Starting a new business comes with its own set of challenges and uncertainties. And you need more than just an idea to build a business from scratch.
While thousands of businesses are launched every year in the United States, many entrepreneurs give up on their startup dreams due to fear.
What do budding entrepreneurs fear the most?
Failure, most probably.
Why?
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), 20% of new businesses fail within the first two years of starting up. In fact, only 25% of businesses make it to the 15-year mark.
And these statistics haven’t changed much since the 1990s.
Did these statistics make you nervous?
Are you reconsidering your decision to start a new business?
You shouldn’t.
In this article, we’ll discuss ways in which you can overcome your startup fears and move towards accomplishing your business goals.
Let’s get started.
What is Your Greatest Fear of Starting a New Business?
Before we discuss ways to overcome your startup fears, let’s take a look at what most budding entrepreneurs fear.
When starting a new business, you might face:
The Fear of Change
If you’ve been working as a salaried professional for years, it may be difficult for you to take the plunge and start your own business.
You may be used to the corporate lifestyle, stable income, and other perks such as medical and travel expenses.
Opening a business means that your life will change. You will be responsible for landing clients, maintaining the cash flow, managing the team, and more.
The Fear of Making the Wrong Decisions
Setting up a new business and building it from scratch is all about making choices.
However, one wrong choice in business can haunt you for many days, weeks, or even months. And that’s one of the greatest fears business owners have.
The Fear of Failure
Last but not least, the fear of failing to turn your business into a profitable venture might be holding you back.
Yes, a lot of businesses fail. But the biggest risk is still to not take any risk.
Becoming your own boss is a big decision. You are bound to experience fear but that fear shouldn’t stop you from following your dreams.
Let’s move on to ways that can help you conquer your fears and achieve your business goals.
What Are the Best Ways to Overcome the Fear of Starting a Business?
To make your business successful, you should plan every step in detail, set goals, create strategies, track results, and optimize your marketing efforts for better results.
The key to building a profitable business lies in planning ahead.
Let’s take a look at ways to overcome your fears and set up a promising business venture.
1. Conduct Extensive Market Research
If you’re worried about making the wrong choices, you should start by conducting extensive research.
Find out:
- What problems can you solve?
- What products or services can you offer?
- What are others offering in your niche market?
- Who are your ideal buyers and what do they value the most?
- How do your target consumers respond to the current products in the market?
- Which channels are they the most active on?
- What can you improve in your product, service, or marketing strategy to attract your ideal buyers?
Conducting thorough market research to collect all of these details can help you solidify your business and marketing plan. You’ll be in a better position to offer what your ideal buyers value, as well as where, when, and how they are looking for it.
This will help minimize the risks of failure and move you closer to achieving your business goals.
2. Plan Everything in Detail
Those who fail to plan are planning to fail. And, we’re sure you don’t want to be there.
What should you do to overcome the fear of failure?
Plan, plan, and plan.
Don’t miss the slightest of details when creating your business plan. You should get it all figured out in advance.
Your business plan should include details about:
- Your business name
- The type of structure you want to form
- Investment sources
- Niche market and competitors
- Target audience and their needs, likes, dislikes, preferences
- Products or services you’ll be offering and at what prices
- Marketing strategies and channels
- Store location or online selling platform
- Shipping and payment gateway details
- Potential business opportunities and ways to convert them
Basically, your business plan should cover every single detail about how you will set up your new business and keep it up and running until break-even occurs. Also, how you will turn it into a profitable venture and scale it in the future.
3. Create a Strong Foundation: Do All of the Paperwork Right
Setting up a business requires a number of legal filings, documentation, and other requirements. Although the paperwork may seem tedious, it is an essential part of laying a solid foundation for your business.
Along with the mandatory state and federal filings, you should also create the essential legal agreements and contracts right at the onset of your business.
Creating these legal agreements can save you thousands of dollars in legal fees and headaches in the long run. They can also help protect your rights as a business owner.
Don’t take them casually.
What if you aren’t sure which documents you need to create or how to proceed?
You can take advantage of the business formation packages by GovDocFiling. They not only include state and federal filings but also include five essential legal documents. The best part is that their plans are much cheaper than hiring a professional lawyer.
4. Be Confident & Believe in Yourself
Last but not least, you need to believe in yourself and your judgment, skills, and decision to start a new business.
You should talk to experts in the niche, learn from your mentors, and seek professional advice whenever required. You can also hire experts and delegate work to people who are best at it.
Remember, it takes a village to run a business and make it profitable. While you might be starting the business on your own, you will surely be acquiring advice, services, and help from others and that will be a key part of your business.
But as a leader, you need to be confident about what you’re doing and how you’re doing it.
Ready to Start, Build, and Grow Your Business from Scratch?
Even the most profitable businesses failed at one step or another. But they learned from their ineffective strategies or products and optimized them on the way to becoming successful.
Are you ready to take the leap? Are you still contemplating it?
Equilibrist businessman -DepositPhotos
