Is it a good idea to start a business in the army?

You know, one of the unintended side effects of being a Career Counselor is that you hear so much bullshit that you learn to smell it immediately.

You are not a candidate for an entrepreneur. Civilian life is kicking your butt, you have no chance at this stage of your life of starting a business. You can't handle your own self, how are you going to handle employees and a business?

This is like listening to someone say that don't want to join a specific college sports team because they have a lower chance of making it to a professional league. You're not in pro league shape right now. If you aren't crushing it in civilian life right now, you're not launching a business either. The Active Duty Army isn't holding you back from starting a business, you are. If this was something you wanted you would be on it, not looking for other people to give you excuses about why you never started

SPC (Join to see) You didn't say what kind of business. My opinion, it will be hard to be active duty and run a successful business. But as they say, "Nothing ventured, nothing gained!"

Starting your own small business typically involves needing to dedicate 80 hours a week to it for the first couple of years.
It's tough enough to get command concurrence and have the time pull off a part time job at 15-20 hours a week on active duty. I doubt you would find the time to successfully start a small business on active duty.
Many people are able to start a small business while in the Guard or Reserves, the Reserves being easier with no state activations. And Tricare Reserve Select is the most affordable health care option for the self-employed.