How Did You Overcome The Fear Of Starting A Business?

[feedcare 0]

Hello, Everyone. I've been wanting to start up my own business for years and finally decided to take the plunge. I filed a resignation letter to the current company I'm connected with. However, the more I research, the more overwhelmed I get! I begin to see all the risks and I start finding myself backing out of my plan. I have always known that starting a business is risky. However, now more than ever, I find myself obsessing over the risks and getting overwhelmed by all the things I need to consider (e.g., should i sell online?, apparel or accessories?, etc). I have always wanted to open online store but given all the competition around me, I feel as though I'd do better selling something less risky if I go online. And, soon, my mind starts to spin out of control!I know in my heart I want my own business but I am just terrified. Financially, it's a huge risk. Has anyone else gone through this emotional rollercoaster? If so, can you please share how you overcame your fear? And, has anyone ever backed out of a plan and NOT regretted it? I am trying to figure out how to tell when it's right to back out versus move forward (though, like I said, in my heart I know I want this).And, does anyone have advice on how I can tackle all the questions surrounding the type of business to have, whether to go online or get a physical store, etc? Thanks so much, everyone!

[jamers 0]

Well, you are not alone. I think it's good to have such emotions because it is a constant reminder that you must push on. I have started 2 businesses since adulthood (not counting lemonade stand and selling home made ordnance and sling shots to the local kids). Boy, there were plenty of broken windows in the neighborhood that summer!

 

First thing, never quit your day job until you have a business plan or at least a nest egg to sit on while you plan.

 

For some, trial by fire works best. Also known in corporate environments as being thrown to the sharks. Here's a work order now go to it and call if you need help. This, on the first day of work really sets the pace. For others there is a need to have maximum security blankets in place before starting a venture. This can include:

having little or no overhead

already having a client base (depending on what your business is - hair cutting vs. web design)

having a backup plan in case plan A proves fruitless (brother in law promise to hire you part time if needed to pad the wallet)

have agreements from prospective partners before starting business (watch e-Dreams released in 2001 about Kozmo)

augment your income by having multiple revenue streams (this is my favorite and I allow this to make decisions for me)

If I had to decide if something was good for the business or not I would consider the alternate revenue streams. If there were none then it was a bad idea. If there were 2 then I was interested but not convinced until I saw 3 then I was "in like flint".

 

Multiple revenue streams is so important I feel the need to elaborate on this by stating an example. My first business was started with a partner and involved what we called "internet business developments". This was around 1999 when everyone was hot to get a website and many folks really didn't know why they needed one or what it could really do for them. This is where we would start educating clients to the point they started to understand the power of the internet and the many ways they could profit by introducing multiple revenue streams to their business. Now most of what I would call competition at the time was not really such in that the frenzy to create websites and grab money totally overlooked all chances of repeat business and alternate revenue streams not only for clients but also for the developers. One example of this is how your website can capitalize on traffic even if you are not selling anything. Search engines do not sell anything to users, they are free service providers who have such massive volumes of traffic they can sell ad space to just about anyone.

 

Thinking about how Corel started as nothing more than a CD with loads of images on it... we had created a website which offered ready made "buttons" for use on websites so users who were graphically challenged could just download them and stick them on their site for free. It was the largest site "of it's kind" in the world - ButtonMe.com with over 100,000 images and growing at the rate of approximately 14,000 images every other day thanks to my developing a macro which automated production not only of the images but also the HTML and zip files sending them by ftp to the server overnight as we slept. It was a marvel to watch this thing go - 14 hours it took to complete running on a 486 or Pentium I don't remember. Had we not already rented office space I would have taken the company in this direction and forget about web consulting! (the buttonme project was started as a hobby only)

 

We built it and they came. They came in droves! I was shocked at how well we did in the standings of Goolge and AltaVista and without even trying. I mean we didn't do anything aside from a few keywords and a robots tag and we were up to 10,000 unique visitors each month. So with some effort it could have been huge. So many places were linking to us that even today, almost 6 years after the domain name expired there are still sites out there that have a link to that name! Wow. Only so much time in a day though and we were spellbound by the money of online gaming.

