The 5 Questions to Ask Yourself Before Launching a Business

A client introduced me to his son two months ago. He said, “He wants to start a business. Can you help him find something he can do?” I was surprised to hear that from such a successful businessman. So we sat down and I asked his son to tell me a bit about himself, his project, and the reasons he wanted to open a business.

He could not answer any of the questions I asked. His father smiled and told his son, “See? I am not making this up. Damien just asked you the same questions I asked you this weekend.” That is when I understood the point of the meeting, and I adjusted my approach. I wrote 5 questions on a sheet of paper to explain how people launch successful businesses:

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1- What is your WHY?

This is the foundational question for any entrepreneur. Make a list of every reason that drives you to create this project. What lights you up and keeps you going. Which reasons will still motivate you after you have lost a lot of money, after your partner left, after you had to move into a cheaper apartment, and after your social life disappeared.

Your WHY is what you fight for. Your cause. Your vision. Your contribution to the world. It is what makes it impossible for you to work for someone else and what makes you absolutely have to make your vision real.

That means your “motivation” cannot be:

• It sounds like a lot of money
• Everyone is doing it
• I have nothing to lose by trying
• It seems interesting, let’s see how it goes
• I want to be an entrepreneur

Be honest with yourself, or you are running straight into a wall. Also important: do not follow a passion if you do not have the talent.

2- How will it impact you?

Launching a project is not risk-free, and it is not free of changes in your life. Are all those changes and risks worth it?

Your health: stress will change many things. You will not sleep the same way, your eating rhythm will shift, and you may get sick more easily. You will need to take precautions to keep that from happening. Are you willing to change your diet? Exercise? Practice yoga and/or meditate?

Your relationships: You will no longer have as much time as before for your partner or spouse. Can your relationship survive a radical change like this? If you are like most people who need daily family time, are you willing to step back a little to give more time to your project? The same goes for your friends.

Your lifestyle changes radically when you launch a project. It is your responsibility to own the risks and consequences. Your social life will have to change. Friends will see you less, family too. You have to be ready to live through a shock. It is called leaving your comfort zone. And if you can handle it, nothing can stop you.

3- How will you measure your success?

We all work toward a result. What will yours be? When you are old and about to leave this world, which achievements will make you happy, and which ones will you forget? It is important to know where your success metrics live. It could be how many people you helped, how many problems you solved, how much you helped the environment… The sky is the limit on possible answers. But you have to know which one is yours.

4- Do you need a partner?

There are several types of partners:

• Founding partner: helps you launch the company and takes part in the day-to-day development of the project.
• Investor partner: brings the money needed to launch the project. They do not always take part in business activities; they mainly check that their money is working properly.
• Coach partner: someone who helps you grow the business by investing their time not in day-to-day work but in advising you and guiding your decisions.

There are more types, but these are the most common. Now the real question is: Do you actually need a partner to help with the day-to-day? Or can you hire an employee and pay them a salary without splitting company profits? Do you really need outside financing? If you truly believe in your idea and have the funds to invest in it, why not keep 100% of the shares for yourself?

A partner must share your values, your vision, your mindset, your goals, and your way of working so the relationship does not get complicated once the company is created. You do not always need a partner. Only you know whether you truly require one or not.

5- What mindset are you in, and how do you evolve it in the right direction?

If you have never worked, you may not yet have the habits and way of thinking required to be a business owner because you still lack experience and a developed work ethic.

Same idea: if you have always worked for someone else, your creativity, critical thinking, and execution skills have always been limited by a boss and company policies you had to follow.

On top of that, personal factors such as limiting beliefs, negative experiences, and lack of experience and knowledge can make you afraid to start a new project of your own.

The idea here is that you will need to list all your strengths and weaknesses and focus on where you have gaps so you can find solutions. For example, if you are shy, you should take theater and/or improv classes to improve your self-confidence and self-esteem so you can become a better salesperson and leader. Or if you get stressed very easily, you should learn to meditate so you can channel that stress and turn it into fuel to motivate yourself every day.

In the end, opening a business will change your life. It will force you out of your comfort zone, make you adjust your physical and psychological needs, and you have to understand that having a business is different from being an entrepreneur.