When should one start a business?

Aspiring entrepreneurs should start their business within 18 to 36 months, regardless of the “idea.” Business forecasting accuracy drops tremendously beyond 2 to 3 years. In addition, new businesses need real customers to develop working business models. During the 18 to 36 months, one can: 1) clarify, sell, and acquire skills for the vision, 2) prepare one’s nerves and affairs, and 3) build up sufficient full-time runway of 6 to 12 months. Using a sample estimate of $1k/month for living and business costs, each, the sum required is $12k to $24k, or, saving $666/month. Requiring a minimum wait period de-risks the chance of an impulse, unclear decision. Similarly, defining a maximum wait prevents stagnation and failure by default. Every moment only happens once, as time is perfectly inelastic. Thus, aspiring entrepreneurs must learn to function like a business: setting clear, time-bound goals and ignoring everything else to achieving them.