 

Our mistake was to put all our eggs in one basket. We took on a silent partner who funded an internet gambling project that was supposed to start with bingo and move on from there using modular development of a game engine. We had his word (this was a friend of my partner) that he would pay what it required to get the job done rather than work within the confines of a budget. We had put all our time and effort into this project and thus did not have any government contracts to fall back on. In Ottawa, most successful design firms have govt. contracts and once you're in you pretty much have it made. Anyway we had done our research and discovered that most internet gaming sites were running the same back end. Hmmm, a red flag went up in my head. Rather than buy or rent a license to use someone else's engine we decided to make our own. This would allow us to resell our engine once it was proven and we would have one alternate revenue stream which we would not have to share with the silent partner!!! Bonus. Well my partner interviewed several programmers and we picked one out of work immigrant from Poland with a pregnant wife who looked at our back end model and said he could do it in 6 months for 60,000. Sold! At the time game engines were being leased for 75,000 per year and up so it was an easy decision. We went to the money man to ask for salary and he proposed to give us 2 weeks of the programmers salary. I said no, we can't be coming to you every 2 weeks for a cheque for this guy! I wanted to secure the pay for the programmer and the partner started to balk at this and then he started with the legal fears saying it was illegal to have ANY part in online gambling in Canada. Even though we had planned to locate the servers in Antigua and Barbuda due to the favorable regulations and offshore policies the government had at that time. So he dropped the bomb and pulled out just like that and we were left holding a basket of eggs.

 

Back into high tech I went but never was satisfied with the prospects though I was always in demand and earned good money. So I recently became fed up with the corporate rat race and started to work as a freelance graphic designer and web developer from the comfort of my own home (second business). I'm very happy now even though it's hard to make ends meet. Between small projects designing logos and such I am planning an online venture in which I will put to use some of my internet know how and that is where the real fruits are.

 

 

If you want a bricks and mortar type business then figure out how to create alternate revenue streams using the internet. You may change your mind once you see the possibilities out there.

 

good luck

James Poirier

[feedcare 0]

Hi James,

Thanks for the encouragements and inspirations.

 

Well, I'm also passionate on web/online/internet firm/business. But sometimes I can't overcome the fear inside of me. But now, on my young age I decided to rather try different things and trying to handle and mange risk than working hard as an employee forever.

Sometimes, I'm really desperate on the worth of my efforts and hardworks on my current work now but I consider it as my stepping stone.

 

Right now, I'm considering web applications business and I tried doing some business plan on it. I do hope that everything will smoothly be done.

 

Thanks for this list, this will help a lot:

having little or no overhead

already having a client base (depending on what your business is - hair cutting vs. web design)

having a backup plan in case plan A proves fruitless (brother in law promise to hire you part time if needed to pad the wallet)

have agreements from prospective partners before starting business (watch e-Dreams released in 2001 about Kozmo)

augment your income by having multiple revenue streams (this is my favorite and I allow this to make decisions for me)

Thank you again!

 

[emzsquare 0]

You have more guts than I ever had if you left a paying job before you had your small business ducks in a row. Life and business takes planning.Take action smoothly , THEN get to starting your own business is really interesting! Although I'm not a big proponent of fear, I do tend to agree that there's nothing like fear to get us moving. It's when that fear becomes overwhelming that the incentive fails.One thing to hold onto firmly is that you take things One Step At A Time!Ask yourself on a regular basis, "What can I do in the next 20 minutes that will solve this thing that's got me tied up in a twist?" If you can't do a single thing within those 20 minutes, let it go for now.Secondly, I'm a big fan of lists. :-) To-Do lists, shopping lists, and other planning lists.you've done a lot of research, and you're at the moment overwhelmed. I'd start with a list: "What do I need to know, all of which is making me nuts?"Write down the jist of what you've been researching. Don't try to evaluate it, just put down a sentence (no more than two), and describe what you found in that research. Make a list of what you think you're supposed to be doing to start a business.For example, you likely found out you need a business plan. you found out you need accounting tools. you found out about Web sites, developing a product, finding a niche, getting advice, meeting people, networking, joining this or that, paying something else, buying whatever, and spending lots of money and time.Okay. Write each of the things that's in your mind on paper. It's an odd fact of human minds that we can store between 5-7 "things" in our attention at one time. Add to that and we push one thing out into our long-term memory or we forget it. If we don't push it out, it "falls out" of our head.When you write these down, you're using something like an external drive to supplement your short-term memory, before you put something into long-term memory. (It takes about a week for something to process from Now into long-term memory.)By writing all these thoughts down, you'll free up your general attention span. you then can look at the list, decide how to prioritize it, and spend your energies putting numbers in front of each thing. What will you do first, second, and third. Leave the rest for later.

