Pros and Cons of New Grads Starting a Business

Erin Blaskin wrote an article for entrepreneur.com highlighting the advantages and disadvantages for young graduates wanting to start-up their own business straight after education, which is why i thought it was important to outline the pro’s and con’s below:

Pro no.1

You have the time to fully devote to a startup –After graduation students tend to have a fair amount of time on their hands as they are not usually tied down to major responsibilities (mortgage, kids, etc). This allows graduates to start their own business without any adverse effects from other areas in their life. Also after being in education for many years students are better prepared for a lack of sleep as a large amount of pupils work to deadlines late the night before.

Con no.1

You may have a difficult time securing financing and business credit – Gaining funding is extremely difficult at the moment with our unstable economy. Recently graduated students are likely to find it even harder to gain finance deals from lenders as they have only been in education and don’t have much/if any work experience. Also in many cases graduates have had to take out student loans to pay for their tuition, which is seen as unpaid debt.

Pro no.2

You aren’t jaded by many years inside a corporation – If you have worked in an organisation for many years you are likely to resent all the beaucracy and red tape, which makes employees feel over regulated rather than having a freedom of creativitiy. New graduates are unlikely to feel the same as they are new to the business world and therefore excited to start their new business venture.

Con no.2

Starting a business means taking on roles you may not want – Running your own business is hard at the best of times even if you do already have a large set of skills. When running your own firm you have to manage all the businesses operations compentantly e.g. sales, marketing, finance etc. This maybe hard for someone with little experience. Before you start-up your business you should ask yourself whether the different roles appeal to you and your skills.

Pro no.3

Starting a company provides amazing life and business experience – Launching your own enterprise will teach you new skills and lifetime lessons whilst improving your resume. Even if your business is unsuccessful I can guarantee you will learn more about yourself and your capabilities.

Con no.3

9/10 businesses fail in the first five years – There is no guaranteed success when starting a business. Living the life of an entrepreneur is difficult in the businesses initial stages and you are unlikely to bring home a paycheck to reward your hard work.

Thanks to the Guys at www.marketest.co.uk for letting us share this