When is the right time to start your business?

Ah, it’s that time of the year again – appraisals! You get copies documents to be self-assessed by you and the management also receives the same copy of it to assess your performance. There are columns mentioning your achievements and involvement in various projects, followed by five columns, each of which arrives as a trap by itself. Rate yourself 3 and the management will question your self-esteem. Give yourself 5 and they will mock your over confidence. So, you finally zero in on 4 and leave everything else to God. The day finally comes and you sit there for the appraisal, which rather appears like a counseling session on your career. Your efforts are neither acknowledged nor appreciated and you come out feeling frustrated.

It’s at that time that this thought comes into your mind – is it all worth it? Am I investing my time and energy for futile purposes? Don’t I deserve something better? Well, the answer is simple – you deserve only the best things in the world. What you’re doing is restricting your capabilities to just five when you’re efficient of achieving more. And when you wait for the salary to get credited to your account, you’re bombed with another shock – a hike percentage that will get you confused between getting an Audi or a BMW! Seriously?

While the tension of not getting what you deserve haunts you, the frustration of an undeserving workplace neighbor getting all the good things adds to it. Let me just remind you that you are beyond that cubicle you’re sitting in. Your aspirations are higher than the corporate floors you climb every day. Do not settle for what you have. Start that business or develop that product you’ve been dreaming about for long. If entrepreneurship feels like risk, pushing each day into oblivion is worse. Do not think too much. Hesitation is valid but not taking charge of your life isn’t.

If you’re someone who just got hammered during this appraisal season, think of the next year. You have 365 days more with you. Are you going to make every day count from now and reach newer heights or just keep being mediocre, doing the routine tasks and expect a 5-star rating in the coming year too? You now have two roads ahead of you. You can either hustle and elevate your lifestyle or just be contented and keep juggling between client feedback and management expectations.

What are you going to do?