“I have a great idea for a business, but the economy sucks.”
Last week someone told me that they have a great idea for a new business, but they are going to wait until the economy turns around.
I told them that every one of my businesses I’ve launched in a recession, and that while you always would rather have the market going with you than against you, it’s the smallest variable in the algebra of success. Other companies that launched during recessions include: Hyatt, Burger King, FedEx, CNN, Trader Joe’s, and even Microsoft. My friend wasn’t convinced.
In fact this is the best time in history to start a company. What used to require $10 million of startup funds can be done for a fraction of that.
The Golden Age of Entrepreneurship is Today
Serial entrepreneur, Alain Rossmann, who is currently the founder and CEO of Klip (the maker of the fastest video app ever to reach 100,000 downloads), explained in a recent Business Week article how his new company cheaply purchases hosting from Amazon’s cloud service and uses freelancers found on Mechanical Turk. As he puts it:
“You can achieve 10 times more now with 10 times fewer people and 10 times less capital. It’s unbelievable. This is the golden age of startups, and I hope America and everyone else takes advantage of it.”
This is a sentiment I hear repeatedly from those who are actually creating businesses. Computer power costs a fraction of what it used to just a decade ago. Highly talented freelancers can be found on eLance, Odesk, 99Designs, and other sites. Online social networks make it easier than ever before to spread the word about your goods and services. The only thing the Great Recession has done has been to lower the price of commercial real estate…bad for property owners, great for startup businesses.
If you want to start your business, do it or don’t, but don’t use the economy as an excuse.
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Kevin Kruse is a NY Times bestselling author and keynote speaker. Get more success and tips from his newsletter at kevinkruse.com and check out keynote video clips. His new book, Employee Engagement 2.0, teaches managers how to turn apathetic groups into emotionally committed teams.
