5 Tricks to Overcome Your Fear of Starting a Business (Part 1)

By: Randy Otterbridge

Full disclosure:

I’ll be honest with you, starting my own business was not what I expected. Facing fear and getting over it wasn’t easy, but the rewards are worthwhile. Business (like this article) is not for everyone; however, if you’re enthusiastic about working independently while having flexibility then perhaps starting your own business is the right decision for you…as you are about to find out.

Trick #1: Face The 2 Types of Fear That Stop Most Entrepreneurs (And Use Them to Fuel Your Success)

Can you guess what these fears are? Think about it as we dig into it a bit. Since the risk of starting a business is so high, many entrepreneurs are overcome with fear.

There are two types of fear.

The first type of fear comes from the risk of not succeeding and losing what you have. The old classic, the FEAR OF FAILURE. And the second type of fear is what can happen if you do succeed and outpace your competition.

What a surprise, the FEAR OF SUCCESS.

Both harbor risks, don’t they? It’s been said that running your own business is like playing tennis without a net. The Risk: You are now on your own and may not succeed as well as the competition. For those that do not succeed, it won’t be because they didn’t try hard enough or that they were lazy, it’s because the competition was just that much better.

Maybe they found a net. Well, that would be a good reason for failure, huh? They (the competition) had a net. They had resources, a better staff, and better systems. You get the picture, right? Thus, this kind of “fear of failure” can keep many on the sidelines for decades. Maybe forever. But now that you’ve spun this baby up, you’ve got to run it, right? But who knows it might just exceed your wildest dreams. Many who’ve come through have experienced just that: SUCCESS.

Now, for the second type of fear.

You must be prepared for a mind-bender here. That’s because we know what fear of failing can be like, but about the fear of success? It is something altogether different. Here’s why. Success comes with responsibility. Responsibility to yourself, your family, and your community. Uh, oh. “You mean the whole community?” Yes, the whole community! Feeling the heat yet?

And that’s when the shaky legs start. When your little business was this cool little hobby, you did on the weekends becomes the thing on which a whole community is rooting for you to continue, as I said, your legs can start shaking. But fear not, dear entrepreneur. Like the Allstate, commercial says, “You’re in good hands with….”

(Come back for next month’s newsletter to find the conclusion to Trick # 1: Facing the fear of success (and the responsibilities that come with it)

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