When I started my business over ten years ago, I thought I was starting it at the perfect time. I was about to go on maternity leave so I would have HEAPS of time on my hands to get my business going (parents everywhere are now rolling around on the floor in fits of laughter at my pre-first child naivety!).
Of course that wasn’t quite how it all panned out! But while there were things that were not ‘perfect’ about my timing, it was also a good a time as any. The advantages were that I didn’t have to quit my job to start the business, and I had planned to cut back on hours (and therefore my pay packet) in that season of life anyway. The disadvantages were that with the quite small amount of time I had on my hands between caring for a new baby meant that my business started slower than I had anticipated or wanted. But if I had waited for a ‘perfect’ time to start, I really don’t think that time would have ever come.
Most aspects of running our own business involve a level of risk: sometimes it’s super risky, other times it’s just a bit of a stretch of yourself or your resources. Just like there’s never a perfect time to start a business, there generally isn’t a perfect time to branch into something new. It is simply a case of you deciding that now is the time to do it, after taking into account the relevant risk factors.
Waiting for the ‘perfect’ time means you will miss opportunities. If you know you have a great idea, waiting until ‘all the planets align’ is a great risk. Yes, there may be some failures along the way, but those failures will teach you a great deal more than sitting on your hands, waiting for the right moment. And quite often, the really great ideas come not from a perfectly executed plan: they are more likely to come about via trial and error, or by making a mistake and being forced to find another way to succeed. So what are you waiting for?
Michelle Grice writes a weekly column for business women in The Western Weekender
