Imagine renting an apartment before having a job. It is just as foolish to start a business and then expect to depend on that income before the business has been properly developed. A new service must be fully operational before it can start to attract significant customers, and obtaining this depends heavily on preparation.

The first step is to perform research and to develop skills. A person who is unemployed sometimes goes to school both as a means to prove competence as well as a way to occupy space on their resume. A person who is unemployed might have more free time to study, but must prove some sort of training or gainful activity if they hope to stay in the job market. It takes money to live while studying.

Studying might mean following a guided curriculum, but there are many extra books on the topic. Most are valuable because they present the same subjects through different lenses and provide ideas and examples not found in canon college text. A self-learner has access to a much broader selection of books and also can read books indirectly related such as business, accounting, and marketing. It takes a lot of knowledge to start a business, so take plenty of time and read broadly.

Of course, skills must also be practiced in order to gain an edge. It is foolish to start peddling a skill as a full time job right away. Many college students do not learn nearly enough and need experience in an industry before they are able to operate on their own. This often means finding a job to see what work ethic is really like and how professionals operate.

The point of skill is not just to be able to do a skill but to be able to do it better than the competition. Otherwise, the skill must be honed enough to do the same job for greater convenience or a better rate. It is one thing to do a job, it is another to persuade people to pay good money for it. To be a professional, the artisan must be able to deliver something better, faster, or more conveniently.

All this means that a startup should be a side career rather than a full-time job right away. It takes a while to build a customer base. It is much smarter to offer services to friends or nearby customers for a lower rate before attempting to hit the big time. This gives an artist or career person the time to learn a trade and also deal with customers. Public exposure is limited, which is actually a good thing when first starting a business.

The vast majority of businesses fail. This might be due to insufficient resources or not being able to attract enough customers fast enough to justify full-time involvement. A business fails whenever the owner calls it quits. The best way to avoid this situation is just to prepare ahead. This means having plenty of savings to draw upon and also lots of experience and an established customer base.

They say that money can buy anything. The only thing it buys a startup is time. It is better to learn business skills part time before migrating to full time status. Some people do not have a choice but to be self-employed, while those with the luxury to learn before building should consider themselves privileged.