Can I get into business directly or do I need to take 1-2 year corporate experience first to make it a success? (Read description for details)

[Kewal]

My background: I'm currently in the final year of my college and will graduate in May 2024. I pursue B-Tech in Information Technology and also specialize in Computer Vision and Generative AI. My family has a business of selling CCTV cameras, security systems and providing its installation and further services to the customers.

Now, here are the things I'm really confused about:
1. Should I work a job in the IT field for 1.5 to 2 years befor getting into business, in order to gain corporate experience first because I currently don't have any work related experience
2. Or can I directly get into the business with my family and help to expand it further
3. Can this business be converted into a money tree? I want views of people on this.
So basically we not exactly retailers but can be considered somewhat like it, we take security devices from wholesallers or direct producers and sell it to customers, install it on their factory/site/shop/house and then provide its periodic service in case of defect or failure. Our main earning happens in the first time selling and installation, as follow up service is rairly required before 2 to 3 years of installation. As of now, our business caters to customers of about 3 states.
Currently we only deal in hardware products but I want to expand our revenue by a. getting into the software aspects of the domain of security systems and thus increase our reach to customers, b. marketing and advertising our business as currently it is just word of mouth, c. setting up offices at newer locations

I would appreciate insightful discussions on this problem and thanks in advance for the help

 

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[Stargazer]

I would do option 2 (3 goes with 2 anyway)

Start in your family business. Get to know it and the customers inside out and then instigate your ideas.

Dan

 

[Maxkaz]

Path 1 does not give you any benefits. And it contains 2 downsides.

First, as a coq in a machine, you might be discouraged from building your own business by sheer size of an institution. You will sit at your desk, in your cubicle and tremble by size and complexity of an organization around you, not knowing how to build smth similar. The thing is you don`t and should start much simpler, but that idea will elude you. In the end you might come to a conclusion that building a business is more than you can handle.

Secondly, IT field is quite rich in salaries. And the sad truth is whether we want it or not, we usually start to live up to our salary no matter our levels of discipline. And it will be MUCH harder to quit such a high-paying job for an uncertainty of business with all the associated mortgages, life-style and credit payments than to start right away when you are a blank sheet and low on needs. In my personal story I transitioned from work to business once my side-hustle started to bring the same as work, but the thing is that the bar was very low. If I had a high-paying job - I`d still be killing myself in the side-hustles trying to make it to that level.