have a good finance backup and multiple skills including the core skills
of the business, employee management, accounting knowledge, taxations and legal
procedures, negotiation skill, etc., it is definitely not for everyone.
To give you an idea, let‘s analyze the grocery business model which I believe is a very
important business type as it is an essential niche, it is competitive, it has decaying products,
it requires huge manpower and it is price sensitive. While running a grocery store may appeal
simple and attractive from the outside, it is an operation-heavy business model. You need
money to pay advance and rent a store, you should have negotiation skills to bargain
inventory from the wholesale vendor, you should know how to get the work done from
difficult employees, you should know how to dispose or make profits from the products that
decay quickly and you should know how to set a price to your products. You set high profit,
you lose customers. You set a low price, you lose profits. Not just grocery business, most
businesses require you to have all these skills or even more. This is why most people fear or
advise to not start a business.
It all boils down to one‘s self-confidence whether to start a business or to be safe working for
a monthly salary.
Anyone starting a business must be appreciated. Think of the positive aspects business brings
to society. Those who create a successful business create a lot of positive outcomes like,
creation of jobs, wealth generation, contributing to the economic development of a nation,
and uplifting the confidence of the society. These are some of the reasons why successful
business owners are proud of and have personal satisfaction.
But can‘t everyone just start a business without having all these traits? can‘t I just focus on
one skill and run a profitable business?
Yes, you definitely can. That‘s what makes Dropshipping business a unique model for
common people with less investment and resources to start with.
