Is now the right time to start-up my business?

Dear Aunty B,

I hold a senior position and am due to go off and have my second baby.

The problem I am facing is that we are restructuring and I have basically been sidelined. It has nothing to do with being pregnant and I would not think about legal action although I am feeling really angry at the position I find myself in. But it makes me think that I might not return to the job and should pursue a small business idea that I have been developing.

My question is this: is this a good time for me to start a business? Or should I go back to work and wait until the children are older? My first child has been an easy baby but I know I can’t necessarily expect number two to be like that.

I have tried writing out pros and cons as I know you will make me do a list and it comes out in favour of leaving.

So why don’t I just do it?

Dear Why don’t I just do it?

First there is never a perfect time to start a business. Never. Why? Well, you will never wake up one morning and say, now is the time to leap into the unknown, farewell your regular salary, work long and crazy hours and plunge from the depths of despair to great heights of euphoria sometimes in a single day. But you will wake up one day and say I am passionate about my new business, I have done enough research to know as well as I can that it will work and I have the money and the cashflow plan in place to get me through the first few years… at least.

And that is what concerns me. You say you have been developing a small business idea. That does not convince me that you have ticked off the three crucial factors. Firstly that you would hurl yourself under a train to make your new idea happen. Why is such unbridled passion so important? Because it is that passion and belief that will carry you through the difficult times. Second, developing a plan is not the same as doing full-scale research. Third, you make no mention of money. Now you might have the plan in place and have made so much money from your previous job that your finances are not a concern. But more likely these last two factors have not been well thought out.

If I were you I would take a chill pill. Keep your options open while you have your second child. But spend that time getting very serious our your business plan.

Be smart,
Your Aunty B

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