Starting a business is a challenging endeavor for many.
The idea that you must be proficient in different departments can be daunting, and it’s one of the reasons why many have an ambivalent opinion about throwing themselves into the business world. You need to juggle multiple tasks at the same time. You need a well-built business plan, a valuable product or service, and the ability to manage the right team. All that, plus the means to survive until the business is solid enough to generate the cash flow you need.
But if all of the above were so difficult to accomplish, how did many people become successful business owners? How did they move past adversities, despite the inevitable doubt that sinks in?
In this article, we will dive deep into how to create the financial future you deserve. Whether you’re interested in starting the business of your dreams or discovering how to move forward after several business failures, it all boils down to one aptitude: the power to deal with doubt.
What Are the Main Excuses That Keep Us From Starting a Business?
Doubt is the reason why people find excuses not to achieve financial freedom. Even if they derive from self-imposed limitations, they are not carved-in-stone certainties. They mainly depend on how we position ourselves in the ever-changing business game.
Money
Money is a key excuse that keeps people from starting their businesses. Many perceive the lack of it as a reason not to get off the ground. It’s scary to envision starting a business with no money but even scarier to comprehend how to keep the business alive when resources are scarce and the future is unpredictable.
If we’re not born under a lucky star – or better yet, what I call “coming from the lucky sperm gang” – most of us are doomed to see a lack of money as an impediment.
But starting a business with money is no guarantee that you’ll succeed. If the business plan is flawed, money will only serve to prevent the company from dying rather than thriving. To get started, you need a robust idea. Then, you need to turn it into a strategy. But how do you concoct a foolproof strategy that doesn’t involve money? The answer is by getting creative. There are numerous opportunities you can leverage.
To get the ball rolling, detach from the no-money stigma. Think of whom you can start a bona fide conversation with. Approaching the right people can give you an edge. People are often moved by a driven and inventive personality. Don’t take no for an answer. Whether you know the people you’ll approach – such as other business owners, potential partners, or suppliers – sensible dialogues can get you further than owning the money to start a business. The more resourceful you can get, the more credibility you’ll exude.
Experience
Lack of experience is a turn-off for many. The perspective of being new to an area and having to position yourself as an authority can be terrifying, especially in a market filled to the brim with copy-paste businesses or seasoned figures. Potential challenges and unexpected questions may arise; ultimately, making a fool of ourselves can paralyze us and prevent us from taking action.
Here’s an idea that might inspire you next time you’re on the fence. Although you may not have business experience, think of it this way: no one has your life experience. What you can bring to the table, from your unique perspective and experience, no one else can. You’ll still have to figure out many parts of the business equation, but trusting your savoir-faire will give you an advantage. What’s your story, and how can you best share it with the world so it helps and inspires others, too?
The State of the Current Economy
This is a timeless excuse. The economy’s ups and downs shouldn’t prevent you from starting your dream business. We all own an internal barometer that can support our bold decisions. Here’s the reality: ebbs and flows will always be part of the economic climate. There will always be a new recession, ideal buying opportunities, and favorable selling times. Waiting to synchronize yourself with these opportunities is futile. If you keep glamorizing the perfect moment, there will never be a right time to start. The world is in perpetual change, and putting your bets on a certain period will only add pressure to the game.
Getting your foot in the door without overthinking will help dissolve doubt and secure your spot in the business game, no matter how gray the economic setting appears. Adopting a growth mindset will also help shift your perspective. Turning failures into opportunities is the vehicle toward financial success.
Absence of the Right Product or Service
The idea of owning a product or service that will instantly transform you into a market unicorn is what many see as a secret sauce. But this conviction is more of a utopia. Over time, great inventors needed hundreds, if not thousands, of attempts to make brilliant discoveries. Thomas Eddison is a prime example of this. For years, he and his team worked on three thousand theories to create a practical incandescent lamp. Even if the first light bulb already existed, Thomas Eddison’s ironclad decision to upgrade it helped him remain on course. He didn’t mind experimenting thousands of times. In fact, he didn’t perceive his numerous efforts as failed attempts but as stepping stones toward pinpointing the accurate theory. Eventually, he reaped the laurels of being tenacious when he finally invented the first patentable light bulb.
Waiting for otherworldly inspiration won’t help you deal with doubt. It all starts with an internal choice to create value. Think of the possibility of creating value as a lighthouse shining in obscurity. How can you add tremendous quality to the market?
Also, coming from a place of service is a downright needle-mover. The main question you should ask yourself is: How can I serve others? If you’re stuck, remember that you don’t have to reinvent the wheel. Can you upgrade an already existing item?
Researching the market in advance will benefit you. What’s something that’s missing, and how can you fill that gap in the market? Another question worth answering is, ‘How do you want to make people feel when using your product?’ The product should make life easier and simpler. These are the two secret ingredients that can sparkle an eye-opening vision.
When you start asking yourself these questions, you prime your brain to seek answers and resources.
The Hidden Roadblock – The Fear of Failure
The fear of failure stems from the primal fear that we’re not enough.
We often perceive ourselves as soon-to-be-discovered frauds. Impostor syndrome is what stands between vision and practicality. You may have a great idea boiling inside that eventually loses its intensity for not being brought to fruition. For many, not bridging this gap is the glue that keeps them hiding behind a lack of self-belief. This fabrication of the mind encourages us to hum and haw. Living in the comfort of inaction gives us a false sense of security that no one will ever discover our business-related flaws. But unless you’re a business expert, you’ll always bump into shortcomings. It’s precisely tackling them and turning them into strengths that help us decode how business works.
