Afraid to Start a Business?
My work involves meeting all kinds of people who are at various stages of their business career.
Many conversations lately have seemed to be more coaching than consultation based.
I’m seeing a lot of fear in Michigan. The worst part of fear is that 98% of it is just simply not real. It is a bunch of crap that is floating around your head because of something your mother told you 10 years ago, or your lawyer told you last week, or whatever.
There are MILLIONS of reasons to not try something new…just ask any lawyer! I wonder how many great business ideas have been squashed by lawyers? I would bet the number is staggering! To talk to a lawyer, it is ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE to get ANYTHING done as thoroughly as it SHOULD BE DONE! No one should every try ANYTHING NEW…THERE IS JUST TOO MUCH LIABILITY IN EVERYTHING!
This would make business impossible, wouldn’t it!
BUT,we all know that great ideas to sproat into successful businesses. Risk is real, no doubt…but it is often rewarded richly here in the real world.
So I tip my hat to all of you out there who are blazing your own trail, in spite of the fear and negative talk! Remember why you pay a lawyer, for advice on the law…not to tell you about all the millions of things that can (and will) go wrong in every business deal. Move forward, and work hard. You can deal with the inevitable when the inevitable shows up at your doorstep. If you try to deal with EVERY POSSIBLE future scenario here in the present, you will NEVER get anything done, and your goals and dreams will die with the “negative possibilities” you are trying to avoid.
Be street smart and stick with your gut! This has never let me down!
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
May 23rd, 2009 at 7:13 pm
Good motivation in there. I am sure the lawyers will shun your ideas and use them for themselves, LOL.
Make Money Onlines last blog post..How To Best Place Adsense Ads
[Reply]
The Almost Millionaire Reply:
May 28th, 2009 at 11:56 pm
MMO, I’ve yet to meet a lawyer with the spirit to execute on a new business idea, hats off, all in. TOO MUCH LIABILITY! HA
The Almost Millionaires last blog post..Afraid to Start a Business?
[Reply]
May 25th, 2009 at 8:01 am
Very nice articles for all who are planning to start a new business. Even i was very afraid before starting my new business and now I am satisfied that I took perfect decision. We have to take risk , if we want to gain somethine.
[Reply]
The Almost Millionaire Reply:
May 28th, 2009 at 11:57 pm
Ruchi,
It is great to hear that you sucked it up and went out on your own! Congrats on the success story and for overcomeing your fears.
The Almost Millionaires last blog post..Afraid to Start a Business?
[Reply]
May 25th, 2009 at 1:09 pm
I sense some passion on this topic TAM! Hey, I agree with you. I like what Dan Miller says about risk… real risk is putting money down on a roulette table but business risk can be mitigated by learning about your market and target customers, and product or service, and competitors and pricing strategies, etc…. once this due diligence is done if the opportunity is still logically sound then the risk has been marginalized.
[Reply]
The Almost Millionaire Reply:
May 28th, 2009 at 11:58 pm
Dave,
I’m going to have to look up Dan Miller, sounds like my kind of guy. I see risk as something to respect, but also as something to take advantage of. Does that make sense?
The Almost Millionaires last blog post..Afraid to Start a Business?
[Reply]
May 27th, 2009 at 1:56 pm
Everything new has an element of fear to it. Look back to school, exams, relationships, your first home purchase…I’m sure all of them in retrospect were smoother than you could have expected.
Its the same way with business ventures. If you are not willing to overcome the fear of the unknown, or the potential of failure, you will never know what could have been and are truly undermining your own potential.
Fear can be diminished if you have proper resources supporting your moves and mentors to guide you along the way.
[Reply]
The Almost Millionaire Reply:
May 29th, 2009 at 12:00 am
Aman,
I hope I can become a mentor to someone who is looking to make it happen in there life. I’ve truly NEVER met someone who says, “Ya, I tried to start a business, but it failed and ruined my life.”
I’m sure that stuff happens, but most people bounce back from it and try, try again.
The Almost Millionaires last blog post..Afraid to Start a Business?
[Reply]
May 28th, 2009 at 12:33 am
Excellent and motivating post. I’ve contemplated starting my own business for a while now, and will someday. Can you share a few experiences you’ve had with people who have been successes/failures as case studies, and why the outcome came about?
CD Rates Guys last blog post..Ally Bank CD Rates – 9 Month CD Deal
[Reply]
The Almost Millionaire Reply:
May 29th, 2009 at 12:01 am
I will put some thought to your case study idea. I like it, but generally have trouble finding the time to blog about anything that isn’t immediatly on my mind. Hopefully my friend over at http://www.getmoneyenergy.com will pick up on the idea. She is a much more gifted writer than I am.
The Almost Millionaires last blog post..Afraid to Start a Business?
[Reply]
May 28th, 2009 at 9:49 pm
Thanks for the post. I have been toying with the idea of doing some individual consulting lately and have been a bit fearful of doing so.. Maybe I should give it a shot.
[Reply]
The Almost Millionaire Reply:
May 29th, 2009 at 12:03 am
You have absolutly got nothing to lose. Offer your services to people who know you and trust your work. You can offer then 100% money back guarantee, no risk for them, and it will get you going in your business.
Let us know if you take the leap!
The Almost Millionaires last blog post..Afraid to Start a Business?
[Reply]
May 30th, 2009 at 10:01 am
[...] – The Almost Millionaire writes about being afraid to start a business which is mostly caused by [...]
June 3rd, 2009 at 11:11 am
Actualy I was always affraid of the fact that I wouldn’t be able to effectively manage my own time. And if I’m my own boss it’d mean a lot of problems.
[Reply]
June 9th, 2009 at 7:08 pm
What if I’m trying to sell a product like clothing? I can’t necessarily offer anything for free, though I could offer to take back defective clothing.
Any suggestions would be great.
Best CD Ratess last blog post..Checking Account Rates of 5.13% APY From United Mississippi Bank
[Reply]
June 15th, 2009 at 10:23 am
It is really wonderful job you have done.
solicitorwills last blog post..Conveyaning steps for buying a property
[Reply]
June 19th, 2009 at 9:55 am
No risk means no reward, I hope people start realizing this. Playing things too safe in the long run will mean mediocrity.
[Reply]
The Almost Millionaire Reply:
June 20th, 2009 at 1:43 pm
@Dekoracje
I couldn’t agree with you more, nothing ventured…you know how it ends.
Thanks for your comments and for reading TAM
Best
The Almost Millionaires last blog post..What is Michigan’s Unemployment Rate?
[Reply]
July 9th, 2009 at 6:58 am
You definitely need to take a risk once in a while, and venture into your business, I know that most of the millionaires who made it big, did make mistakes in their lives, but they made them in the beginning, and were able to learn from their mistakes. That is what is important, to be able to learn from your mistakes, that way when you jump into your next business venture, you should do much better!
Thats my two cents…
-Kevin
[Reply]
July 13th, 2009 at 9:29 am
Actualy I belive that now is a terrible time to start a company. Sure if you power through until the economy picks up, your company will be amazing. But right now, most likely you’ll just fail miserably.
[Reply]
August 13th, 2009 at 10:44 am
Competition is very tough in nowadays and i think that’s the reason some are afraid to start a new business. Many of business down in last 6 months. Good motivation post.
[Reply]