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Should I start a business?

Somebody says the market is too crowded, somebody says you'd be crazy not to. None of them has to spend their evenings on it. This page won't tell you it will work — nobody honestly can. It will help you tell the difference between fear of failing and not actually wanting it.

What this question usually is

• The question is rarely 'is the idea good'. It is usually 'am I allowed to want this'.
• If you have already told three people before you told yourself, the answer is further along than you think.
• Most people wait to feel ready. Ready is a feeling that arrives after you start, not before.

What actually helps

1. 1Write the smallest version of it you could start this month. If the small version already exhausts you, that is useful to know.
2. 2Describe an ordinary Tuesday doing it. Not launch day — Tuesday. If that Tuesday appeals, you are closer than your doubt says.
3. 3Name the one thing you're actually afraid of losing. Say it out loud once. Then wait until tomorrow before you tell anyone else.

You don't have to know if it will work. You have to know if you want the Tuesdays.

One question, one answer — a mirror. Not business or financial advice, and no prediction about whether it works.

Questions people actually ask

Should I start a business or keep my job?

That is really two questions: whether you want the work, and whether you can afford the gap. No market can answer either one for you. Write both numbers down, then ask for a read on this moment and hold it for a night.

Is the market too crowded to start now?

Crowded markets still pay rent, and empty ones usually mean nobody wants the thing. What matters first is whether you can name the person who would pay you, in one sentence, with no adjectives in it.

How much money should I risk on a new business?

The amount you can lose this year without your life changing shape. Past that line it stops being ambition and becomes a bet placed with your rent money.

Other people bring this one too

• 走留Should I quit my job?
• 婚否Should I marry him?
• 取舍Should I take the offer?

If today is heavier than words, this is bigger than a page like this. findahelpline.com Free, confidential, in most countries. You don't have to explain yourself well to be helped.

A reflection, not therapy and not medical advice. Not financial, legal or relationship advice either — we don’t decide for you, and we don’t predict.