If you are entertaining fantasies of quitting your job and going into business for yourself, you’re not alone. A new Inside Small Business survey conducted by UPS Stores finds 66% of Americans, or two out of three, would love to be able to go into work and turn in a resignation before following their passion and heading off into the sunset to start a business of their own.
“Passion takes you a long way, but capital takes you farther,” cautions start-up advisor and entrepreneur Michelle Lemmons-Poscente, CEO of the Global Leaders Organization, a professional community of business owners, CEO’s and investors designed to help companies grow and gain access to capital, and it is the acquisition of capital that she stresses first. “The number one reason we have fewer entrepreneurs than we did in 1974 is the lack of access to capital.”
Being their own boss is the number one reason that motivates people to dream big, following by believing in their idea and creating their next career path.
Critically important to their success, advises Lemmons-Poscente, is connecting with a strong network of peers before taking that first step. “As an entrepreneur going out on your own – it’s a lonely world out there, so you need to find a very good peer-to-peer network you can become a member of.”
What’s stopping them? Mostly financial fears, 45% of respondents saying financial security is the reason, 39% saying they lack the financial commitment required to open the business, and 37% citing a fear of failure.