The fear of failure can increase the belief that we can lose our possessions or money if we take risks. But not taking risks is the chokehold of our visions and aspirations. The fear of failure can expand to such a degree that it makes us chart a shatterproof image of others, which is an unrealistic approach. Still, we tend to perceive others as more qualified and skillful than us, thinking they are better equipped to achieve our coveted goals.
Becoming more visible is also an issue. To many, being in the spotlight equals feeling like a deer in headlights. We don’t want to take up space or force anyone to buy our product. In reality, promoting your product or service should be a natural step to inform the masses of your existence. It even goes further than that. It’s all about the benefits of our product and the high quality of life they can spark. If your product can help someone lead a better life, aren’t you doing everyone else – including yourself – a disservice for keeping it out of sight?
At the same time, there is deep pain in having a great dormant idea that never sees the light of day. The most common frustration in not taking action is that we might miss the boat. Instead of gauging the success of others as set-in-stone facts, we could use it as inspiration. What driving force helped them go after their goals? It helps to see their success as the engine to ignite your action plan and get off the sidelines.
Marinating in what-if thoughts is a dream zapper. Many find toe-dipping ridiculous because it makes them feel inadequate. But that’s not how business works. If anything, toe-dipping is the springboard that takes you from the death trap of inaction to the rewarding realm of putting yourself out there.
Why Do We Stop at the First Business Failure?
Most people barely get past their first business, which leaves the second business out of the equation, let alone the third one. Again, doubt is calling the shots.
This allows frustration, self-doubt, and lack of hope to cut to the heart. Even worse, it fuels a desire to submit to inertia. No wonder so many people have yet to make a new attempt at launching their businesses.
A common mistake is misunderstanding the difference between self-worth and net worth. Many believe that our net worth is in direct proportion to our self-worth. A flawed belief that can ruin your entire perspective of how business works.
It’s a whopping error to link business failure to personal failure. Becoming an entrepreneur and failing is part of the same course of action. If anything, we should consider ourselves lucky to have reached the milestone of business failure. While it may initially seem like the end of the world, it’s not. You’re building entrepreneurial calluses, which are painful but have immense payoffs.
Success is never a certainty. But lack of success shouldn’t become our alibi for not trying. Taking a stab at owning your business might come with some glitches, but it’s all part of the game.
You probably won’t knock it out of the park from day one, but you’ll be on your way to success. And what’s success made of? Victories and failures. Shifting your perspective to accept this as a current state of affairs rather than taking loss personally is an absolute game-changer.
Normalizing failure should be part of our agenda. This won’t make us less aware but will help us streamline our thoughts and behaviors into cohesive strategies. Our journeys to success will always be paved with failure. Understanding this can arm you with both peace of mind and determination.
How Ego Shatters Our Chances to Succeed
Ego and doubt have a lot in common. Our ego is the primary opponent in achieving business success. It can provide a distorted view of reality. It can make you underestimate your skills and sell yourself short. This is how many agree to admit defeat after their first business failure. Even worse, some people don’t even get there, as their ego lists why they shouldn’t even try in the first place. Keeping your ego in check should be non-negotiable if you decide to sail the sea of business uncertainty.
On the other side of the spectrum, business success may be seen as a reason to parade wins. But doing that is just our ego’s way of becoming vocal and putting everything we’ve achieved into perspective. The ego associates our identity with those victories as if we’re invincible gods. But what happens when we fall from the pedestal our ego places us on? Because we will fall, eventually. And when this happens, our ego will have difficulty processing the losses without understanding that every failure counts as experience.
The ego is the source of all problems. Our ego is a relentlessly working machine, starving for approval. While others are busy living their lives, we’re afraid to push the envelope, terrified by what they might think. The idea that we might come across as weak, inexperienced, or boneheaded is a monster that keeps haunting us.
The ego can play many tricks on us. Whatever project we give a whirl, our minds will take the fastest route to keep us safe. Unfortunately, this can sometimes fall flat. In an attempt to protect us, our minds catapult us miles away from our goals. Instead of being where we’re supposed to be – in the trenches – we’re now resting on the laurels false security provides.
On the plus side, overcoming failures makes success more palatable. Every breakdown is the precursor of a breakthrough. Looking back at everything you’ve achieved and knowing it didn’t fall into your lap will change how you see yourself. It will strengthen your self-belief and implant the evidence in your mind that you are capable of entrepreneurial greatness.
Making failure your business card will give you a tremendous edge and allow you to move forward – irrespective of how often doubt will creep in.
Recession-Proof Your Mindset
Becoming literate in business is a matter of trial and error. The more failed attempts you have, the closer you’ll reach success.
History will always favor the risk-takers. And before you know it, a big leap might turn into a quantum leap.
How to deal with doubt after several business failures is a YouTube video I created to help people get off the fence. It will benefit you, too, if you’re ready to claim your financial future and break the glass ceiling.
It always baffles me that most people have no clue what abundance truly is and how to tap into it to generate even more prosperity.
That’s precisely why I’ve dedicated an entire module to wealth and abundance in my epic Elite Mentorship Forum program. During six months, you’ll learn how to knock off all limiting beliefs that keep you stuck and how to rule all areas of your life to create unprecedented results. You can check it out here.