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1895 : STEP THREE – EVALUATING AND SELECTING IDEAS

knowledge and know-how Alongside who you know is what you
know – how good is your industry knowledge and experience? When
you are acting on your own behalf, will you be able to exercise the
same authority and impact which you might previously have gained
from working for an established brand name? Where you have gaps in
your knowledge, how quickly can you fill them, either by accessing the
knowledge directly, by identifying an individual or organisation with
the relevant knowledge, or by involving a specialist broker such as
Knowledge Transfer Partnership?139

In the early days of the business, you as founder will be performing
most if not all the tasks associated with running a business, from selling
to invoicing to keeping the books. Have you got the skills at the basic
level, together with the commitment to do this?

person-focused criterion 3: what’s your attitude to
risk? We saw earlier in this chapter how you should identify the

major risks from a business perspective. It is equally important that you
gauge your own attitude to risk. An effective starting point is to
consider what you might be risking by setting up your own venture.

what are you putting at risk? Establishing any venture creates
enormous strain on you, those around you and your resources. The risk
that the venture might fail exacerbates the strain by placing four
different elements of your life at risk: your finances, your career, your
family and friends and your emotional well-being.

financial risk For most new start-ups, the individual will have to
commit a significant proportion of their savings and other resources, up
to and including their house. The long-term comfort of a regular
monthly salary will almost inevitably feel like a thing of the past.
Should the venture fail, all your resources are likely to be lost.

Are you prepared to risk personal bankruptcy in order to start your own
business? Could you withstand the pressures evoked by Anne Notley,
co-founder of the Iron Bed Company, when she wrote: ‘You have to
have nerves of steel and be prepared to take risks. You have to be able
to put it all on the line knowing you could lose everything.’140

career risk Although the pre-start-up phase of a new business venture
can sometimes be undertaken within the organisational comfort of paid
employment, the moment comes when you have to sacrifice salary,
benefits and apparent security to dedicate yourself full-time to your