Afraid of starting a business? Many are. You may be scared of the risk, the unknown, and the amount of work that goes into starting a business.
But with the right tools and advice, you can become a business owner and succeed.
This article will provide some helpful tips on overcoming your fears and becoming a successful business owner in the traditional sense of it.
Who is a Business Owner and What Do They Do?
A business owner is someone who takes risks and starts their own business. When a successful business owner, you could be one of those who create jobs and innovate new products and services. You could be a part of generating economic growth and wealth.
You will also find yourself taking on many other roles, such as marketer, salesperson, manager, and even Chief Technology Officer.
Chief Technology Officer? But you know little about technology.
Yes, you become even that - Chief Technology Officer, or CTO - the moment you begin to take charge of deciding what you need, for example, a website, and hiring people to create one for you. The bottom-line is that you’ll wear many hats, some big and others small.
The Benefits of Being a Business Owner
You’ll enjoy many benefits becoming a business owner, such as:
Creative freedom: Bye-bye to the boss. To another boss, actually, because you are now the boss. As a business owner, you can make decisions and set your course. You are in charge of your destiny. No one tells you what to do and even if they do, you can say thanks, but no thanks. You could even yell at them for interfering with your thought process (just kidding, we advise no such thing.)
Control over your life: As the boss, you call the shots – all of them – even when in your pajamas. You can call the shots while hunched over your laptop, or sipping a steaming cappuccino. However it is done, you still call the shots. You make the decisions big and small.
Is this a good thing or bad? What if you call the wrong shot, or even call multiple bad shots in a row? The question is: so what if you do? You are bound to make mistakes. You can’t avoid them. But it's mostly good. So prepare to make a few mistakes along the way. The good part is that you learn and get better at decision making.
Flexibility: You no longer have to swear under your breath at your boss for asking you to come in because Jack and Mary called off. Even better, you no longer feel the urge to strangle your boss for taking all the credit in front of higher-ups for your hard work and innovative thinking (don’t you hate it when your boss does that?)
Owning a business allows you to be flexible with your time and lifestyle. You can work from home, set your hours, and take a vacation whenever possible. In many cases, the home is the office, so you get to enjoy not driving anywhere in snowy winter days or punishing summer heat.
Autonomy: As a business owner, you are in control of your own business. You don't have to answer to a boss or follow someone else's rules. You could make rules, or none at all. You could even break a few rules, just to see what the other side is: ever heard of A/B split testing? Google it if you haven’t. Breaking your own rules sometimes sounds exactly like that.
How to Become a Business Owner
Starting a business can be like running a gauntlet. It's full of risk, a bunch of unknowns, and pure hard work. But who says that’s bad for you? Maybe you’ve had it easy and been sheltered by paychecks all your work life. A little jolt of your new entrepreneurial baptism won’t hurt your skin. Actually, it can make you glow with such infectious radiance that touches everyone around you to the point that, soon, they also want to be like you.
What you need to start is to crack a few eggs to begin your omelet. Ready to start something frying? Here are some helpful tips on how to overcome your fears and conquer those demons:
Do your research
The first step to starting a business is to do your research. Research doesn’t mean trapping yourself in the city library 24/7 until you are locked in one hidden corner after the staff has shut down and gone home. Sure the library could help, but there’s a ton of information online.
Just come armed with enough curiosity to want to dig up stuff. Read a few books on entrepreneurship, preferably those written by people who have succeeded in the modern economy, and attend startup get-togethers so you can oil your thinking with doses of brimming inspiration. Inspiration is a good word at this point in your journey; that’s why you want to break out into entrepreneurship in the first place. Talk to successful business owners and ask for their advice. The more you know, the less daunting it will seem.
Get organized
The next step to starting a business is to get organized. No, we are not talking about organizing all the suits in your closet, assuming you have suits to start with. Create a business plan that outlines your goals and how you plan to achieve them. Don’t make this complicated, you are not writing for the Harvard Business Review. A business plan could be as simple as jotting down 1, 2, 3 of what you plan to achieve and the A, B, Cs of how you plan to achieve each. Plus a way a time-period to achieve each and how to measure your success.
