Page 56 - NEDBANK YES BOOKLET

Why would many people prefer to rather look for a job to starting their
own business?

There are several reasons. Some people are scared the business might fail. Some
don’t know what sort of business they should venture into. Others prefer to
climb the corporate ladder and there are many other reasons.
Starting and running a business can be risky as it is influenced by many factors.
It is important to do research about your personal strengths and weaknesses,
as well as opportunities you can tap into in terms of the knowledge you already
have about something that is of great interest to you. Finally, you need to also
be aware of the unforeseen in the job market, should you choose to not start
your own business.

You can also analyse the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of
the business you want to venture into – a SWOT analysis, in short.

When is it the right time to start my own business?

It is important to prepare, do research and find out if your business has a market
at a specific time.

It is important that you take a calculated risk. For example, you can start by
finding a job first and the business you want to start, a side hustle. This way, you
not only able to sustain yourself financially if your business fails, but you can also
see your side hustle become the most successful business.

Can I start a business if I don’t have any money?
It sounds far-fetched, but starting a business with little or no money is not
impossible. The trick is to have the ability to overcome the temptation of what
we call ‘instant gratification’.

There are organisations such as the National Youth Development
Agency (NYDA) from where you can get a financial grant if you meet all
the requirements. There are a variety of other similar organisations that
offer grants.
Starting a business requires patience. For instance sometimes it requires that
you work for someone in order to build your own savings that you will use to
inject into your business.

Getting a loan from the bank may not be necessarily easy for a brand-new small
business, as banks do not only look for your ability to pay your small-business
loan. The banks also want to know your willingness to repay the loan and this
relates to how good is your financial history is. If there is no financial history, the
risk becomes massive for the bank to lend you money.
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