Introduce yourself to a stranger as an entrepreneur, and invariably that person will start talking to you about how he or she has this million-dollar concept that will change everything. You'll listen politely and eventually respond with something like, "Sounds great, why haven't you pursued it?" And that's when the inevitable "if only" comes out: "If only I had the time/money/manpower/energy/[insert excuse here]."
But here's a fact that every entrepreneur knows: There's never enough time, money, manpower or resources to launch a business with ease. And it's rarely the perfect time in your life to start a business. But you do it anyway, in much the same way you buy a house or get married or start a family; you regularly venture into huge and scary unknowns that could wipe you out financially and emotionally if you fail.
All this is to say that the best time to launch a business isn't after the economy improves, or after the kids reach a certain age or when you have X amount of money socked away in your retirement account. The best time is now. If you have a solid idea and the passion to see it through, then you've got all you need to get started.
For inspiration, look back on the Great Recession. Millions were thrown out of work, yet hundreds of thousands of people started new businesses. And I'm willing to wager that a good number of those businesses were launched because the owners had no other choice: There were no jobs available, and to put food on the table they hustled up a new career.
Many of them may not think of themselves as entrepreneurs in the classic sense, but they are.
So the question for you is this: Are you going to wait until you lose your job to make the decision to launch a business, or will you take your idea and run with it now? I think you know the answer.
