I’ve been seeing so may discussions lately on how fear is one of the obstacles many home based business face, that I thought this would help. I think we all face fears in our business, but the key is to learn how to overcome them and turn them into success. Your passion for your business can help. Diana Ennen, VirtualWordPublishing.com
Excuses, Excuses For Not Exceeding in Your Home Based Business
Just how badly do you want this? What’s holding you back? People present all kinds of excuses for why they shouldn’t start a home-based business. Fear is the most common. Fear of failure, fear of financial insecurity, fear of responsibility, and fear of change are the most frequently stated. Let’s look at these for a moment and see if they apply to you.
Fear of Failure: Most of us fear failure. It’s natural. Who wants to fail at anything? Besides, if you don’t try, you can’t fail, and you will not have to deal with those negative emotions. Successful entrepreneurs see failure as an opportunity. They believe that there is no such thing as failure, only lessons. You need to be able to learn from your past failures, or as I call them, “tries.� I consider it this way: “I tried it; it didn’t work, so I’ll try something else.� I give failure no power. One of our favorite clichés is, “I would rather regret something I did over something I didn’t do.�
You should learn valuable lessons from each of your mistakes. What did you do wrong that could be corrected next time? Never dwell on your mistakes. Solve the problem and plan a new course of action.
You can also prevent the risk of failure by being aware of why most home-based or small businesses fail and then guard against these things. The following are several reasons many businesses fail:
1. Lack of enthusiasm, motivation, dedication and drive
2. Lack of self-confidence
3. Lack of knowledge and expertise
4. Lack of management skills necessary to run a successful business
5. Lack of providing clients with quality and professional services
6. Lack of a professional attitude
7. Lack of a market for services
Remember that success takes time. Very few businesses are overnight successes. It takes work, rethinking of ideas and carrying out your plans. Think of success as a marathon, not a sprint.
Fear of Financial Insecurity: This is a valid concern for those leaving the security of a full-time job with a regular paycheck every week. There is no guarantee that every week you will make a certain amount of money. However, you can take steps that will enable you to make it through the slow times until your business is up and running. Don’t let your paycheck addiction seriously interfere with your dream of entrepreneurship. Keep in mind that you could be downsized, fired, laid off, let go, given the pink slip (you get my point) tomorrow, so take control of your future now!
Have two or three months of money in reserve to help you through the first few months. This alleviates the stress of having to make money NOW! Many start this business on a part-time basis and continue working their full-time jobs to keep money coming in and to build their client base. However, lack of savings shouldn’t stop you from starting a business. After being in business for 25 years and seeing so many businesses succeed, I know many who have made it without this extra money.
Fear of Responsibility: Many are frightened by the role of sole responsibility. They like the option of going to someone else when a crisis hits and having that person solve the problem. With everything falling on their shoulders, they fear they can’t handle the stress. Advance planning is the key here. When you start your business, have a good back-up plan in effect. Then when a crisis hits, you immediately know what to do. After the first few crisis situations, you learn to remain calm and solve problems with little effort.
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