[emzsquare 0]

One thing more,You have to find your passion, your big WHy in order to establish a business. There are many affiliate programs you can join for free to get your feet wet, but you will still have to learn about marketing and advertising, so you are not loosing money. Your aim is to be cashflow positive, not bankrupt in 6 months. Belief me, I have seen many people come and go in the Network marketing Industry and about 95% fail without a doubt. But then you owe it to yourself to get started.Whether in a traditional business, or online is not relevant. What is, is your WHY as this will give you fuel to stay motivated when the going gets tough and your freinds, family nag at you. Keep a vision, maybe design a vision board of things you like doing, and it will soon filter out what would be suitable and what not.Just remember "Success comes to those who deserve it". Ask yourself, what would I do, if fear and money is not an option and then go and get themTo your Success!

[sarahscope 0]

Risky business leaving your job. The idea of standing alone terrifies me and has therefore never appealed. But I suppose if you don't take the plunge at some point theres a possibility that you'll end up regretting it. So although I can't offer any words of wisdom I can say, whole-heartedly, good luck!

[feedcare 0]

All kind of business have its own risk, so the best thing to do is to know and expertise how to manage risk, in that way you we be able to reduce your fears and become brave to face whatever risk or the ups and down of your business.In short, knowledge in managing risk is important in the world and game of business.

[emzsquare 0]

Have you seen movies of the Wright brothers first flight. They didn't push their aircraft off a cliff to test it. Their first test was in a situation where failure would not likely have been fatal. However it did prove the concept was viable.Starting a business is much the same. Try to minimize the consequences of any single mistake, while at the same time learning a valuable lesson or proving the concept. See the bootstrapping thread for a lively discussion on that concept. Doing something as simple as buying something undervalued at a local garage sale (negotiating down from the asking price) and reselling it on eBay is a good first step. You'll learn the skill of negotiating, properly account for the expenses and revenue (go ahead and use inexpensive small business software, overkill, but another lesson learned). Some people actually make a living doing that. Do what you must to take the pressure off and still move in the desired direction. You talk about your last job like it's the only one around. Find one that affords the time to think, plan and begin your business while still supporting yourself. I'm not trying to discourage you from starting your business. It's just that I'd much rather see you soaring on your new found wings, than lying in a pile of wreckage at the bottom of a cliff.Moreover,one of the most tricky little suckers to define is that word Comfort! I went through a number of years with a bad definition, having thought I'd arrived at the right one. (Dictionaries aren't any help at all with words like this.)Comfort is a zero point on a scale of both positive and negative "numbers." These metaphorical numbers are values we assign, for the most part almost unconsciously, to experience. To clarify, I'll use a money metaphor.If you spend money and owe people future money, you're in the negative numbers. You're in debt. Then you get money and start paying debt. At some point you've paid off all your debt. At that point, no, you don't have money! You're broke! You have zero money, BUT you also have zero debt.If you continue to gain money, you can spend at the same rate as you earn, holding to a zero balance, but having all your bills paid and your daily needs met. However, you can earn more than you spend, choose not to waste it, then put some of the extra into a savings account. Only then do you have money. ("Have" in the sense that it's not going out the door in the next day or so.)To break apart the metaphor, "debt" is on the way to death, moving down through irritation, annoyance, nervousness, stress, anxiety, worry, fear, panic, numbness, depression, and suicide. It's a pain function, not a pleasure function.'Savings" is at the positive polarity of the scale, moving toward joy. Happiness is a transient event, as you reach milestones and goals. So if you're in massive debt, then pay off your debt, you can be happy, but that's not the same "kind" of happiness as a windfall profit from an investment. Joy is static, and momentary, but speaks to experiencing the ideal. So there's living, then there's the Joy of life.In the middle, right at the zero point we have Comfort. It's very closely related to Apathy. Comfort is where you're not experiencing any pain or painful life events, but neither are you experiencing any pleasure events. It's a cessation of pain, before the introduction of pleasure. (Apathy is where you don't care whether you're experiencing pain or pleasure.)A recent experiment with rats, I can't remember the source but could look it up, demonstrated that when rats had a comfortable life, they died earlier than those that had stresses and incentives in life. The logical conclusion, borne out by history, is that being too comfortable leads to being fat and lazy, bored and "content" but not happy.If you're in a discomfort or uncomfortable situation, it's only that you've gotten tired of sitting at the zero point. The remaining and more important question is what you consider to be the "purpose of life."

