Startup vs Small Business

There are a lot of topics on the internet, but almost no one has written anything about the truth on “starting an online business”.

The reason I have not written a post like this is that the topic has been so badly misrepresented over time. The terms “startup” and “small business” have moved way beyond the original meaning of these terms. These days, anything flimsy and ephemeral (such as a blog) or barely more than an idea is considered a startup. These are businesses that can be launched in a matter of hours rather than months, with very little capital required — which means they don’t really qualify as small businesses at all.

If you want to start an online business, you need to actually have some cash to invest to build it up for long enough for it to be sustainable and profitable, but not long enough for it to be immediately profitable — otherwise you will simply waste your time and money.

In other words, if you want to start an online business, your first priority should not be whether you can make money doing something right now; it should be whether you can build something that will survive over time.

That would be great if the vast majority of people could do that; but they don\’t. It\’s not just because people don\’t know how — or even what — this stuff works (there are millions of ideas floating around on the internet these days without a website), but also because so many people think about starting businesses in terms of how much money they can make today versus how much money they can make over time (and many aren\’t even aware that their financial future is at stake).

Tempting though it may seem, typical entrepreneurs approaching their venture from this perspective will inevitably fail. As an entrepreneur you will need to decide what kind of entrepreneur you really are. A startup or a small business because that will define the path for your business. What your expectations are, how you are planning to grow or even if you are going to partner with other entrepreneurs.

Two Reasons why you might want to Start an Online Business

• To make money from what you love doing: This is obviously a very personal choice, but if your passion is writing or photography or teaching or whatever, then this kind of small business could be something that works out for you.
• To sell products or services online: You can set up websites which allow users to pay for access (as opposed to paying for subscriptions)

If any of the above sound inviting, and you feel that you have the ability to be committed and push through, then you are already halfway because it all starts with knowing that you can do it, and taking action until you see success.