Five reasons to launch your business idea now

You may be unhappy with your own job, were recently made redundant or maybe you just have a great idea and want to see if your product or service idea will take off.

Start your own business and take control of your life – there has never been a better time. This is a great time with lots of tax advantages, ample access to contractor talent to assist you and it is more affordable than ever before.

Here are five reasons why you should do it now:

1. It has never been easier

Technology has now made starting your own business easy and possible.

The cost of set-up (website templates and software such as WordPress make it easy to DIY), infrastructure costs (think cloud-based accounting software, outsourcing of website hosting and maintenance) and costs of incorporation have never been so low. (You should be incorporated; if you are not, you could lose your house and other personal assets!)

Starting your own business is more cost-effective than ever before. You don’t need a bricks-and-mortar shopfront nor do you need to have a large storeroom or warehouse of goods and stock waiting to be sold and shipped.

With today’s access to inexpensive resources and some time and effort, you can manage your own business setup yourself from your own home.

2. Do it now before someone else does

Provide a service you (and other people) want or need. Most successful startup businesses have been started by frustrated owners who could not find what they wanted or people who created a business for services they needed themselves:

GoPro cameras business was started by a surfer who wanted to film his friends and see himself on video surfing;

YouTube was started by three guys who wanted to share dinner party and other videos between their group of friends and could not find a service to do so;

Shoes of Prey was solving a woman’s own problem: never finding shoes that were the right fit and style. It’s now an Australian design-your-own shoes online shop available via tablets in David Jones.

All of these successful entrepreneurs started their businesses because they wanted a service or products that were not available: 90% of the time, if you want or need it, there are a lot of others out there that do too. If you don’t do it, someone else will.

3. You can reach customers all over the world

It’s now easy to have a worldwide audience for your business and customers around the world. The world is your oyster with access to the internet and social media to make advertising reach easy and affordable.

Startups, irrespective of budget, location and staff numbers, can now make global contacts, overseas sales and grow quicker than ever before.

4. Accessing skilled labour has never been cheaper

Thanks to the internet, there is now easy access to a wide variety of inexpensive labour and skilled talent to help you with your business startup. More and more highly skilled, talented contractors are either moonlighting or starting their own online businesses that offer their services at economical rates. You can now easily find setup assistance, a variety of skilled professionals and outsourcing services your business requires at affordable and often flexible rates.

5. You can finally be your own boss!

You may be underemployed/want to be your own boss/have been made redundant – whatever the reason, you have nothing to lose. No matter what your profession, experience or education may be, you likely have a great idea for a business. You don’t need a lot of money, just passion, drive and effort.

So make the leap. Now is the time to do it!

Image credit: Flickr/Don McCullough