1.1 What is your motivation?

What is your motivation for starting a business?

There can be a wide range of motivations. It can be a passion. It can be the fact that you've been working with somebody for a long period of time and you realize you can do a better job than them, so why work for them? If you can create more value for a customer, why not have a business of your own?

A great example is a friend of mine called Charles. His passion in life has always been space. He has had a number of businesses and recently started a company called SEN. He has basically created a business where he's putting space hardened CCTV cameras on spacecraft. It's taken him probably 10 - 5 years to get there, but that's been a passion, something he's always wanted to do.

So think about what it is, why you want to start a business, and what your motivation is? Because this is something that could take a decade of hard work and may require working 18 hours a day sometimes, seven days a week. So make sure that you really do believe in your motivation, and it's something you want to do, and it's something you want to commit to.

One of the key reasons for starting a business is for wealth creation. You might be starting a not-for-profit business, but business is essentially about making a profit. And people have often said to me on many occasions, especially in tech, that 'revenue is vanity and profit is sanity'. There's nothing wrong in wanting to be wealthy. There's nothing wrong in wanting to make money.

A lot of entrepreneurs say to me, "You know I want to start a business, and it might be a not-for-profit. Maybe that's easier or get grant funding, or maybe I should give away half my profits," and that is fine. But another way of looking at it is the example of Bill Gates who made enough money where you can decide what to do with your money once you've made it as well as contributing along the way.

The motivation to create wealth is probably the best reason to start a business because that gives you a clear goal and something to aim for. My advice is when you're looking at starting a business - tech or not - focus on making money. That means in the long run you'll need less capital, and you'll end up owning more of your business.

Also, when you're thinking about your motivation and you can read about the Five Why's. Ask yourself, "Why? Why do I want to do this? Why does the world need my products or my service?" And don't stop asking yourself, "why?" because it is a fundamental question. And, if you get to the point where you can't answer "why", you probably need to think again.

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