I knew that I had to quit my job. I no longer saw any sense in it. But after I quit, I didn’t really know what came next. I had confidence that something would work out.
During my time at the bank, I had tried to move from banking to telecommunications or another similar department. But I was frustrated by the system again. Have you ever talked to an HR department? You need nerves of steel. I had a degree in business administration and 10 years of experience in investment banking, but at the age of 33, I was rejected from numerous jobs. The refusals were always formulated in such a way that I started to think I had done everything wrong and had to stay in banking forever.
Today, I’m extremely grateful for the drama of that period of time, because after refusals due to over-qualification and others due to under-qualification, I finally let it all go. When I was no longer chasing a “normal“ job, I really felt free for the first time. I decided to start my own company.
I was serious about this next move so I started doing research on self-employment. I attended several online courses, read books, and listened to podcasts to learn more. I highly recommend “How to Start a Startup“ by Stanford and Tony Hsieh’s book Delivering Happiness.
After months of research and learning every day, I put together a list of the most important lessons that I would like to share with you.
Your Checklist for a Successful Business:
- Does the idea solve other people’s problems?
- Are you passionate about the idea?
- Are you willing to commit the next 5-10 years of your life to this?
- Are other people doing something similar successfully?
- Are there too many competitors in the space?
- Can you do something meaningfully different or better than others?
- Can you build the business on your own capital resources?
- Could you have a minimum viable product (MVP) ready in 90 days or less? You should launch the MVP so customers can tell you what’s missing!
- Are over 75% of your potential customers interested in the product?
- Do you have a competitive advantage on how to get customers?
- Do you have a background & skill set compatible with this business?
- If you don’t start this, will somebody else?
- Can I court mentors who have been successful doing something similar?
- Does the business have a high likelihood of success?
- Does the business risk/reward match your own risk/reward?
- Does it help to fulfill your purpose?