The age-old expression ‘half the battle is getting there’ can take on many meanings, but when it comes to starting a business, the phrase can be applied to an entrepreneur’s fear of failure. As with most life situations, overcoming your fear to get started is the first step to conquering your goals.

Sometimes fear can get in the way of believing in our own abilities. The only way to get rid of that sense of anxiety and worry is to face the situation head-on and discover what comes next.

Here are 5 steps to overcome your fear of starting your own business.

Persistence

Don’t forget the importance of sheer persistence. In other words, sometimes the difference between the entrepreneur who succeeds and the one who does not is simply not giving up.
It’s also important to keep in mind that failure isn’t the final word. Some of the world’s most successful business owners have failed in the beginning, but that just means they learned something along the journey.

Start small

Starting a business can seem overwhelming, especially if you expect to make it big overnight. That’s why, in the beginning, it’s best to start small. Take for example Toronto entrepreneur and founder of Array Marketing, John Fielding.

Toronto’s John Fielding and his brother focused on advertising specialties, where they distributed promotional items such as coffee mugs, key chains, and bottle openers. It wasn’t long before new market opportunities began to present themselves. Their business grew at a rapid pace and their business eventually blossomed into the global retail merchandising service that it is today.

Set attainable goals

There’s a lot of planning involved in starting a business, however, focusing on a few small tasks rather than undertaking a large project is best in the beginning.

“Getting started is really tough because you’re making a change in your daily routine. Most people have jobs and a regular life they are managing already,” says Jeff Wiguna, CEO and co-founder of Kuju Coffee. “Right after getting home from work, I would sit at my computer and tell myself to get only one single thing done. It could have been anything, from setting up a spreadsheet, looking up an idea, Googling a name idea, making one phone call — even if no one picked up. The goal was to do that every day.”

Look outside your comfort zone

To become a successful business owner, you will need to embrace discomfort. It’s impossible to be an expert at everything, so that is why it is essential to build a team of smart-minded individuals to bounce ideas off and guide you through the process. Most importantly, be prepared to take risks.

Get started

If you let your fear of failure and the unknown take over, then you will never get started. You can combat your fears head-on by choosing to embark on this new journey as an entrepreneur. With a little bit of planning, you’ll feel less panicked about your decision to start a business and more prepared to jump into your venture head first.

Published: 2019-10-14 20:43:58