Читать книгу Small Business for Dummies - Veechi Curtis - Страница 19

As the years have passed by, I’ve developed a sniffer-dog instinct for which businesses are likely to succeed, which are going to struggle and which are doomed to fail. Although I usually wish I wasn’t so chillingly accurate (especially when I predict failure), occasionally life delivers a surprise — the success of an overpriced French restaurant with a mad chef, for example, or the survival of a bed and breakfast in the back of beyond.

Running a business is an inherently risky game. Sometimes, this risk makes things exciting and, other times, just plain old scary. Of course, business success is a fantastic feeling but, on the other hand, failure can be quite catastrophic. You can lose your house, your job, even your family, all in the one hit, not to mention the disillusionment of having precious dreams crushed by harsh reality.

How well you cope with risk depends on your age, personality and health. Certainly, investing your life’s savings in a new venture is infinitely scarier when you’re 60 than when you’re 30. I recommend you always minimise risk by keeping a tight control on your finances, a topic I explore in detail in Chapters 15 to 18.