Do Not Start a Business Until You Understand This

A note to young leaders.

Recently, a young leader asked me whether he should leave his promising professional career and start his own business.

He expected me to opine on the merits of his new business idea.

I didn’t.

Here’s what I told him:

“The question to ask yourself isn’t: Should I quit my job and start a new business?

The question to ask is: Am I ready to suffer multiple rejections, work long hours for many years without any certainty of success, and keep going on a sub-market salary until I succeed?

If your answer is ‘yes,’ then jump.

The true test of entrepreneurship is how much failure and rejection you can take without losing your optimism.”

Starting is easy.

Don’t start unless you’re going to finish.