How to Build a Low-Risk Business


It is a commonly accepted premise that entrepreneurship is risky.  This idea is based on an old approach to entrepreneurship.  The kind where people risked their savings, health insurance and nearly everything they had to become a successful business owner, and for most people it simply didn’t work out.

Things have changed.

We know a lot more about what can make a business successful and what can cause it to fail.  Plus, the rise of the Internet has made it possible for people to become hybrid entrepreneurs, those who work a full-time job, earning a steady paycheck, and build their business part-time – often handling business matters before work, on lunch break, and after work on a laptop or smart phone.

The three biggest mistakes people make – and risks they take – in business are spending too much money; starting a business that doesn’t take off because it doesn’t connect with a market of people who will consistently buy; and not creating a predictable “paycheck” for their business through a focused sales and marketing strategy (I’ll explain how to do that in my next column).

Each of these issues is easily addressed with the right insight and by starting as a hybrid entrepreneur.


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