FEAR OF STARTING A BUSINESS
When people think about starting a business, a number of perceptions come to mind. Freedom to do my own thing, freedom of owning my time, no more crazy bosses, being broke, losing my assets, changing my lifestyle, failure and the list goes on and on. We have been fed by the media, people we know who ventured into business, people who know other people and it seems like this very overwhelming experience.
I have worked with numerous entrepreneurs. All these perceptions are true, entrepreneurs have experienced all of the above in one way or another. And yet they are still in it. They still do it, they still push forward. There is something so incredible about living your dreams and fulfilling your destiny.
Don’t get me wrong, not everyone is cut out for this. It isn’t going to be everyone’s cup of tea. However, if you have a burning desire to do something that you know could make a real change, could impact lives, change the way we do things, make things better and could transform you, then you definitely have something worth pursuing.
The challenge is, we know too many horror stories that make it really hard to take the plunge. It is really uncomfortable putting ourselves in these uncertain ventures. We start to create excuses for ourselves to justify our inability to act. If you are holding back on doing something for yourself, then these excuses will be very familiar to you.
- My idea isn’t good enough
We are always waiting for the next great thing! The next new innovation. That word, innovation has made us believe that innovation means a new product, a new invention.
That is a misconception. To innovate is to do things differently. You have to find a way to do something faster, better, cheaper, whatever it is, just do it differently and tell everyone that is why your product or service is better, you did it differently. Some of the most successful companies are based on refining earlier ideas and innovations.
- I’m too scared?
I’m sorry to tell you this, you will never stop being afraid. We are not psychopaths, of course we have fears. Fears guide us, but they can also cripple us and hold us back. Don’t try and kill your fears, they will just be replaced with other fears and you will be in a constant battle with yourself.
The point is to act in spite of our fears. Acknowledge your fears and act anyway because our actions are the only things we can control, not the what ifs.
- I’m not good enough – don’t have the right skills, contacts etc.
You don’t need a degree to become an entrepreneur, as evidenced by numerous and successful entrepreneurs such as Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Richard Branson, Ray Kroc, Coco Chanel … etc.
Whatever we need is always within reach. To do your job well, you had to learn a skill. To run a household, you had to learn a skill. There is absolutely nothing that you do today that you didn’t have to learn to do at some point in your life. If you need to learn a skill, you can find someone who can teach you that skill. Read, intern, volunteer, do something! We learn by doing, so get up and start learning. The more you do it, the better you become and the better you become, the more attractive you become to other people and that is when you start building the right contacts to help you do more of it. Just do it!
- I need funding to start.
As an ex-financier, this was something I heard just too many times. “I can’t do anything without money first.”
I can assure you that you are unlikely to get funding if you have nothing to show for it. Money is attracted to money, to success. If you can’t show that you are willing to do whatever it takes to show a financier how great your product is or how great it can be, then you are not worth the investment.
To be an entrepreneur, you need to master the art of making the most of what you have. Start small to prove that your product or service can work, that will at least show the funder potential and then you will see the money come rolling in.
- I don’t have the time.
Really? The truth my friend is that you don’t know how to prioritise. You have made a choice as to how you want to spend your time. You choose to do the things you do with your time. If you want to find more time, then you are going to need to start prioritising.
- I don’t know what business to start
This is a big one for most people. Whenever I host workshops on starting a business, this questions seems to come up a lot. Which business should I start? Where am I likely to be most successful?
My advice, choose something you love, something you are committed to, something that you would do even if you weren’t paid to do it. That is always the best business because you will do it even when times are tough.
- It’s too risky.
As an entrepreneur, I can only say to you, if it weren’t risky, it would be boring and that just isn’t worth it. This is an uncertain journey, you just need to trust that you have the grit and the belief that you can recover from anything life throws at you.
- I need everything to be ready before I do it
One of my favourite lessons was given to me by T Harv Eker when he said “Sloppy success is better than perfect mediocrity.” I had my “aha” moment just then because I realised I was waiting for things to be perfect before I could make my move. Now I understand that perfection is only achieved by doing, because as you do more, you do better. You can never achieve perfection waiting to offer your product or service. The market determines that. So you need to have a version of your product or service that is good enough for the market to test and give you solid feedback and then you keep perfecting it. There is no successful entrepreneur that I know of that started out with absolute perfection, each one of them had to learn by doing and that is just the way it works. So don’t sit on it because it isn’t perfect. Remember, sloppy success!
- It will be too embarrassing if I fail.
Failure can be really embarrassing. I mean cringe worthy stuff. When you just want to jump into a hole and bury yourself because you can’t stop cringing whenever you relive that embarrassing moment.
From every failure though, I have learned great things about myself. For me, failure has become my greatest asset, because failure is feedback. I wouldn’t know as much as I do if it weren’t for all my failure. So keep failing, keep learning and keep growing, it only makes you more great.
I wish to leave you with this last thought:
We have to be willing to live the lives we wish to live. We have to be willing to fail, to succeed, to learn, and to grow. We have to be willing to make tough decisions and to step out of our comfort zones.
Ask yourself – could I live my entire life never knowing what could have been?
Take action and live!
Written by Palesa Mabidilala
CEO of EnziAfrica