Why do people start businesses? Not in theory, but in the surveys of owners and in the stories founders tell when you ask them how it began. This free guide collects the ten reasons that come up most often, drawn from the Census Bureau’s survey of business owners and two recent national surveys.
For each reason you get what it means, what it tends to change in the decisions that follow, and a founder who lived it: some famous, some interviewed for Indie Hustle and still running their businesses today. It is a short read, written to help you name your own reason before you choose what to build.
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What is inside
- To be your own boss
- To earn more money
- To control your own time
- To balance work and family
- To build an idea you believe in
- To get out of a job that no longer works
- Because the job ended
- Because an opportunity would not wait
- Because someone showed you it was possible
- To make a difference or leave a legacy
Who it is for
Anyone thinking about starting a business, or who has just started and wants to be clear about what they are building it for. It is also useful if you run a business already and are facing a big decision, such as whether to grow, hire or sell, because the reason you started is often the best guide to that choice.
Read more
The guide is the short version of a book in preparation, The Big Push. For the moment founders finally decide to start, read The Big Push: What Finally Made Founders Start. And the first milestone on the route, Why Start a Business?, puts your reason to work.