Our aspirations change as we get older and gain more independence and insight into how the world actually works. When we were kids, we dreamt big. As we hit our late teens and early 20s, we may have settled into careers we didn’t like. But then came the breaking point, and for those who have started their own businesses, you know how important it is in the beginning to consider whether or not you’re ready for everything an entrepreneur’s life encompasses. You need to weigh your options deliberately and figure out if it’s the right time to fully embrace a life on the go.

You need to answer some serious questions in order to gain insight into what matters most in the world of the small-business owner. You need to consider what impact you plan on having, what problem your product or service will solve, whether or not your product will age out of the market, who or what your support system is, where you are financially, and who you trust to help you along the way. By reckoning with these pillars of business, your dream will start to become more and more viable until finally, you’re able to apply all you’ve learned to one last question: “Am I really ready?” Only then will you see your business for what it is and could be.

Entrepreneurs are constantly creating and revising plans and adapting to their surroundings. You need to be both fluid and rigid as you stand up against the obstacles that stand between your ideas and your ultimate vision of success. The fact remains that anything worth doing is worth doing right. At a certain point, there’s no turning back.