Do you really understand what it takes to be an entrepreneur? So many people want to launch startups, thinking it is a way to be your own boss and get rich.

Understandably, this is partly because the media profiles those startups being acquired for ridiculous amounts of money and we see founders’ successes in every business magazine and website.

What we don’t see is the tens of thousands of daily failures and the absolute misery behind them. Would-be entrepreneurs lose their houses, cars, life savings and even their lives. Because those stories don’t make it to the business magazines and self-help books, this article lists 10 reasons for not launching a startup. If any of them apply to you, you may want to reconsider your plan.

1. You Only Want Money

People often launch startups because they think it is a magic ticket to becoming rich and successful. If you’re launching a new startup, the reality is you’ll probably go without pay for months at a time and probably won’t be making an actual profit for quite a while. Maybe years. There is no get-rich-quick method for the majority of startups. You will need to want more than money, because the odds are you won’t be making it for some time.

In fact, you should always have an additional source of income to carry yourself through while building a startup.

2. You Aren’t Mentally Prepared

The stress, time and absolute drain on you creating a startup are enough to drive you away from the entrepreneur life altogether. It is tough out there and it can drive you nuts. The pressure of succeeding is hard on anyone, especially as the debt you have incurred in the launch starts piling up and lenders start wanting their money back. If you aren’t tough mentally, you will not last.

Honestly, you need to understand that being an entrepreneur is a different mentality than being a salaried worker.

3. You’re Not Willing To Put Up Your Own Cash

If you aren’t willing to spend your own money to at least get your company started, you are basically saying you don’t trust yourself or your idea. You shouldn’t be seeking investors from the get-go without at least doing some groundwork. With all of the free or low-cost technology available today, there is absolutely no reason you can’t get the ball rolling with your resources.

If you are too cheap to invest in yourself, don’t expect anyone else to either.

4. You Are Not A Risk Taker

One of the main traits of a true entrepreneur is being a risk taker. If you need to play it safe, and you are not willing to accept worst-case scenarios for a life-changing gain, then you do not have what it takes to be an entrepreneur. That doesn’t mean you don’t need common sense and an understanding of risk and how to minimize it. It means though that there is an element of being a gambler in order to succeed.

That is just the reality.

5. You’re Scared To Hear “No”

No. Get used to hearing that word when you ask for meetings, loans, opportunities and just about everything else as a startup. You are basically trying to engage people who may not care who you are or what you’re trying to sell. If you can’t handle let down after let down, and hearing more “no” than “yes” then the startup life isn’t for you.

It may take years before anyone pays attention to you and it isn’t for those who take rejection personally.

6. You Lie To Yourself

If you think for a second that you are the best of the best with the most innovative and original startup in history … you’re not. If you’re not honest with yourself, you won’t make it. Telling yourself, and others (probably on social media), you are the next Elon Musk only clouds your judgement. That will likely lead you to spend money that you need for your product on pretending to be successful, and you will spend most of your time living a lie.

7. You Aren’t Willing To Work

I wish we could all get paid for sitting around and doing nothing, but that just isn’t the case and success doesn’t come to lazy people. A lot of Singapore startup founders often accomplish very little because they have ideas but no work ethic or simply don’t know where to start. A startup demands around-the-clock attention and a lot of hard work behind it.

8. You Get Overwhelmed Easily

If you are easily overwhelmed and can’t make decisions then you can’t succeed as a startup founder. It is a high-pressure environment and you’ll need to make critical decisions, often without a lot of time to think about them. You’ll often need to do more than one task at a time and probably do the job of three people that you can’t afford to hire in the beginning.

9. You’re Too Emotional

Emotions have no place in business. They have no place in startups. If you’re an emotional person, your judgement may be clouded and you may not focus on solutions. This can lead to the wrong choices that will damage your startup. If you can’t handle criticism, rude customers, trolls, rival businesses, tough negotiation and so on, then you will collapse – and you will probably take your failure pretty badly.

10. You Expect Instant Results

The only instant result you should be prepared for is failure. You will most likely not achieve success for a long time after launching. Years of hard work and dedication is what makes a business a business, and nothing comes quick and easy, so don’t expect it to.

If you’re expecting to get rich overnight, you won’t. You may not even last a year, so slow down and take your time.

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