It’s probably one of the biggest decisions you make in your career. Taking the plunge to start a business is a big deal for anyone, and overcoming these fears can be very difficult.
However, it can be done.
While everybody has their own fears and questions ahead of the move, we will today outline some of the most common ones to help you along.
What if it fails?
Let’s start with the classic one. For a very good reason, most people struggle to get over the line for fear of failing.
Considering the press are more than happy to thrust start-up failure statistics in our direction at any opportunity, this perhaps isn’t a surprise.
It’s at this point where you need to dig into the question. Are you worried about what happens if you do fail? If you are currently employed, don’t assume you can never return there. The fact that you have taken the initiative to start your own enterprise will be seen favourably if you ever do have to go back into the world of work.
Or, it might be about the finances. Again, this is a valid point, but having a backup plan can somewhat offset this. Try approaching your business with at least six months’ worth of living expenses in the bag. This will at least buy some time and perhaps allow you to overcome this daunting question.
Of course, the list can go on, but if you do fear failure – question why.
The fear of feeling alone
This is a big one and will resonate with a lot of people. When you are used to being in an office environment and working as part of a team, it can be daunting to be by yourself for the majority of the day.
This is where you need to be proactive. Make an effort to attend networking events and get your name and face out there. It might be difficult at first, but it will soon become second nature.
Let’s not forget that this is a period where you’ll have plenty of burning questions. It might be necessary to understand what type of insurance you’ll need (and the best providers), or it might be around a new supplier you are courting. Either way, these networking events can be crucial.
This is also the point at which you need to ask your inner family circle the right questions. Do they support your decision? If not, why not? This isn’t a confrontational way of assessing the situation; there can be valid family reasons why now is not the time to make this move.
The financial burden
We touched briefly on this in the first point, but this might be one of the more difficult hurdles to overcome, and it might not be possible to do so.
The biggest issue here will be around giving up a stable income. This is a major life decision and one that shouldn’t be taken lightly. It’s also one that you might not be able to do much about if your current financial situation is such that you need to bring in a certain amount of money each month.
Of course, this is where a bit of creative thinking might be required. Perhaps there is a way of scaling back your current lifestyle to make this work? It might not be ideal, but in the early days, these tough decisions will need to be navigated to overcome your fears.