It’s official. No less an authority than Forbes says so. The best time to start your business is in a recession.

They list ten compelling reasons: people need to save money in a recession; existing companies are vulnerable; things are cheaper; good people are looking for work – and so on.

And it looks like they’re right. The Telegraph recently reported on the insurer, Hiscox, and their DNA of an Entrepreneur survey. More than 3,500 business owners across the UK, Europe and the US shared their results: 49 per cent of businesses started in the recession reported a rise in profits over the past 12 months, compared with 42 per cent of older firms. In the UK the gap was even wider – 49 per cent compared to only 40 per cent of older firms.

So both the anecdotal evidence and the analytical evidence are compelling: if you’re thinking of starting a business you’d better wait for the next recession. Obviously there’s a problem in that none of us are sure when that’s going to be, but you’ll just have to learn to be patient.

Or maybe that’s complete nonsense.

Because according to a recent article in Entrepreneur magazine, the best time to start your business is… right now! And what do you know? They list a series of equally compelling reasons: the economy is bouncing back; credit is becoming more easily available – and it’s backed by new sources of funding like Kickstarter; technology is levelling the playing field between new and established businesses…

What are you waiting for? Get out there and start something! Expand your existing business – this afternoon if you’ve any sense.

Or maybe they’re both wrong.

Let me ask a simple question: what’s the best time to have children? Logic dictates that it’s when you’re starting to feel financially secure; when you’ve got a house that’s big enough; definitely when there aren’t likely to be any disruptions in your professional or personal life. Oh – and obviously when you’ve moved into the catchment area for a good school, and being close to one or both sets of parents would be handy for babysitting as well…

Well, we didn’t tick those boxes. I’m not sure I know anyone who did. You have children when it feels right.

And that’s how it is with starting your own business. When you know that you simply have to do it or you’ll regret it for the rest of your life. When you’re sitting in the motorway service station two hundred miles from the people you love with someone else dictating how you spend your time and your life – and you know it has to change.

Expanding your existing business or making that leap of faith and taking on new people are exactly the same. The best time to do it is when it feels right: when there’s an opportunity you simply can’t ignore.