Many people want to start their own small business. They’re tired of the traffic driving to work, the hours, the constant downsizing and more. Everyone has their own reasons for starting a business, but sometimes those reasons don’t reflect reality. That’s because they get caught up in the excitement of the planning and starting their business and don’t have a real grasp of what to expect.

Here’s a few realities to know before you take the plunge:

The Fastest Way to Build Success is to Fail Fast

Most people who have not started their own business are not familiar with this phrase. That’s because they don’t think failure has anything to do with success. They couldn’t be further from the truth.

Nobody wants to fail, but it’s a reality in all business ventures. I’m not saying the business itself will fail, but you can expect some form of failure along the way to building your successful business. Whatever is failing in your new venture, identify it quickly and make the necessary adjustments to propel you forward.

There is No Overnight Success

Building a business is a process – don’t expect to be netting a profit within months. Many new businesses don’t see a profit in the first year. That doesn’t mean it can’t happen, just don’t expect it.

Business starts from the planning phase and moves into the startup phase. You can never bypass the planning phase – it’s the most important step towards success.

There is Never a Perfect Time to Start a Business

If you’re a perfectionist, you may never find the perfect time to start a business. Many people use this excuse for not getting started. Sometimes they even have the perfect business plan, but fail to get started.

Just as there will never be the perfect business opportunity, there will never be a perfect time to get started. Starting a business is about risk taking. The way to ensure your success is to minimize the risk. You don’t need to have everything in place before you get started; start with what you have and gather the rest along the way.

Prepare for the Best – Expect the Worst

There’s only one thing you can count on in business – everything that can go wrong will. Once you understand this concept, you can plan accordingly.

Business ideas look great on paper, but even implementing your plan can be challenging. This is the main reason so many new business owners give up.  As soon as things start going wrong they wish they had never started the business.

Once you expect the worst to occur and plan for it, it will never happen. That’s because you have a contingency plan to fall back on.

Don’t go into a new business venture with blinders on. Know and plan for the pitfalls during your business planning phase. One way to mitigate your risk is to learn from someone who has already built the type of business you want to build.