[Soby 0]

My friends were doing the job in which they had their expertise. They gained their experience and at a point where they knew that they more they experience they get will not increase in their expertise or they point at which they thought they might get stagnant, they put into action their plan. The plan to start their own business. They didn't just up and quit their jobs and went on the pathway to start their business. It takes planning and management to start something of their own.You don't just have to land ashore and burn the ships that you cannot turn back but you have to have a safe way out.See what is it that you're good at. What about the potential you can see in the market. do a market survey and check whats there and what to be done. What different you can do in the market.Once the initial market survey has been done. then comes a initial planning of starting the business.. the overhead.the client base. The target market, if possible the sponsors or the partners.Once all of this has been done you have to start going towards productivity. Now this is the part where the job comes in. once when you've started your business, it doesn't mean that you can cash it in and use the money and work and get more. Business need investments and the initial revenue that you generate should all be invested in the business and use the money from that job to meet up with your expenses.There will come a time when the business becomes so stable and time needy that you won't have to continue the job and take it up full time and leave the job.It all depends on carefull planning. The reason the fear of starting a business isn't there is because you have a backup job to cover you up. I wish you best of luch in your future endeavours.

[whiskers_w 0]

Sometimes, you just have to DO IT, like Nike says. Naturally, any new course of action, especially in the business world should be well thought out. Thinking, of course will lead you to consider both sides of the equation, and the risks are always scarier than the rewards. If you are averse to risk, you might consider getting a better job somewhere, because most small businesses start amid a climate of risk.

 

Unless you are starting with hordes of cash, the hardest thing to get used to is managing business cash flow. Business cash flow needs often dictate irregular paydays, and sometimes even postponing paying household bills in order to meet business obligations. Most small business owners credit scores will drop by more than a few points in the first year of business. The risk of loss is real, and really nerve wracking when the losses can haunt your credit rating for years.

 

Next, no matter what you do or how good you do it, there are always uncertainties in business. As an employee you are for the most part, shielded from it. But, as a business owner, uncertainty comes knocking early on, and with it comes a disruption of your schedule. If you are like most of us, when we leave the gate or the parking lot at the job, we leave the job behind us. Being a business owner, however, you find that you take your job home with you virtually every night. Weekends are often sacrificed to satisfy customers, who become like additional children in your family. Not so because they are immature, but because customers are demanding and needy all the time. They come to you as a business person as a means of satisfying their needs, and if you leave their needs unaddressed or partially unmet, you will find them going elsewhere to have them met.

 

So if you are going into business to be your own boss... Forget it. Your customers will replace your boss. They won't stand there and watch the clock on you, but they will be highly demanding. If you are thinking of going into business in order to spend more time with your family... Think again. The demands of starting a new business can be really hard on families -especially those with very young children.

 

All said, business is definitely NOT for everyone. But for those who love taking on a challenge and meeting it head on... what better way could there possibly be than starting a new business from scratch!

 

Good luck. Fear not. & Have fun.

[trevshand 0]

I'm currently working on starting my second company and let me say part of the thrill/fear that never goes away is the fear of failure. Even one the business is running you will still get scared from time to time. Most people I know who form sucessful businesses tend to never be satisfied. They lay out a goal and go get it. Once there they pick another one. So you will alwyas be able to fail. But then again, if it was easy, everyone would do it, no?

Some days will be harder then others, just last week I went from knowing I couldn't fail to wanting to throw in the towel and go home within hours. And it wasn't triggered by an ouside source. It was all internal.

I say learn to embrace the fear. When you succed it will be all the sweeter because you fought through the tough times. And try to remember when in the tough times, they will pass. starting your own business has far more highs and lows then working for someone else but in the end you control your own destiny.

If all else fails, find a friend who doesn;t try and solve your problems and will listen to whom you can download. they will be invaluable.

