If you’re ready to step out of your comfort zone and bet on yourself, you may be ready to start a side business, in addition to your nine-to-five. Maybe you want to leave your day job behind forever. Maybe you just want to earn a little extra on the side.
Either way, it should be something you’re passionate about, but passion may not be enough. What else do you need? You must be ready to be an entrepreneur, not just an employee.
You’ll need to know your strengths. Are you the kind of person who can run a business? Are you interested to do so? If you are interested, what can you bring to your business? Are you comfortable, or can you become comfortable, with all aspects of it? Eventually you can outsource tasks you don’t like, but you should know how to do all the tasks in each step of your venture.
Understand the market – it’s important to know if what you’re offering is something that there’s a potential market for. If you’re still keeping your day job, don’t worry if you’re creating a brand new product or service – that’s the best time to try something new, since you’ve got what is essentially a safety net.
Be OK with standing out – publish articles, comments on posts, and make yourself known as an authority in your chosen field.
Start now. Even if you’re not positive you’re ready you have to ask yourself if you’ll ever feel ready. If you need a business course, or a certification before you embark, by all means do them. But if you’re pretty sure this is as ready as you’ll ever be, start now.
Start right now. Go.