The sad fact is that many more people attempt entrepreneurship than should (take into account that 90% of new business starts fail in the first several years and you have almost as good of odds of being accepted to Mensa).

How do you know if you were meant to be an entrepreneur? If you want to be a successful entrepreneur you need to have a fire in your belly. Therefore, Carol Roth has created the FIRED-UP® entrepreneur assessment to see if entrepreneurship is a good fit for you.

Are you FIRED-UP®? Get started on evaluating if entrepreneurship is a good fit for you right now:

FINANCES - Capital is critical for any entrepreneurial venture, whether you are starting, franchising or buying a business. Do you have significant personal debt? If so, you may get a better return on your money (and not lose as many sleepless nights) if you take care of your personal finances prior to going down the entrepreneurial route. Additionally, businesses require capital. Because undercapitalizing a business is one of the leading causes of business failure, your business has to have enough capital to sustain it for at least two years (and by the way, whatever capital you think you need, you should probably increase your estimate by at least 50-100% as it almost always costs more than you think). If you don’t personally have the capital, do you have access to it, whether through equity investors or bank debt? If your finances are in order, you have passed the first part of the assessment.

INSPIRATION - What is your inspiration or motivation for being an entrepreneur? This is one of the easiest tests to fail, as so many would-be entrepreneurs go into business for the wrong reasons. Do you think you will make more money? Unless you are one of the very few with a highly specialized business opportunity, this may not pan out for you long-term and definitely won’t be the case in the short-run. The greater majority of business owners, given the amount of time they spend on the business, do not make more money than they would by doing a similar task for someone else. Do you want the freedom of being your own boss? Owning is a business does not equal freedom- the business becomes your boss and you have to answer to it (and be responsible for it) every hour of every day. At least with most jobs you can leave it behind you when you go home for the night. How about seeking more free time? That would be a big “no”, unless you plan to just do something part time, but you could just as easily take a part-time job with less headaches. Doing more of the work you love? That’s a big “nope” too, as you have to spend more time doing “running the business” tasks and less time doing the work that brings you joy. And the biggest entrepreneurial killer is the “I have this great idea that I just can’t shake” syndrome. A lot of entrepreneurs and would-be entrepreneurs I have met over the years have something they want to put out there to make their mark on the world. This is particularly the case with creative people. The reality is that although there are some situations where what someone wants to do matches up with what customers want, customers drive your business. So, unless your great idea happens to be born out of a serious customer need and desire, you may be forced to pursue your idea as a hobby, rather than a business endeavor. If your inspiration is a really a market need that you feel passionate about, if you enjoy the challenge of running a business and relish the opportunity to wear many hats and create strategy and plans for your businesses future, if you want the pride of ownership despite its challenges, if you are seeking to build equity in something you have some control over or have similar motivations, then you are free to move on to the next part of the assessment.

RESPONSIBILITIES - You may be inspired and motivated for the right reasons and have the financial wherewithal to finance your new venture, but who else may be affected by your choice? Ask yourself, “Who am I responsible for”? If you have young children, mortgaging your house to the hilt and gambling their college funds on a business endeavor may be an incredibly risky choice (and when I say risky, I mean bad). It is also about your free time. If you are a single parent and need to take care of children (pick them up from school, take them to activities, spend actual time with them), then you may not have the ability to prioritize your business as you have the responsibility of caring for your children. If you have others that depend on you, you need to think long and hard about your financial and personal responsibilities before quitting your day job.

EXPERIENCE - Owning and running a business is hard work which requires managing multiple tasks, some of which you will have to learn for the first time. While there are always exceptions, as a rule, most college graduates do not immediately run businesses because they lack relevant business experience. One of the best ways you can prepare yourself to run a business is by working in other people’s businesses. You can learn both what to do and- arguably more importantly- what not to do. You can review other managers’ styles, evaluate the various components of the business and learn important hard skills (from accounting to sales and marketing, operations and more). It is not all about age- I have a very famous client who is 26 and highly successful, but he has been working in his industry (and related ones) since he was 16. I also know many 40-somethings who have about as much relevant business experience as a goldfish does.

Also, if you are buying a business, make sure that the business fits with your core competencies in terms of skills. You can learn an industry if you are motivated, but if you have spent your career in a bakery, buying a biotechnology business is probably not advisable.

So, ask yourself if you have gained enough relevant experience to help you prepare to run a business. If not, why not take a few years to work for some businesses and people you want to learn from before going solo?

DEDICATION and UNBRIDLED PASSION - If you haven’t stumbled over the four previous points, the last metric for entrepreneurship is your dedication and unbridled passion towards becoming a business owner. In layman’s terms, are you up for the challenge? Is the business going to be your number one priority or do you have other things (like family, free-time, having six-pack abs) that are more important to you? You need to know your priorities and that you can put your business first. If you aren’t bubbling with enthusiasm, nobody else will bubble either.

Still not sure if you are an entrepreneurial fit? Submit your information here and if you are chosen, Carol Roth will do a free FIRED-UP® entrepreneur assessment with you!