Home topics start-up-entrepreneur starting Managing Starting Managing Why start a small business? John Corias February 1, 2013 Has the new year allowed you some time to reflect on your current vocation and state of employment and found you wanting more? This natural response is often the catalyst for many a small business to be started early in the new financial year as individuals seek to take control of their own destiny. There are numerous studies and surveys that are widely available that will tell you that starting a new business is fraught with danger and that the majority of new small businesses fail within the first five years. We can testify to the fact that the waters will often be most turbulent at the outset, but with the proper planning, advice and strategies this could just be the year that you set sail on a solo voyage to become the next “overnight sensation”. Before even contemplating the business planning stages and going down the path of setting up companies, brand names and so on, the most critical step is to ask yourself, “Why do I want to start my own small business ?” It can almost be guaranteed that your response to that question will fall into one of about ten different categories. Each one should be carefully analysed and discussed with trusted people who know you and your personal circumstances well enough to provide you with clear and honest feedback. Your business may be a one man show, but