Micro Business for Retirees: Consider these 5 Myths about Having a Business

It’s easy to get pointed in the wrong direction about anything these days because there is so much information out there.

The goal of this post is to get you thinking about some common myths that are out there about starting or having a business.

If you currently believe any (or all) of these, please take some time and think them through.  Your future self might thank you.

Myth #1

Doing a thing and starting a business doing the thing will be the same

Let’s say you are a plumber who works for a plumbing company.  While out on a job, you find out that the client is charged 5x what you are getting paid.  Since you believe that you “do all the work,” you decide to leave and start your own one-person plumbing business so you can stop leaving money on the table.

You quickly realize that you are in over your head because you didn’t consider anything besides the plumbing work.  For example:

• You don’t do any marketing, so people don’t know that you exist
• You don’t make many sales outside of your friends and family
• You don’t have a payment processor, so you can only take cash
• You don’t have enough money in the business to buy tools, a vehicle, insurance, etc.
• Etc.

There is a LOT more to business than just doing the thing.

Myth #2

The key to business success is having a great idea 

Ideas do have value, but not as much as some people think.

Execution is much more important.

If two people have the same idea at the same time, the one who executes it better (or at all) will be more successful.

Even a terrible idea can be executed well in the right market and be much more successful than a great idea.

Myth #3

Success is measured by how much money you make

While money is one of the most common measures of success, there are plenty of people whose businesses make a ton of money, and they aren’t happy and don’t feel successful.

Most people will value freedom more than money.  Freedom to work when they want, go where they want, etc.

If you have to work 16 hours a day, 7 days a week forever, and you make a lot of money, would you feel successful?

Myth #4

You should outsource everything financial because you aren’t good at math

The common phrase here is that “accounting is the language of business”.

If you are getting into business, do yourself a favor and learn the language.

Most higher-level business decisions will take the business finances into account.  If you are the decision maker and you aren’t able to decipher your financial documents, how will you make informed decisions?

Myth #5

There are no advantages for businesses that are small 

There are advantages and disadvantages in every position.

Here are a few examples of advantages for smaller businesses:

• Speed - they are generally able to execute faster than larger businesses.
• Access - the customer is more likely to have access to the people that can solve their problems.  With large businesses, the person who you want to work with is likely many levels up and too busy to deal with customers.
• Customization - you are more likely to get a solution that is designed around your situation.  Larger businesses are more likely to have cookie-cutter solutions that may not help you completely.
• Etc.

Think about your advantages because you will gain more customers if you can point these things out.