Entrepreneurship is undoubtedly the most high risk realm of business. The amount of dedication and time entrepreneurs put into business ideas is often far more than any employee. They often stake their entire worth on ideas, making the risks even higher. Despite all the effort, so many start-ups end up failing.

Entrepreneurship interests me, and my mom happens to be a successful entrepreneur herself. As such, I have done some reading into strategies entrepreneurs can implement to avoid failure. I came across Martin Zwilling’s blog titled: Ten Ways Entrepreneurs Fail Their Way To The Top.

Many of his points I agree with, and from watching my mom start her own business could support with real life examples. Tips such as “Never rely on a verbal agreement in business” and “Never count on someone who offers to work for free” are extremely legitimate. However, Martin’s number one point was “Don’t spend money you don’t have in the bank”. This was the only tip I questioned. I just don’t see this as possible for almost any start-up situation. First-time entrepreneurs almost never have the required funds to get their business off the ground. I personally think that it is a far better idea to leverage money; using loans and credit is usually the only way business owner’s are able to make any progress. As the old saying goes, ‘It takes money to make money’, and if entrepreneurs always made sure they were in the green, I guarantee there would be a lot less progress. Sure it adds risk, but ultimately that is the name of the game in the industry.

Please feel free to comment or respond, offering your view on this point.