Everyone has fears; it is part and parcel of life. However, what separates the winners from the masses who fail is the ability to acknowledge one’s fears and push through them. So, how do you beat your fear of starting your home business?
While conquering one’s deepest and darkest fears is not easy, it is definitely worth the effort. This is especially true when starting any business. As you begin to build your home based business, there will be times when the skies seem gloomy and you wonder if it will all work out.
Financial insecurities, temporary setbacks, and the usual challenges that life throws at you can be daunting. The majority of beginners will throw in the towel and quit the moment the going gets tough.
They believe they don’t have what it takes to build a successful business or the journey is just too tough for them. They quit out of fear.
When it comes to fear, you can do one of two things:
- Forget Everything And Run
- Face Everything And Rise
While the first option may be the easy course of action, your dreams will not become reality; they will suffocate and whither under the weight of your fear.
Choose the second option and you will push past your fear with purpose and determination. When you come out on the other side, you’ll be emotionally stronger, mentally tougher, and you will taste the fruits of your hard earned success.
These are your options. Just keep in mind that you can’t achieve everything you want until you push through to the other side of fear.
How to Beat Your Fear of Starting Your Home Business
In this article we’ll look at 5 of the common fears that plague most new business owners/online marketers and how you can overcome them.
1. Beat Your Fear of the Unknown
This is probably one of the biggest fears that entrepreneurs face. When you’re starting your own business, while you may have done your homework and prepared the best you can, there will always be a certain degree of uncertainty. That’s just the way it is.
You can’t discover new lands if you’re afraid to lose sight of the shore. If you’re worried you may not have the skills to start a home business or build an online business, go ahead and do it anyway; and learn as you go along.
You must have the faith to take the first step even when you can’t see the whole staircase. The best way to put an end to your fear of the unknown is to have faith, and arm yourself with as much knowledge as you can. And more importantly, you must have a plan of action. Taking action is a sure way to beat your fears.
These three things will give you the confidence you need to move past this fear when starting your home business.
2. Beat Your Fear of Failure
This is another major fear that paralyzes so many new business owners and online marketers from taking action on their goals and dreams. The fear of failure has stopped more people in their tracks than any other fear.
A lot of people fear failure because failure will make them look foolish in the eyes of their friends and family. They do not want to endure criticism or sneers from their peers.
But understand what others think of your endeavors should be the least of your concerns. What others think or say is irrelevant, no matter how well-intentioned. So don’t waste time and energy worrying about them.
You have a dream and you have a plan to achieve it. That plan will include contingencies for the rough patches you will inevitably face. When you know how you will deal with situations A, B, and C, when they arise, you will have eliminated that fear.
Mitigating the fear of the unknown will mitigate the fear of failure. They go hand in hand. So, fear not. Your success, or failure, depends only on what you think and your determination to succeed.
3. Beat Your Fear That You Are Not Good Enough
This fear arises when one has failed several times throughout life, often times at an early age. For example, there are those who do not do well academically in school, for whatever the reason. This leads to feelings of inadequacy, that they are not as good as their peers and won’t amount to anything.
Fear that you’ll never amount to much means that you have given up before you even start. You must have confidence. Do not judge yourself or your abilities based on past performance in school or jobs you’ve held.
There are countless stories of people who failed many times and finally succeeded beyond their wildest dreams once they found their passion.
There are famous successful entrepreneurs who will tell you they failed many times in their business before they achieved success. They achieved their success because they never gave up on themselves, nor should you. Fortune favors the bold… and the determined.
If you decide to build an online business, there will be a learning curve. This is a fact. You will make mistakes. This is also a fact.
You will buy products that are rubbish; you will waste time and money. This, too, is normal and can’t be avoided. However, if you quit while at this stage because you feel like you’re not good enough, you will never get better.
You only get better as you keep learning and progressing.
Many beginners look at the “expert marketers” and feel intimidated. They believe that the other guys are smarter, richer, and better than them.
Do not compare yourself with others… it’s a big mistake. How can you compare yourself in the beginning stages of building your business to those who have been building their business for years? You’ll be doing yourself a disservice and for no good reason.
All you need to do is focus on being the best that you can be.
Here’s the truth. Everybody started off as a beginner. You do not become successful overnight. There is a journey that you have to go through and go through it you must.
Chalk up every little failure that you encounter along the way as a learning experience. The more you learn, the better you’ll get. After all, knowledge is power.
The more mistakes you make, the better off you’ll be. Failure is not the opposite of success; it is an integral part of success.
You are good enough, you always have been. You just need to believe it.
4. Beat Your Fear That It’s Too Late or You’re Too Old
This is another big one. It’s never too late to start a new business and now is as good a time as any. Building a home based business is here to stay and every single day people are reaching their income goals.
Now, more than ever, people are turning to the Internet for products, services, and information. Sure, marketing methods and techniques may change with developing technology, but the fundamentals are still solidly in place. In fact, they have been for decades.
Whatever your business, it’s your job to let the folks know what you have to offer so you can provide them with what they need and want.
You’re also never too old to set new goals or dream new dreams. Stan Lee created his first hit comic close to his 39th birthday. Henry Ford was 45 when he built the Model T. Ray Croc started MacDonald’s at the age of 52, and Colonel Sanders was 62 when he franchised Kentucky Fried Chicken.
People have succeeded in life at all ages. You’re never too old and it’s never too late. So cast this fear aside and pursue your dreams today.
5. Limiting Beliefs
Just when you were expecting yet another “beat your fear,” you’ve been hit with “limiting beliefs.” Ha!
Now, it may be surprising but it’s true. There are people who don’t succeed because of their own beliefs. In fact, they often don’t even try. As you know, we begin to form our beliefs at an early age. While growing up, we form our beliefs based on what we see, what we hear, and what we are told.
One good example is overweight people who believe they’re “destined” to be fat. Their parents, siblings, relatives, and everyone close to them are overweight so they accept this as their reality; they buy into the notion that they are naturally predisposed to obesity.
While to a certain extent it could be true due to medical conditions such as slower metabolism or other causes, the truth of the matter is that food choices, eating habits, attitudes towards food, etc., are often passed down from parents to the kids.
Because of this, all they ever knew about food and eating is what they saw and heard. If, however, they made the decision to eat clean, exercise more, and watch their calories, they’d definitely lose all the excess pounds and probably end up being the leanest person in their family.
But getting to this stage requires one to overcome their limited thinking and believe that they can change their circumstances.
Make no mistake, overcoming your limiting beliefs is a Herculean task, but it can be done. You will need to be proactive and actually be alert to the way you think and then correct yourself.
Once you realize that your only limit is you, your life will change and you will conquer this obstacle.
Conclusion
By now you’ll realize the best way to conquer fear is through action. Analyzing why you feel the way you feel is helpful… but nothing beats action when it comes to dispelling fear. Do what you fear most and the fear will vanish.
Never let your fear decide your future. Make a good plan, have contingencies in place and work your plan till you succeed. Even during the darkest hours when everything around you may feel like it’s all about to collapse and all your fears are telling you that you’re about to fail… dig your heels in and keep pushing forward.
Have faith… you can do it!