Starting a business isn't as crazy and risky as they say

When I was still in the early stages of my first start-up, in autumn 2006, and working full-time at my consulting job, I was also interviewing with various banks. Through this excellent recruitment agent, I got a series of interviews at Lehman Brothers which ultimately culminated in them basically creating a job for me in their Front Office product management team and offering it to me.

This was a very good banking job. Front-office based, plenty of exposure to all parts of the bank, creative, intense, and well paid. I hesitated, because on the one hand I had committed into the business I was starting (to the tune of several thousand pounds, and, more importantly, to a close friend...), and on the other hand this was an excellent career opportunity from the "corporate career" point of view.

I remember discussing this with my girlfriend at the time. Being very pragmatic, she resolved the question: "Most people," she said, "hope their whole life that they'll be able to start a business. You have the opportunity to do it now, to realise something that for most people remains just a dream. You may never get that opportunity again... but the Lehman job will still be there in a year or two if you decide that start-ups are not for you."

Well, she was wrong about the Lehman job. I'm going to have to accept that I will never get a job there now.

Less than six months later, we moved from the smallest house my family had ever lived in, and into the largest house we ever lived in; in a down economy no less.

I don't know that my father ought to be considered a "serial entrepreneur" as he was never trying to get rich -- only to provide for us, but he did similar things on several occasions whenever push came to shove. More importantly no matter the job climate, he always either found or created enough work for himself to support the rest of us.

The lesson I take from this is: when your job sucks or even outright ceases to exist, if the job market is bone dry and the economy is in decline, it might really be the best time to create your own business. (And,.. you'll never know unless you try.)

1. It validates most people's default decision to pursue a "normal" career path.

2. It increases the psychological barrier to entry in starting a business, so that people don't often attempt it if they're not highly determined.

Reason #1 is a strategy for coping with laziness or fear.

Reason #2 may be a good or bad thing. On one hand, the people most likely to succeed are those who have a high risk tolerance and are determined to make it despite the odds. On the other hand, anything we can do to further lower the stigma associated with business failure and encourage more people to start businesses is probably good for society.

I'm wondering how many of these are ebay or amazon.com storefront type "businesses".

More and more I'm getting the feeling that software startups are a rare enough breed that it simply isn't instructive to look at nation-wide statistics.

IMO Side-projects which don't have to support you financially are more likely to succeed because you get to define succeed for yourself - "I sold a copy, yay success".

Whilst a full-time occupation has to feed you and pay for everything else you need to live, and possibly your family too, that means there's an automatic in built requirement to make money. If you fail to make enough money day-to-day to survive then you fail, period.

I've always hated that "statistic". I'd rather look at it this way...

99.9999% of all sperm fail to reach their destination. Yours won. Keep winning.

Be honest. If you start your article with a lie, why should I believe the rest of it?