If you are considering starting an online business (or any business for that matter), make sure you are doing it for the RIGHT reasons or else you are 100% bound for failure.  Here's 80 reasons why people start businesses that are guaranteed to end in disaster.  If the reason you are looking to create your own company is on this list, you should sincerely do some soul searching before investing in inventory:

1. TO MAKE MONEY!! You believe if you just get this thing going next month you’ll be driving a Bentley in a year. 

2. It seemed SUPER, SUPER easy. In fact, you watched a YouTube video where someone even said it was mega easy and that YouTuber has 50,000 Subscribers and sells an eBook, so they must know what they’re talking about.

3. You’re broke and really, really need money ASAP.

4. It sounded so much easier than the job you were working before you started the business. That job sucked and this job will be way better!

5. You thought “If (someone) can do it, I can do it! And I can do it even BETTER because I know better than them!”

6. People, like your BFF, your spouse or your Aunt Sue told you that you would be GREAT at it.

7. A “perfect job” is one where you can do whatever you want!

8. You want to make other people happy. Your family has been pressuring you to become something great, so this should shut them up.  

9. You’re good at Y, so you gotta be good at Z! For example; your family always loves the cookies you bring to Christmas, so owning a bakery is right up your alley!  Or you're a wiz when it comes to helping your son with his math homework, so you would be an outstanding CPA. 

10. Your brother-in-law said you would make a million dollars if you open a business because you’ve always been so smart. 

11. It sounded like it was going to be so fun…. Or at least more fun than a stupid 9-5 gig.

12. You're sick of punching the clock. You want to sign the front of paychecks instead of the back. Screw working for “the man”!

13. Owning a business has always been your dream. (However you have spent no time learning, researching, analyzing the industry, studying products or doing a deep dive into the industry you plan to jump into… but regardless, it’s your DREAM!)

14. By starting a business you can retire early!  You can't even imagine working a day past your 50th birthday, and hopefully, if this goes right, you can cash out at 40.

15. You're sick of "the norm".  A change of pace is what you need now.

16. The pay must be way better than collecting a weekly check from someone elses company, right?

17. Your goal is to relax more. Why run around making someone elses company rich when you can kick your feet up on your desk for your own?

18. “I want to be my own boss!”

19. You want to “work” as little as possible so you can enjoy life because no “boss” actually does anything. They just sit there and collect a check for nothing.

20. Your entire plan is to get the business set up then hire people to run it while you do other things.  You have really good friends who already said they will work for you.

21. You want to travel the world

22. A work uniform is the worst thing EVER.  

23. Because you want to be the boss… meaning you enjoy telling people what to do. You look forward to being able to hire staff so you can tell them “you’re doing it wrong”.

24. Your entire purpose is to prove something to someone. “I will prove to my ex that I am NOT a loser by starting a successful business!”

25. You’re opening the business out of a pure vendetta. For example, the high school bully you can’t stand started a wine-making business, so you are going to one-up him with your EVEN BETTER wine!

26. It sounds glamorous to say “I own a business” to people to impress them

27. You need a hobby and this sounds perfect.  

28. You’re in a semi “mid life crisis” and you feel like you need SOMETHING, but you don’t know what. You debated buying a Ferrari but quickly realized you can’t afford it so hell, let’s just start a business.

29. To “pay off” something. Your goal is to start a business to pay off your house, or buy a car, or even save for college for your child.

30. You’re bored. You’re not really seeking a hobby, and it’s not a mid-life-crisis, but you want something to pass the time. Perhaps you suffered a rough divorce or you lost a loved one. Every day feels so long and you just need to fill the void.

31. "Starting a business can’t possibly be THAT expensive. I’ll just start small."

32. You and your BFF or girlfriend / boyfriend think it sounds fun and easy. Plus you’ll get to be together every single day!  Hell, you already see them every day as it is, might as well make money together!  And you can even split all the profit; hooray!

33. Speaking of boyfriends and girlfriends; you think a business is a way to make you “closer” because the relationship has soured a little over time but this will give you a shared goal.  

34. You love the thought of “EASY”. You would choose an EASY job over a difficult job any day of the week, regardless of what the job is and you realize that owning your own business is absolutely the easiest way to go.

35. “I HATE MY JOB!!!“.  You can't imagine spending another day in that Godforsaken hell hole.  

36. To spend more time with your family

37. Nights and Weekends means NO WORK! You want to be able to disconnect and have a “normal life” during off-hours. No more annoying emails from your boss asking if you can have your work turned in early. UGH!  

38. "Having my own company is the solution to all of my problems!"

39. “I don’t love the product or know anything about it, but other people successfully sell it so why can’t I?”

40. You have burned so many bridges that you don’t even know what to put on a resume.  It seems that the only real answer to your problems is to work for yourself.

