A few weeks ago, FareHarbor’s Chief Commercial Officer and I hosted an AMA on reddit. We proposed that participants ask any question, and we would answer. While some of the questions were about particular business ideas, many revolved around general themes. Over the next few weeks, I’ll be tackling a few of the most popular questions.

“I have so many ideas to start a business. How do I know if an idea is the business I should start?”

Starting a business is very much like falling in love. If you’ve ever been in love, this concept has probably already registered. One of my biggest challenges in starting a business was that I could never seem to settle on just one idea to be my “next big thing.” Looking back on my first business, a crouton company, not even the investment of my entire personal savings could keep me from searching for other ideas. Probably not a good sign.

How does this relate to love? Well, for me, dating always feels like an experiment, where I’m allowed to just test things out. But once I fall in love, it becomes a healthy obsession.

In his book, Modern Romance, Aziz Ansari’s description of today’s “Tinder” world perfectly depicts many first time entrepreneur’s fear of commitment. A good number of couples make it to date three before at least one of the daters has checked out. They’ve already lined up dinner and drinks with another match, one they think will make a better, more perfect partner. And so, their current relationship is put on the back burner, left to quickly die.

This “Tinder” world is all too similar to most people’s experience in starting a business. They’ll launch an idea to see if it’s something they might enjoy or find success with, but never stop fearing that their next idea could be a bigger winner. By launch day, they already have a foot out the door. The minute they catch a glimpse of the next big thing, or collide with their first big hurdle, they back burner their current business and launch the next.

But not owning a business isn’t the same thing as being single. Your grandmother will never remind you that you aren’t a business owner.

This is where the concept of love is so important. Love most often means exclusivity and true commitment. People that are in love aren’t fielding dates from potential partners. They’re committed, they’re decided and they’ll fight through any rough patch to stay together. You should only start a business if you’re totally in love with an idea. Launching an idea just because you like the sound of being an entrepreneur will never get you far.

While there are plenty of ways to start a business without making large personal or financial commitments, there’s no shortcut around giving your all. You have to be fully committed if you want to succeed. So how do you know if you’re ready to stop dating an idea and turn it into a real life project? Make sure you’ve researched the market, evaluated all potential competitors, and done a good amount of cost modeling. But most importantly, make sure you’re head over heels in love with your idea! Never been in love? Well, you’ll know…