You might have heard that joining a business start-up can be a great opportunity in the career of any job seeker if the start-up itself will turn out to be successful. On the other hand, if it fails you will lose time, energy, and ultimately your job. The perspective of joining a start-up is very attractive to most people; it is no surprise because usually you are promised to be almost a millionaire in the long run. As a result, people often leave their jobs with the purpose of having a better job and a better life by doing new business. However, the chances of a business start-up surviving or succeeding are not that big. How then should one make a choice whether it is worth joining a new business or the time hasn't yet come?
Controlling Your Career
Very often people don't think about possible consequences when they are offered to join a new business project. They just react like children to a box of chocolates when parents are not at home. Thus, we lose control of our own career, and, thus of a professional future. It is important not to get dazzled by a shiny new start-up, but to wisely assess all the risks and awards of joining the project. This way we actively control our careers as well as our lives. How then to evaluate whether the project is worth it? How to see all of the risks, which are contained within the opportunity?
Firstly, you have to know whether there is anything serious behind the offer? A huge pay-off is great, but are there any means to achieve that? Or in other words, is there a plan? If you see that there isn't any specific business plan you can familiarize yourself with it is already not a good sign. In this case, a new start-up looks like a desperate attempt to become a business owner and a millionaire with no resources. Also, it is important that a business plan is based on completely known assumptions. The thing is that business start-ups are all about new ideas and untried models, which is risky in itself. Without reliable planning assumptions in such a case, it is not worth joining the project. Secondly, it will be helpful to know who stands behind the start-up. Ask yourself "Who is on the team?". If you can see there experienced people who have done something similar before and were successful it means the project has good chances. However, it is not often with the start-ups that they have the right people - they are usually forced to settle for who they can find. After all, they are choosing the team from those who are willing to take the risk.
Lastly, you have to honestly answer yourself whether it is something you want to be doing. If the start-up matches your passion then it may be a good choice. Because the start-up requires a lot of sacrifices one needs to make sure he/she is ready for it. Because if you are a founder or an early joiner 3-5 years of your life will be consumed with business. And that is not something that could be motivated by a good salary. Money is not everything; people need to be doing what they love to be doing.
