Starting a business is a massive step that will likely affect multiple parts of your life. If you feel stuck in your life and unable to grow in your existing career and looking for a solution, you might consider entrepreneurship. However, this can be a dramatic change and feel quite overwhelming. And it is understandable. The idea of a 360-degree change in your career can sound scary because you most likely have to push yourself out of your comfort zone and because many unknown factors are waiting to be conquered. It is best to focus on the good instead of getting into a rabbit hole about what can go wrong...

How to Overcome Fear and Start Your Online Business?

Think about all the fantastic things that entrepreneurship can bring to your life:

• You can follow your passion and do something you love 
• Motivation at work will come easy, and your creative juices will flow 
• You can achieve financial independence
• Entrepreneurship can provide you with job security 
• This is my fave part: You’ll gain ABSOLUTE CONTROL over life!

So, what’s stopping you? I have the answer — it’s the ‘what-ifs.’ You think you need ‘time’ to plan and prepare well before diving in. In reality, these are just excuses for not committing. This post will discuss some of the reasons we tell ourselves for not kick-starting our business! Remember, start before you are ready because you may never feel completely prepared to start...

1. Fear of the Unknown 

People are afraid of the unknown because they don’t know how to work their way around it. The unknown comes with lots of new challenges, opportunities, and disappointments. It will make you uncomfortable initially, but you will learn to manoeuvre successfully with time. It’s like learning how to ride a bike! You have zero ideas about steering, balancing, or moving the pedals. But, you learn. Entrepreneurship can be uncomfortable at times. Hence, it keeps driving you to learn more and become better. Moreover, the unknown makes you more creative, observant, engaged, and many times more resourceful!

 2. Fear of Going Broke 

Finance is a huge aspect of running a business. Most people think that throwing money at a problem fixes it for good. It might, but you won’t have the money to do that initially, more often than not. You’ll have to maintain a strict budget and double down on gaining knowledge to solve problems. Can’t afford an Application Designer? Use YouTube and teach yourself from scratch. Don’t know how to run social media marketing? Read through the various blogs and meet people to figure it out. In short, you will have to switch on the ‘Save Money’ mode to make this work. Stay on top of your 

• Expenses to start the business
• Costs related to sustaining and growing your business
• The income you need to generate to stay afloat.
• What may drain your business
• Time spent on tasks versus revenue generated in return 

You have to pay close attention to every aspect of the work you do in your business, and ON your business for the return you earn. It is vital to learn what moves the needle in your business and where you waste time and effort without tangible results. 

3. Fear of Public Failure

Let’s go back to the ‘first time riding a bike’ example. Did you know you could ride the bike before hopping on it? You didn’t. You were sceptical. You might have even thought it was not for you. Regardless, you jumped on it and began pedalling. A few minutes into the learning session and we hear a loud thud! That’s right, you fell and got hurt. But did you quit? You kept pedalling through the fears and learned how to ride a bike. That’s exactly how you run a business. Failure will only push you forward in entrepreneurship—only this time, with a better understanding of the obstacle. There are no guarantees that you will succeed in everything you do for the first time. However, there is an absolute guarantee that you will learn from it and always do better no matter what you do. It is important to focus on your goals and not what people who have nothing to do with your business think, say or feel. Those are none of your business. 

4. Fear of Trusting in Yourself

Do you have what it takes? What if you are not good enough? What if you don't know how to do things on your own? These feelings and questions are valid, we are not here to dismiss them, and these ideas are the ones keeping you inside that cubicle. You know that crazy office environment is not for you. You know that you are born for doing more. You want to love what you do, but you stay because you don't quite know what to do. Most entrepreneurs have been in your place. However, unlike you, they made that move and just went for it. That's the only sure-fire way to find out what you are made of. It may sound daunting, but the time you'll spend running a business will never go wasted. It's a massive learning opportunity fueled by trials and errors. Eventually, you will find your true calling and never have to go back to that 9 to 5 life. Taking the step and stumbling a bit at the beginning until you learn the ropes is a way better choice than never making that call and living with regret (and having to keep on sitting in that dreaded 9-5 job...) 

Key Takeaways! 

These are real fears, and there are many mores... and I’m glad you have them. It shows that you are thinking, and just like all successful entrepreneurs were in their early days, you are looking to make the right decisions. But what those successful entrepreneurs did is that they didn’t attach themselves to their fears. They made the move and prepared themselves for the challenges ‘on their way.’ Don’t give in to the fears. Make a decision and just go!

If you liked this article and want to learn more, go and check out this article about How to Set Up A Successful Online Business? or Beginners Guide on How to Grow Your Service-Based Business in 6 Steps