Make a list of the resources you need to get started and set a budget. Or at least plan a budget, since the cost of doing things may turn out more different in reality than your projection. You may sometimes not even have enough money to implement your ideas and that’s where your creativity as an entrepreneur kicks in. Research the market to find out your competition and what they offer and how they offer it. Learning will give you a better chance of success.
Find a mentor, or just another head
Finding a mentor, or someone you can brainstorm ideas with - is one of the best ways to overcome your fears and become a successful business owner. The best type of mentor is someone who has already done it before and can offer you advice and guidance. “Done it before” is the operative word here – you don’t want a textbook theorist that has never practiced what they preach.
Take action
The BIGGEST AND BEST step to becoming a business owner is to take action. Now that you’ve dreamed many dreams and done the legwork of research, why stop?
If you haven’t started doing so already, you should believe in yourself and your ability to succeed. Be prepared to work hard and take risks. You can achieve your dreams of becoming a successful business owner if you stay dedicated and determined. Remember this: no one out there wakes up in the morning just to hand you their cash so you can buy yourself a mansion or drive a cool BMW. Money is a scarce commodity; that’s why everyone chases it. To increase your chances of making it, you have to fine-tune your offer from time to time, make changes as you go and just push on. That’s how it’s done.
The Risks, the Concerns, the Fear
There are reasons why people don’t take the plunge:
· The fear of risk. Are you risk averse?
· The fear of failure possible loss of money
· Procrastinating – finding reasons to starting back
· Laziness to do the work?
There is no guarantee that any business will be successful. If we all had a magic wand or crystal ball, everyone would be an Elon Musk or Jeff Bezos. The key is to evaluate your fears and concerns and work on ways to overcome them. Business is essentially about overcoming obstacles and solving problems, even if you have the best product or service.
You have to come to terms with, and have a solution for:
· Not having that steady income that comes from guaranteed paychecks if you are all in. Your income will likely be very unpredictable, especially at the start. You may make a lot of money one month and then nothing the next. Stressful, isn’t it, especially with bills to pay?
· How about health insurance, another major dampener, and a significant concern for many? Medical bills can be costly. If you do not have health insurance, especially in countries with no universal healthcare programs, you will need to pay for your medical expenses out of pocket.
Issues like the ones above are the reason why people often keep a job on the side, while taking baby steps in their business journey. You will need to evaluate your risks and decide how to resolve these problems. Do you need to share an apartment, eat out less, or drive with Uber to bring it all together? You decide.
Resources for Business Owners
Besides the research you do online and off, here are some helpful resources to know about, just in case:
- The Small Business Administration (SBA) is an excellent resource for business owners. They offer free counseling, training, and financing programs to help you get your business off the ground.
- The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is another excellent resource for business owners. They offer help starting and growing businesses, including advice from successful entrepreneurs.
- The International Franchise Association (IFA) is a good resource for those interested in franchising. They offer educational resources and support to help you make the right decisions when starting a franchise business.
- The Association for Enterprise Opportunity (AEO) is a national nonprofit organization that provides training, financing, and technical assistance to small businesses. They have a network of over 500 business resource centers across the country.
- The National Association for the Self-Employed (NASE) is the leading resource for self-employed individuals. They offer a range of resources, including health insurance, retirement plans, and business education.
Use the above resources meaningfully, if you need to, but remember that talking to them won’t make you succeed in business. Only you can. No advice or tool will actually supersede taking action yourself.
Final Thoughts
Starting a business is not for the faint of heart, but you don’t need to see a cardiologist in order to start your coffee shop, or online store. You don’t need a psychiatrist either, because nothing is wrong with your head. All you need is a healthy dose of wanting to do, and the dint of hard work, risk, and determination to make things happen.
If it were that easy to do business, everyone would be doing it and basking in the glory of their success. To be brutally honest it is not for everyone. That’s why not everyone is in business.