Trevor

Hello, Everyone.
I've been wanting to start up my own business for years and finally decided to take the plunge. I filed a resignation letter to the current company I'm connected with. However, the more I research, the more overwhelmed I get! I begin to see all the risks and I start finding myself backing out of my plan.

I have always known that starting a business is risky. However, now more than ever, I find myself obsessing over the risks and getting overwhelmed by all the things I need to consider (e.g., should i sell online?, apparel or accessories?, etc). I have always wanted to open online store but given all the competition around me, I feel as though I'd do better selling something less risky if I go online. And, soon, my mind starts to spin out of control!

I know in my heart I want my own business but I am just terrified. Financially, it's a huge risk. Has anyone else gone through this emotional rollercoaster? If so, can you please share how you overcame your fear? And, has anyone ever backed out of a plan and NOT regretted it? I am trying to figure out how to tell when it's right to back out versus move forward (though, like I said, in my heart I know I want this).

And, does anyone have advice on how I can tackle all the questions surrounding the type of business to have, whether to go online or get a physical store, etc? Thanks so much, everyone!

[hitmanblood 0]

I would like to say that it is important also to start buisness and lose money and lose your buisness. Because you gain always important experience. I said to myself before I start my buisness I prepare to lose I prepare that it will not work and that it will not be successful. However I also told to myself very important thing and that is that my tenth buisness idea will work and that I will earn some serious money.So if you don't get it self confidence is important. And you must be prepared to lose few times before you gain. And before you reach the level of experience needed to prove yourself and to gain some serious money to attract regular customers and to become well known. It is all about confidence because 99.99% first buisness ideas fail in first several months. People just leave and continue on but they don't consider what the impact it has on them they don't see the harm they say yes it was good idea but I failed because of following reason and I will not try any more buisnesses anywere and anytime. This is just wrong because then you will go to some company and ive them your ideas which will be sold and company may gain some serious money however you will be still paid so small that it is incredible. And this is the worst thing after while you will realise what have you done and then what will happen nothing you might eve kill yourself. This is bad really bad.SO if you have idea try to stick to it. Do you know that Microsoft Windows on which Bill Gates and Company earned so much money isn't in fact their initial product idea is from the company called XEROX which failed to sell this to the IBM and then they gave it to the Apple Computers INC. which eventually gave this product to the Microsofto for research purposes. So you see how things go in the real buisness you should keep up all the way and try to sell your idea at any cost. Just keep up on your idea and tenth time you must succeded.

[zak92 0]

Well you see if this is your first time startin something like this then better not take any risks. Like me for example I am so into starting my own web hosting solution so I took something like free reseller and I got all my sources and managed it. If you have sources look to exploit them and get their help in your business for example I had friends that were server owners and I had done some web designing for them so they actually gave me free reseller. No one wants to risk money but if you KNOW you will succeed then DO IT!

[hitmanblood 0]

Well you see if this is your first time startin something like this then better not take any risks. Like me for example I am so into starting my own web hosting solution so I took something like free reseller and I got all my sources and managed it. If you have sources look to exploit them and get their help in your business for example I had friends that were server owners and I had done some web designing for them so they actually gave me free reseller. No one wants to risk money but if you KNOW you will succeed then DO IT!

OK I agree with you that noone wnat actually to risk their money but if you check out you are playing Loto games. You are going sometimes to Casino you play Bingo in every and each of the examples and games I counted up you must note that there is less chance that you will win then when compared to starting of your own buisness. So buisness is not so risky solutions after all. And I would like to add that if you are ready to start your own buisness then risk some of the money because otherwise you will earn much more if it returns. However don't lose faith if you don't succede because you must try again and once you will succede.

The one that does not risk doesn't profit.

Hopefully I spelled that and combined well.

[Chromazone 0]

i believe overcomming the fear of starting a buisness is to just go for it. i mean if its what your heart truly desiers then go for it if you put work towards it and don't give up then it'll work you can do anything you want if you believe in your self. i mean look at me i have my own game company and its because i found reliable people and i believed in myself and worked hard for it. i didnt give up nor will i this is what i want to do with my life and it is what i'll do i have faith and that and a little hard work is all it takes and thats what i'll put into it. i'm putting everything i got into it and i won't quit and my employees won't either because they beleive i have something good going on here and they want to be a part of it so we are going to make video games and we will make it in the industry.