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Are you running your own business? If so, why?

It’s a serious question, especially if you’re just getting started or just about to.

It’s a serious question because when, not if, but when you encounter difficulties with your business, your reasons for getting started in the first place will be part of what keeps you going.

For me it wasn’t as much about why I started my business as why I took voluntary redundancy from my previous one.

I used to work for the Liverpool Echo and for much of the time I really enjoyed it. I was a reasonably senior figure and my departure came as a shock to my bosses.

I didn’t leave to start my business – that came later – but I did leave because the job was having a hugely negative effect on my family and anybody who knows me knows that I simply won’t stand for that.

When I started going back to the Echo to do occasional shifts it was easy to wonder if I’d made a huge mistake, if going back meant my business was failing.

It didn’t and my business wasn’t. Fact is, I love being a journalist and going back enables me to do that without the late shifts, weekend working and constant concerns about compulsory redundancy that are every journalist’s lot.

When I allowed myself to think my business might be failing, I was falling into the age old trap of seeing the grass as always being greener on the other side.

If your business is struggling, try to remember how you felt before you started it and how far you’ve come. Speak to friends, family and other business owners and ask for their advice before making any big decisions.

If you’re thinking of getting into business, write down all the reasons you have for doing it, and how you’re feeling about your current situation, and make several copies. It might not be the worst idea to pin up a list of”reasons I’m starting my business” up on your office wall to refer to in times of need.

As is often the case, the most important rule of all is the simplest, too. Don’t give up.