Fears you must overcome when starting a business

You can start a business doing virtually anything, thanks to the Internet. You can now reach a global audience, so no matter how niche your business idea is, there are people who will pay you for whatever it is you’re offering.

However, while the specific statistics on entrepreneurship are tough to nail down, it is widely reported that the majority of new businesses fail within five years.

So what is holding you back? Let’s review some of the common fears that people experience that hold them back.

What if I fail?
Oh, but what if you fly? You fear your company won’t work. You will not have enough customers, not enough funding, you won’t be able to pay your bills. Sure, but that’s only part of it. The real killer is the public aspect. What will people say?

Failure is a normal and even necessary part of your entrepreneurship journey.

Through these failures, you will come to know what works and what doesn’t.

You will deepen your understanding and experience of running a business, selling a product, and understanding your customers.

The key to overcome these failures is to just start over again. Steve Jobs said: “I’m convinced that about half of what separates the successful entrepreneurs from the non-successful ones is pure perseverance.”

Where will I start?
Have you ever asked a successful friend where to start and got the famous “start anywhere” answer?

It can be frustrating. Starting is the simple part; break your dreams down into smaller, more achievable chunks and suddenly you’ll see there’s less to fear. As Lewis Howes explains in one Forbes article: “If your goal is to ‘start a business’ change it to ‘interview one business owner’. That second goal seems a lot less daunting and thus there’s less to fear each step along the way.” Do not be afraid of feeling uncomfortable. It is difficult to solve a big challenge unless you’re put in a situation where you have to hustle and quickly figure it out. Identify an entrepreneur you admire.

Read about the person, the structure of their business and reach out to see if they can offer advice.

If not, you’ll know at the very least that they have achieved success, so it’s possible for you.

I have no business experience

The only skill you need is the ability to figure things out and solve problems for yourself. Should you do a course in business? Probably not, years of theory in any subject is worthless unless you know how to apply it, and the world is already full of ‘textbook entrepreneurs’ with shiny first-class honours degrees and no idea how to apply it.

Take a look at Jack Ma, for example. Would you believe that the founder and Executive Chairman of the Alibaba Group was an English major and taught English?

He applied for 30 different jobs (including KFC) and got rejected by all. With all that he’s been through, that didn’t stop him from building one of the largest multinational conglomerate in the world. Mind you that he had no business background whatsoever.
So what should you do? Get a mentor and start hanging out with other entrepreneurs on a regular basis. People who have been there and done it. These are the people who will give you the real business experience and advice and for free! Why? Because they know what you’re going through, they understand the pain and they want to help you.

I can’t afford to start a business
Being a business owner would be easy if every person with an idea could waltz into a bank and receive a loan or attract an angel investor. No one has a few hundred thousand lying in their bank accounts either but there is nothing stopping you from raising the money you need to build your business. This is simply an excuse. You probably won’t need as much as you think to get started, and investing a huge sum of money up-front is a terrible, and risky idea. It is better to start small.
Want to open a shop selling your own products? Open an online store first. Starting your own consulting business? Forget a fancy office, work from home and meet clients in a local coffee shop.

Working on a piece of software? Strip it right back and build the most basic, low-cost version you can get away with and then go and sell it to some early customers. Then take the profit and invest it back into your business, never relying on borrowing or investors.

Passionate and determined people find ways to overcome these struggles, and that is why they succeed.

I can’t quit my job. How will I pay the bills?
Benedicta, who owns a large printing company in Nairobi says she quit her job in printing and had to stay home for three months before being able to finally set up shop.

You cannot simply quit on Friday and start a business on Monday. Entrepreneurship is about being scrappy, thinking creatively and making things happen.

Be smart about it. You should be building your business up alongside your current job until you reach the point where you can safely make the transition. And yes that includes weekends and public holidays too. In this digital age, anything can be learnt for nothing or close to nothing.

Sites like Treehouse, Udacity, Youtube and Google are great learning resources. If you need help you require a co-founder. Figure out what skills you need in a co-founder and then start attending relevant events and meetups, always advertised on every Hustle issue, where you’ll find the person you need, and start building the relationship.

So what’s your real fear – quitting your job, or having to do the work?