Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate.
Carl Jung
Recently, I’ve been hearing the same question crop up whenever the topic of entrepreneurship or starting a business comes up. In times of economic uncertainty, whether due to fears of redundancy, age, skillset limitations, or simply the desire for an additional income stream to prepare for retirement, many people are wondering how to take that first step. The most common comment I hear is: “I don’t have enough money.”
When I started my business, I relied on my own savings. I wasn’t exceptionally wealthy either. Having spent a good amount of time in the corporate world, I’d managed to save enough to cover a few years of income, but it wasn’t an amount I could freely splurge on every investment idea that came my way.
So, if you’re thinking about getting started, the best time is when you still have a paid job. This allows you to experiment while absorbing the risks more comfortably. And the next best time? That would be today.
Many of my corporate friends, who often talk about needing extra income to feel secure or wanting to escape the 9-to-5 grind to find happiness, tend to approach it like this:
- I’ll take a course first.
- I’m looking for the perfect idea, but I’m not sure if this one is it.
- I need more funding.
- I’ll put together a proposal and find investors.
- Work is too busy right now—maybe after this project.
And the list goes on.
While I’m not saying everyone should become an entrepreneur or quit their jobs, if you believe this is the right path for your life, you need to take action. Transitioning from being a corporate employee, where you’re accountable for specific tasks, to becoming a business owner, responsible for your money, your family, your staff, and their families, is an entirely different challenge. It requires a mindset shift, and the only way to develop the necessary skills is through experience—often by making mistakes (preferably small ones)—and combining those lessons with knowledge along the way.
I know because I’ve been through it. It’s a journey that has taught me to connect the dots and understand how to shift my mindset.
Start with what feels right.
You won’t know what’s possible until you take action.
Time is the most precious and irreplaceable resource. If creating an additional income stream—what Naval Ravikant calls “permissionless”—feels like the right strategy for you, start with whatever resource you currently have. Whether it’s your talent, skillset, intelligence, network, or savings, use what will likely create the biggest impact. And if you’re unsure, trust your instincts. Write down your options, review them before bed, revisit them the next morning, and choose the one that feels right and excites you. Your subconscious might guide you.
Worried it’s not the perfect option? Here’s the truth: there are no guarantees. You’ll still need to put in the work. If you’re risk-averse, start small. Experiment to see if there’s demand for what you’re offering and if it works, gradually invest more resources to scale. With today’s tools—AI, SaaS platforms, and virtual assistants—you can achieve a lot in a reasonable timeframe if you dedicate yourself to it. However, a hobbyist mindset with an hour a week won’t cut it. It might take you five years, and by then, the world will have moved on.
If your first attempt doesn’t work out, and you’ve started on a small scale, pick yourself up, learn from it, and try again.
Reflect and learn, but don’t overthink
Don’t let the fear of being judged hold you back. Here’s what I’ve observed:
- Most people won’t even notice what you’re doing.
- If they do, they’re unlikely to think it’s a big deal—they’ve got their own lives to focus on.
- If someone does criticise you unfairly, you’ll know who to avoid for a healthier, happier life.
Also, don’t stress about perfection. You can always refine your work after launching it—this is part of the process. The market will give you feedback, and this ensures you’re not wasting resources on unnecessary details.
When I first started with Shopify, I knew absolutely nothing despite my two decades of marketing experience. It felt rather embarrassing, but I launched on the agreed date regardless. That first website was far from polished and no longer exists. Through experience, I learned to select effective themes, modify designs to meet my requirements, and optimise pages based on user feedback. Even now, I wouldn’t call my websites perfect, but they’re more than adequate, given the resources at hand. I’ve learned that pursuing marginal improvements often isn’t worth the investment when those resources could create greater value elsewhere.
I’ve come to appreciate the skills I’ve picked up by working with limited resources. In my corporate days, I’d brief my team, who would then work with an agency to deliver a polished website in a few months. That was the skillset my employer needed from me. Now, I need to understand how to get things done quickly, on-brand, and functionally to achieve the desired outcomes. Even if I don’t do the work myself, I need to know how to guide someone else efficiently.
Understand “trade-offs”
One of the most useful concepts I’ve learned in overcoming resource challenges is the idea of trade-offs.
“A situation in economics in which a decision-maker has to choose between two competing alternatives and, as a result, one option is given up in order to pursue the other option is called a trade-off. Trade-offs arise because of the assumptions of scarcity and rationality and result in opportunity costs.” – Economics Online
What are you gaining, and what are you giving up? Is it worth trading something you have now for something you need or value in the future?
Another helpful concept is cost-benefit analysis.
“Cost-benefit analysis (CBA) is a process of comparing the projected costs and benefits of a decision to determine its feasibility. Businesses can determine whether a decision is worthwhile by summing up the potential rewards expected from an action and subtracting the associated costs. If the benefits outweigh the costs, the decision is likely worthwhile.” – Investopedia
You can apply this to personal decisions, too. A simple way is to list the factors contributing to both “costs” and “benefits,” rate their impact (1-5), and prioritise the most critical items. Compare these individually or sum them up to weigh the overall outcome. Customise this process to suit your needs—it’s a quick and practical way to implement the concept.
I’ll be sharing more about how economic concepts can help with everyday decision-making in the future. For now, I hope these ideas encourage you to evaluate whether starting a business or side hustle is your best strategy and inspire you to take the first step if it aligns with your goals.
