You’ve probably heard the quote, “Fear is a liar.” It’s a good one. While our fear may be irrational at times, it’s also very real. In fact, fear is one of the most common emotions that entrepreneurs experience when starting up their business. I’m here to tell you that it’s okay—even normal—to feel scared about launching your own venture. After all, there are plenty of reasons why starting your own company could be scary:
You’re putting yourself out there as an entrepreneur in front of others who might judge you for making mistakes or not being perfect at everything (spoiler alert: no one is).
Your finances could be affected if things go wrong with your business; this includes losing money you’ve invested or not being able to pay bills on time because sales haven’t generated enough revenue yet (but they will!).
You might have doubts about whether you’re doing something right or making smart choices along the way (and sometimes even experienced entrepreneurs do!).
Emotions are a natural part of business.
Emotions are a natural part of business. They can be helpful or harmful, depending on how you handle them.
Emotions are not always rational–they’re often rooted in our childhood experiences, our culture and what we’ve been taught about money or success. For example, some people feel guilty when they spend money on themselves because they were told as children that “money doesn’t grow on trees.” Other people get angry if they see other people making more than them and believe those people are self-absorbed snobs just because they have money i.e. the incorrectly quoted scripture that money is the root of all evil (actually it’s the LOVE of money).
The good news is that emotions aren’t permanent; they change over time based on what happens around us and within us every day!
Your fear may not be rational, and that’s okay too.
Fear is a natural human emotion. We all experience it in some form or another at some point in our lives, and that’s okay. Fear can be a good thing; it helps you avoid danger and makes sure you don’t do anything stupid that might hurt yourself or others.
But fear can also be bad–especially when it stops you from doing something important to your happiness and success as a person, like starting your own business! And this is where we get into tricky territory: because sometimes our fears aren’t rational, but instead are based on assumptions about what might happen if we take action (or don’t).
When fear gets in the way, take action anyway.
In my book, Embrace Your Emotions, I talk about how fear can be a good thing. It’s natural to feel afraid when you’re taking action or trying something new. But if you let those fears paralyze you and keep you from taking action, then they’ll become your worst enemy. Those fears can look like being afraid to show up on camera, being afraid to post content, or being afraid to launch your business idea.
When I first started my business, I had no idea what I was doing and lots of people told me it wouldn’t work out because “the economy sucks right now” or “online businesses aren’t sustainable.” But instead of listening to them, I took action anyway–and guess what? My business is still going strong today!
Focus on what you can control, not what you can’t.
You can’t control everything that happens in your business. You will make mistakes, and some people won’t like what you do. That’s okay–just keep going forward with your mission and your message, because it’s important work!
You can control how much time and energy you put into the things that matter most to you, but not everything else. So focus on those things instead of worrying about what might happen if certain people don’t like what they see when they visit your website or don’t like the sound of your voice on video (who cares, that person clearly isn’t your target audience).
Don’t let your fears control you or your business.
If you’re feeling overwhelmed by your fears of failure, success, or the unknown and what other people think about your business idea, take a deep breath and read on.
The truth is that no one can predict the future with 100% certainty. We all have to take risks in life–it’s part of being human! And as long as we’re taking risks and moving forward with our lives (instead of staying stuck), then there isn’t anything wrong with feeling fear every now and then. But if those feelings are controlling how much time and energy we put into our businesses… well… then maybe it’s time for some changes?
Starting a business is challenging but rewarding.
Starting a business is challenging but rewarding. You can learn from your mistakes, the mistakes of others and even from your successes. You’ll also learn from customers, employees and suppliers.
It’s important to remember that nobody has it all figured out when they start out with their own business. Even people who seem like they do are still learning every day! So do it messy, do it afraid, and do it unperfect— but just move forward as you can.
Starting a business is a big step, and it’s okay if you’re afraid of it. The important thing is that you don’t let your fear control you or stop you from doing what needs to be done. Take action anyway and keep moving forward!
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