The uncertainty of entrepreneurship causes many entrepreneurs to put off starting their business. For others, losing a job or other economic hardships push them starting their businesses earlier than expected. In our conversations with thousands of entrepreneurs we’ve seen so much variety in when, how and why people started their business and so we wanted to share a wide variety of views and reflections on the question of whether these folks wished they had started sooner or waited longer before starting their businesses.

Atl Ant

If I could go back in time I would’ve began my car rental business and partnered with Turo! Car renting is such a lucrative business and having multiple ongoing residual incomes is the best way to live life. My life would’ve been different and I would’ve quit my job a long time ago. I wish to build my own team of professionals who take this game seriously and want to serve their community and people from out of state. I love what I do. Read more>>

Aaliyyah Dyani

I embarked on my entrepreneurial journey in the summer of 2019, filled with excitement and ambition. However, after a year, I made the difficult decision to close my business when I realized that the gap I aimed to fill existed for a reason. This experience taught me the importance of thorough research, which has since become a foundation for all my future ventures. Read more>>

Paige Figueroa

There is a part of me that wishes I had started my business sooner (it certainly would have made certain aspects of entrepreneurship a lot easier, and I would probably be “farther along” than I am now). At the same time, there’s an overwhelming part of me that believes that I needed to go through the experiences I went through before starting my business because they now allow me to serve my current clients in a more meaningful way. Read more>>

Cory Tapia

I shot my first wedding in 2006. At the time I did not realize that it was my first of many–I had never shot a wedding before or even attended one, had no idea how to charge for my services, no idea even how to really capture them. I just jumped in with both feet. My area of expertise was more in the animation/production side of things, so I still really didn’t invest my time in weddings until a bit later. I received a job offer through SPEED Channel in Charlotte, NC (Now FS1) and moved down to North Carolina in the winter of 2007, where I worked for about 4 years while also working different gigs on the side that were more motion graphics based. Read more>>

Haizel Mcintyre

Reflecting on my journey, I vividly recall a moment at my dining table, immersed in my business work, when my son walked in. I shared my latest accomplishment with him, my excitement palpable. He congratulated me and then said, “Of course you did, ma. You should have started doing this a long time ago.” His words hit me like a ton of bricks, not in a negative way, but as a moment of deep reflection. It wasn’t the first time I’d heard something similar. Read more>>

Luis Andarcia

Yes, I would have liked to focus on my business earlier. I’ve been a USA Triathlon Coach since 2009, but only in the past 2 years I started to lean into it focusing on making it my main source of income. I became a Personal Trainer in 2007 and have had that as my main job since then, giving more importance to it. Starting sooner as a Triathlon Coach would have given me the opportunity to be in a different position right now. At the moment I want to grow the Team APX, make it a global brand. Where I can coach athletes worldwide, in different time zones. That’s where I want to be. Read more>>