If you want to become a business owner, now is the time to start. Not tomorrow or next week, but today.
So says Emma Greed, self-made billionaire founding partner of Skims, CEO of denim brand Good American, and the first-ever Black female investor judge on ABC’s Shark Tank.
“Here’s the truth: The biggest mistake founders make is waiting until everything feels perfect,” Grede said on the Nov. 4 episode of the Aspire podcast. “I’ve started several times in my life, both successful and failed, and in coaching and investing in countless ideas and founders, I’ve learned that most people fail because they overcomplicate the process.”
In fact, 62% of Americans want to be their own boss someday, according to a 2024 Gallup poll. Survey respondents who said they had seriously considered starting a business cited finances, lack of business knowledge, and “lack of confidence that the business would be successful” as the biggest challenges they expected to face as an entrepreneur.
But entrepreneurship comes with risks, which should at least not deter you from working on your business plan, Grede says.
“We all have bills to pay, we all have people who depend on us, like children, parents, significant others. That’s a reality. But the truth is, taking risks is actually part of starting a company,” Greed said. “Risk is not something that can be removed. Risk is something that needs to be planned for.”
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Entrepreneurship is full of examples of companies founded in imperfect circumstances. Steve Jobs dropped out of college and started Apple in his garage. Jensen Huang had “no idea” how to start NVIDIA when he co-founded the AI company in a Denny’s breakfast bar, he told CBS’ “60 Minutes” in April 2024.
For those who are risk-averse, starting a company can be difficult, especially if you know your business model isn’t perfect yet, Greed says. Her advice: “Reframe your concept of risk before your heart starts pounding about whatever barriers make it difficult to realize your dreams.”
Specifically, try to think of risk as a calculated action that provides a learning opportunity, says Greed. If a risk doesn’t work out, she said, you can create a new plan of action based on your real-world experience and “refine your approach” from there.
Jeff Bezos championed the concept of calculated risk on a December 2023 episode of “The Lex Fridman Podcast,” calling it a “one-way door (or) a two-way door.” Bezos said the risks of two-way doors are easier to take because they are reversible, and “you can come back and choose a different door.” However, the risk of one-way doors cannot be recovered without challenges.
“Once you walk in that door, you’re never coming back,” Bezos said. “Those decisions have to be made very carefully, very carefully.”
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