“Should I start a business?” How to answer in two stupid-simple questions.

Between an MBA and several unsuccessful ventures, I’ve grown up a bit.

Knowing my experience and credentials, several have asked for advice on starting a business. Guess what—when asked, I’m armed and ready with free advice in the form of two almost-too-obvious questions, which can quickly lead me to a confident opinion on whether or not the inquirer has a chance in Hades of being successful.

It literally takes moments to decide.

The truth is, these questions are simple, and you’ve probably heard them before. However, nowhere have I seen them paired and interwoven as they should be, and together, these questions offer your best initial screening on entrepreneurial readiness.

I truly believe this.

So, here’s the scenario: you have an idea for a business and debate whether you should take the leap.

Let’s explore the first side of the coin (because remember, these two questions are connected).

Question #1: Are you passionate about the work?

Lots of people say this, but why? Why is this the first question?

Because of a simple truth: starting a business is hard. Really hard. Sometimes, really, really, really hard. So hard that 80% of businesses fail in the first 18 months. See what I mean? 

You think emerging from obscurity in a highly competitive environment will be easy? If a tiny new star appears in the night sky, who notices?

No one.

You’re a child in a land of giants, and if you start to build your hut too high, they’ll come to squash you. They have the resources. They have the attention. They have the experience. They have everything you don’t, and they don’t want you there.

Get ready for battle, little guy. It will be a long, tough, ugly contest. Just be sure you have your secret weapon—that thing that will fuel your fighting spirit for days, weeks, years, forever—that thing that will keep you going, despite the pain and fatigue and endless discouragement…

Passion.

It’s the reason you’re even there in the first place, and it’s the best chance you have at lasting long enough to succeed. Countless consecutive 12-hour days become virtually impossible without passion.

Passion gives you power, purpose, and perseverance. Starting a business requires all three.

Beyond this, passion qualifies you. When you are passionate about something, you think about it all the time. You study it. You practice it. You live it.

There’s no better entrepreneur than someone who is what she sells.

Here’s one actual example I fielded: “Hey, I’m thinking about opening a bar. What do you think?”

Well, do you have any restaurant experience? Have you served before? Do you understand inventory, supply management, and point of sales systems? Do you know food regulations? Can you even mix a drink?

No? Then no, dummy, you shouldn’t open a bar.

Now, here’s the sort of answer I’m looking for:

“Yea! My parents owned a bar, and it was the greatest thing ever. I worked every role and know how restaurants operate, inside and out. I can mix up any drink you could ask for—and invented tons of my own concoctions. And man, there’s nothing better than serving good drinks and connecting with all the folks who come by. I always knew I wanted my own bar one day.”

Ding-Ding-Ding. That guy’s got what it takes. He’s got the passion. He’s got the know-how and grit to fight his way to success.

He’ll get his greatest-thing-ever. Trust me.

"Are you passionate?"—this first question is a "you" question because you are your business. When asking “should I start this business?”, you might as well be asking “should I be who I am, and get paid for it?”

Starting a business without passion hurts your chances in a big way—by, oh let’s just say, 80%.

But, passion alone won’t put you in the 20% because, remember, we’ve only asked one of the two stupid-simple questions.

So, let’s say you passed the first test. It’s time to flip the coin over.

Question #2: Is there a market for my offering?

Believe me, lots of people fail to ask this question. They get blinded by passion and jump headlong into a business venture without doing their homework. Sadly, I’ve done this.

Sometimes the idea is just flat-out bad. Here are a few wacky ideas that understandably never caught on (my favorites are the portable record player and the cigarette umbrella).

Sometimes great products fail too. Apple released a ground-breaking PDA, the Apple Newton, back in the early 90s. Flopped. Even crazier is the flop of the first electric car, the Lohner-Porsche—released in the early 1900s!

At the time, there was no market for these items, and these big companies failed to create one.

At the end of the day, it’s not really about whether or not your product is “good” or “bad.” The only question that matters is, “does anyone actually want it?”

The point is, you must do your homework. That means, market research.

Test your product. Review industry reports. Map out the competition. Survey potential customers. Learn everything you can about the market before you enter it.

You might think that you’re clever and that you invented some great new product, but after a little research, you may find that it already exists—and someone else’s is better. Or worse, you find out that it doesn’t exist but nobody wants it.

Sorry, passion won’t save you where demand doesn’t exist.

Sometimes economics work against you. You could have a great product that lots of people want, but the pricing is too high. Or, the pricing is fair, but your target market has no money. That’s where I messed up.

Years ago, following my passion at the time, I started a competitive video gaming league. I absolutely loved building the organization and labored to create huge value for the community. Problem is, I didn’t research my audience. Despite my high-value offering, I could not seem to satisfy the abusive, entitled brats that comprise so many gaming communities. They did not respect me or appreciate what I built for them. Plus, we’re talking about kids that are 18-24 years old, or in other words, broke.

I did not understand the economics or sensibilities of my market—because I didn’t do my homework.

You might be wondering how you research a market. Well, there’s research you do yourself, called primary research. Then, research others performed that you can benefit from, known as secondary research. To point you in the right direction, you can review this helpful list on how to do market research.

My goal here is not to teach how market research is done, just that it must be done.

A business’s function is to satisfy a need or want, but first, you need to know what those needs and wants are. Don’t guess. Don’t assume. Get out there and figure it out.

Research.

Well, we’ve done it—we flipped our little medallion, and opportunity winked back at us.

You now know the two most fundamental questions you should ask when exploring entrepreneurship. These tips are mainly intended to guide those without much business experience or study. One indirect goal of all this is to dispel the glitzy aura that seems to envelope successful business owners—that there's some elusive art to their instincts and dealings—that only a chosen few have been blessed by the money gods.

No, they simply make stuff that others want, that's all. You can too if you do your homework.

Now, let’s zoom out briefly and cover why I say these two questions are so basic, so connected, and so important.

There are two parties in business: you and your customers. The first question addresses you. The second question addresses your customers. That’s it. A business simply serves as a relationship between both parties.

It’s so obvious that I feel weird explaining it.

Business is a marriage, and both parties must say “I do.” So, you ask the questions that get both parties to the altar.

Look inward, then look outward. Know yourself, then know your environment. Build a product or service, then connect it to a feasible market.

Find your passion, then share it with the world that wants it.

It’s stupid-simple.