Question – Do you need to be rich to start a business?

Wondering whether you need to be financially-backed and well connected to get your business ventures going? Our career coach gives some advice to help you get started.

Question: Do I need to be rich and connected to start my own business? (Cameron, Phoenix)

Absolutely not. Don’t let not being rich or connected put you off if you want to start your own business.

There are plenty of stories of successful entrepreneurs who start with nothing and make it big, and lots of businesses ‘bootstrap’: start small, but reinvest all their profits in the business to fuel growth.

And there’s lots of people out there who are willing to invest in good business ideas, and a whole ecosystem of potential supporters who will help with connections, including angel investors, incubators and accelerators.

Having said that, it’s important to acknowledge that this support is unevenly distributed: it clusters around big cities and universities, in rich countries.

The situation is improving as investors increasingly realise good businesses can come from anywhere, but change is slow. You might find things easier if you move to a location where this kind of support is readily available. But if that’s not possible, don’t let it stop you trying your hand at entrepreneurship.

Another way of framing this is to ask yourself, what have you got to lose?

I’m not suggesting there’s nothing to lose. It will cost you time and effort at the very least, and it will mean saying no to other opportunities while you focus on your business. But even if your venture is not a success, it will be a fantastic business education. And you’ll have the satisfaction of knowing that you tried.