Overcoming the fear of starting a business is not easy, especially if you have failed in business before!
When I left employment in 2007, I was sure that I would succeed in business. That didn’t work out as planned and I had to close the business 2½ years later.
It wasn’t easy getting up and moving forward in the second and third businesses, as I share in this article.
Common Business Startup Fears
There are a number of fears that a budding entrepreneur needs to work on:
- Fear of failure.
- Fear of success, which can also masquerade as fear of failure.
- Fear of public speaking and publicity (apparently people fear speaking in public more than death).
- Fear of making mistakes or having all your past mistakes come to haunt you (I am well acquainted with this one).
- Fear of change or moving out of your comfort zone or having to make changes in your life when you succeed.
- Fear of being ridiculed by family, colleagues and friends (not to be confused with fear of failure).
- Fear of rejection from potential customers.
- Fear of … (add other fears you have here).
Fear has caused more misery than failure and led to missed dreams and opportunities.
This also holds true in all areas of our lives: relationships, finances, career, job advancement, business, parenting, spirituality…you name it.
In most cases, when you find yourself unwilling to take chances or make changes in your life, there’s one or more fears to blame.
My Startup Story
If you want to succeed in business, you have to make fear your ally. You have to accept your fears and move beyond them so that you can explore whatever you find on the other side.
This is what happened to me when I starting thinking about starting a new business about 2 years after the first one failed. Eventually, I managed to overcome the fears and start a life coaching business.
The moment I made up my mind to start this business, I became paralyzed with fear. I had failed publicly in another business and was still smarting. At the same time I knew that I wanted this new business badly because it called to my heart.
Getting Started on the Second Business
This time round, I chose to seek help before starting the business…something I had not done with the first business.
I was lucky because I found a Coach who was already at the level I wanted to be within 5 years and so I asked her to coach me.
The coach immediately identified my fears and she worked on them one by one. She also helped me identify skills and talents that I could monetize quickly and easily.
I was not surprised when writing and speaking appeared at the top of the list, ranking even higher than coaching. This was because I was already highly skilled in these 2 skills having come from a research career.
I was also already published in peer-reviewed journals and had given presentations locally and internationally. But I had never thought I could make money using these skills.
Since I was very shy and publicity averse, my Coach pushed me to:
- Create my first website. I didn’t have any web-design knowledge or skills so I used Weebly to set it up.
- Write an article and post it on the website.
- Send emails and SMSs to my contacts, family and friends, asking them to check out the website.
It took 2 weeks to complete the assignment and I only did it because I’d already paid for my coaching in full. So I was going to lose quite a bit of money if I backed out.
I still remember how scared I was when I pressed the button to “Publish” my website on Weebly, and the huge sigh of relief I let out after publishing the website.
That article turned into a series of 3 blog posts that later turned into a coaching program and book. It was also the beginning of my learning how to use writing as a marketing tool.
“The important thing is not being afraid to take a chance. Remember, the greatest failure is to not try. Once you find something you love to do, be the best at doing it.” Debbi Fields, Founder of Mrs. Fields Cookies
Going Beyond Writing
That was in September 2011 and my coach used this exercise to help me create my first coaching program Create Your Dream Business.
In November 2011, I created my first email newsletter using the first 3 articles I had written on the website.
In 2012 I sent out a series of business startup articles to my e-newsletter readers. At the end of the series, I put together the articles into an eBook titled How to Choose the Perfect Business for You. I later added this eBook to the Create Your Dream Business (CYDB) coaching program as a core module.
One day, a client requested that that I put the modules for the CYDB program into a manual and send this manual to clients instead of sending them weekly modules.
Following her advice not only freed up my time.
It also gave me something to add as a benefit for signing up to the program because I could offer clients a manual they could on their own in the future.
I continued testing and updating the manual as I worked with new clients. By this time, I had a fully fledged self-coaching business startup manual that needed testing beyond my clients. So I created a Facebook group, sent members the manual in weekly bits, collected their reviews, and used this information to update the book and coaching program.
By the end of 2013, the manual had reached a point of redundancy and there was nothing new to add onto it, or so I thought.
At that time, I was working with another Business Coach who challenged me to set a goal to have the book selling by December 2014. I set that goal, edited the manual and gave it the title 12 Weeks to Startup: How to Turn Your Skills, Talents, Experiences and Knowledge Into a Business.
New Horizons
In October 2014, a friend used the book to coach a group of women in Mombasa. This opened up a new market for me. It also helped me move to Mombasa in December 2014, one year ahead of my plans
As I settled in this new environment, I started getting enquiries from women who were struggling to grow their already established businesses. It was time to move to the next level and create a program for business growth.
My results so far:
- 12 Weeks to Startup book has been selling online as an eBook since May 2015.
- The Create Your Dream Business program has grown into a 9-month virtual business startup program.
- I work from home and have minimal overheads.
- I have become an active networker (online and offline), gotten involved in social activities in Mombasa, and publicity no longer bothers me. I now love sharing my business tips and resources have become an avid blogger.
- Today, writing is my main marketing strategy, whether on the blog or social media.
All these things have happened simply because I took a leap of faith, addressed my fears, and took action on my goals.
Looking back, I’m amazed at how well things have fallen in place over the years. I’ve also benefitted immensely from working with coaches whose guidance has motivated and pushed me way beyond my comfort zone.
That’s my story that almost didn’t happen because I was riddled with different fears after the failure of my first business. Facing these fears, especially the fear of publicity, and writing online despite not knowing whether my writing would be accepted or not has led to financial freedom in a roundabout way.
I cannot imagine what my life would be today had I allowed fear to take control.
I probably would have gone back to employment and been miserable as I wished to get back into business.
A key lesson for me is that you never know what will happen once you face your fears. The journey may not be smooth, but the results will benefit all areas of your life.
What About You?
I believe everyone with a business dream is capable of achieving the dream. However, most people get stuck dreaming because they haven’t found a way to overcome the fear of starting a business.
Many also get stuck after having failed once or twice. And yet, we have seen that most successful entrepreneurs failed more than once, but they picked themselves up and got back into business.
What is holding you back from starting your dream business?
And if you’ve failed before, are you allowing the fear of starting a business to hold you back from trying again?
I’d love to hear from you so please share your experience in the Comments.
This post is adapted from the first chapter of my book 12 Weeks to Startup. You can download this chapter for free from this link. There’s an exercise at the end of this chapter that will help you overcome the fear of starting a business.
(Image Credit: Unsplash)
