Want to start a business? You’d be joining millions of people in their quest to be their own boss. For many entrepreneurs, it’s the American dream to ditch their 9-5 and have the freedom to do what they love whenever they want.
But many never get started.
The would-be-entrepreneurs experience roadblocks to starting up their business. The company falls to pieces well before it gets off the ground.
Don’t let that happen to you.
Break through the ice, jump over the brick wall and build something. Start your company and avoid these common roadblocks of destruction:
1. Your Family & Friends
Looking for cash to start your company? Family and friends are the perfect match. But, they may also be the death of your idea. They mean well when they criticize your idea. And they offer what you may think are ridiculous suggestions to “make your company better”. Acknowledge their ideas, but stick to your guns. Don’t get discouraged. It’s likely they’ve never been in your shoes before, so just launch your company and see where it goes.
2. Your Full Time Job
Trying to build a business on top of working full-time is hard. No one will tell you it’s easy. You only have a couple hours to play with each night and some on the weekends, too. It’s not a lot of time. So, how do you make the most of your limited time? It comes down to scheduling and focus. You’ll be surprised at how much you get done when you block social media and make a nightly 3-5 item to-do list. Suddenly your full-time job isn’t in the way of progress!
3. Your Money
Obviously, starting a business for free isn’t possible. You need cash to get started, buy a domain name, register your company with the state, and print business cards – a couple hundred bucks – tops. This money can come from selling old sports gear, freelance work or use birthday money to launch your company. Regardless of where the money comes from, know it’s possible. And every little bit helps.
4. Fear of Failure
Are you scared of what’ll happen when your doors open? Just like your middle school play, it’s normal to be nervous and uncertain. Fear is simply a source of energy. Turn your nervousness into a motivator. Remember your to-do list in #3? Take your wasted energy and apply it to getting things done. Don’t think about failure. Success is much sweeter.
5. Your Plan
Speaking of success, do you have a plan for it? If so, throw it in the trash. Business plans are obsolete. They consume too much of your time. Plus, the plan almost always changes once you’re finished. Why spend time figuring out if you’re going to make money five years from now? Instead, worry about why you haven’t launched and where your company revenue is going to come from. After all, putting food on the table is kind of necessity.
Launching a business is not as easy as it sounds. A lot of problems get in the way – but that’s business. One of the best skills an entrepreneur has is the ability to problem solve – to walk around or jump over the brick walls of start-ups. That’s what you’re doing here – avoiding the pits of doom to get to something bigger and better.
Have you experienced any roadblocks? Do you have any of your own to add? Join the conversation by leaving a comment below.
Image courtesy of Flickr.
Perhaps these are five road blocks I should have listened to 17 years ago. 😉 Seriously, I love what I do. I think this is great advice for someone who wants to take the leap and hasn’t yet.
Michael – Excellent summary of what holds potential entrepreneurs back. I think #3 is most critical. You can overcome the remaining ones with the help of others, but if you are willing to take risk and fail, and learn from failure you will never be able to take that first step. Once you have overcome that you can work on other roadblocks that hold you back.
Don’t agree with the Business Plan portion on this article. But good point to share..