41. It would be easier to care for your sick father

42. You saw it on an episode of Shark Tank and it sounds like a great idea. If they can do it, so can you!

43. “This business is VERY basic. All I need is A, B & C and the money will flow in”

44. Your ideas are always the best.  Every place you have ever worked is so foolish for not doing what you suggested.  

45. A TV infomercial convinced you that anyone can do it with ease. After all, how hard can flipping houses possibly be?

46. Because you want to be famous, like Jeff Bezos or Elon Musk. 

47. You just want “to be happy”

48. You’re sick of criticism and people telling you what to do and how to do it

49. You know everything, way more than your boss

50. In fact, you often realize that you know a lot more about everything than almost everyone you meet.

51. You know SO MUCH that it is hard for you to even have friends or relationships because you are far superior to everyone you meet.   You are insanely annoyed by how stupid everyone on earth is.  Nobody ever has anything to offer you that you don't already know.  It's a shame you are stuck dealing with such peons. You hope that one day you will meet someone who actually has some common sense about something. 

52. You don't have many friends. It’s probably because they’re just not on “your level”. Oh well; their loss!  But if you have your own business the people who work for you will have to like you!

53. Sleeping-in sounds AMAZING!! So sick of having an alarm set for 5am!

54. Working for yourself would give you more time for your REAL passions, like art, crafting, nature hikes, going to the gym or dating.

55. You don’t want a stupid boss constantly telling you to focus and get back to work when you’re just trying to check Facebook or do some quick online shopping. Good grief, can’t they back up and give you some space to LIVE?  Don't they realize you can't work every literal second you are there?!  Who cares if a little time is spent blowing off steam during the work day?

56. Your dating profile would look awesome if you can put “Entrepreneur” as your job position

57. You are determined to do this with zero help, because you're a warrior.  You aren't remotely concerned about making connections or having allies.  Networking and allies are a waste of time.  All you need is yourself and a computer to make it happen. 

58. You’re just planning to copy what someone else has done so you can have the identical success because you know very little about the industry. “If Jeff Bezos can have Amazon then I’ll open WhamAZon and be a billionaire too! All I need is a website and some products!”  

59. Because you’re “a fighter!” You love to tell people that you “NEVER SURRENDER!”. You will do this and never, ever quit! You’re going to “Make this work no matter what!".  You even bought a sweatshirt that says "FAILURE IS NOT AN OPTION" and a mug that reads "Hustler".  With this attitude there's no way to go wrong!

60. Having a business will mean you never have to do jobs you don’t like again. If you own the company you can pick the tasks you enjoy and hire-out the bad ones.  

61. You want to change or inspire the world.  Your business is going to change history!

62. Because it’s your “destiny”. You fantasize about the thought of the day you are handed the keys to your first business space lease. You’re going to make it so fancy looking.  Everything will be so much nicer than everyone elses shops. 

63. Your favorite uncle said he would loan you $30,000 to get started because he loves you.  You already told him you would pay it all back within the first year.

64. If you don’t know, you’ll just Google Search the answers or watch a YouTube video. It can’t be that hard.

65. “If I open an online business I won’t have to deal with people”

66. "I don't really need to know everything because I’ll just hire-out whatever I can’t figure out. No big deal!"

67. “I wouldn’t mind working 70 hours a week, every week, for the next 10 years, if it’s for myself but if I work for someone else I’m punching out at 3pm and going to the pub!”

68. It’s hard for you to keep a job because all of them are terrible in every way. No employer has EVER done ANYTHING nice for you because they were all bad.

69. You would be much better off if you didn’t have to put up with coworkers because they’re also all awful

70. Everyone (except you, of course) is lazy and stupid. By starting your own company you will run circles around them!

71. You decided last night that this sounded like a great idea... then your buddy agreed with you, so it must be fate.

72. Because you work for yourself you will be able to see your friends more often

73. Speaking of seeing friends; if you work for yourself you will be able to hang out later because you won’t have to deal with your dreaded boss during a massive hangover on a Wednesday!

74. Since you’re not working for the dreaded “man” you can indulge in whatever floats your boat when you wake up, again at noon or even all day long. Your business, your rules!

75. Friends and family can stop by whenever they want. No more dictatorship hovering over you when it’s your own company. Your business isn’t going to be anything like those terrible companies you used to work for.  This place is going to be a "fun zone". 

76. If your brother really needs a babysitter for your adorable niece you can help out since you work from home. You have always wanted to be able to “do more” for the fam and this is FINALLY your opportunity.

77. You know things are going to go well because it isn’t rocket science. You’re already planning ahead for your success, duh!

78. You find other people's suggestions, advice or criticism to be highly annoying. By having your own company you can eliminate all of that noise.

79. If you can be Top Ranked on Candy Crush Saga, you absolutely can crush at this!

80. Because you want just want to "Be Something Great", "Do Something Great" or "Achieve Something Great"

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