Fear of becoming an entrepreneur
Work for your passion
As many people say, "PASSION IS THE KEY TO SUCCESS". But why do so many entrepreneurs still worry about their business, if passion is one of the main reasons they started it?
Let's start with a few facts:
According to the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, the average fear of failure rate in the world's economies is 40%. If we look at the statistics, we can see that in the first few years, around 80% of new businesses fail. No wonder people with an entrepreneurial spirit are afraid to start their own business! The prospects don't look good.
As an entrepreneur, you create a business for which you believe that no one else meets the needs of your customers. You want to build something unique that changes the world. Whether it's something that actually solves global problems or offers services to help others. Entrepreneurs are defined as supportive humans who try to help people while keeping the financial motive in mind. They combine their dreams with their careers and do what they love. You could say that setting up their own business is linked to following their passion.
It sounds very attractive, but I asked myself: what does passion really mean?
According to Jemi Sudhakar, "passion" can be described as follows:
"In general, it refers to someone who has intense feelings about a subject. (...) Your passion can be anything that simultaneously challenges, intrigues and motivates you. Contrary to the idea that doing what you love makes work effortless, a passion puts you to work. It's what you're willing to sacrifice leisure and lesser pleasures in life for."
Well, it seems to me that being an entrepreneur is all about doing what you want?
Let me tell you, a passion for business can motivate an entrepreneur in his or her day-to-day tasks - but entrepreneurship isn't just about the good stuff. Entrepreneurship isn't just about being your own boss and working flexible hours. Nor is it just about working from anywhere: today in Berlin, tomorrow in New York and maybe in the local café or in your pyjamas straight from bed? All this may seem very attractive to today's workforce, and doesn't really sound like a real "job". But just between us: you, as an entrepreneur, are scared! I know that there are scary aspects to this job, such as continuous improvement, responsibility for success, competitiveness and supervision of all activities. What's more, leisure time and time for yourself can be limited.
Now is the time to face up to these fears, accept them and embrace them so that you can continue to succeed.
In addition to those already mentioned, what fears do entrepreneurs have when they own or launch their own business?
The fears of an entrepreneur
👉 Fear of not being accepted
Why do people always seek acceptance from others? Why is it so important what other people think of you and what YOU do? Shouldn't you focus on yourself? Develop and strengthen acceptance and confidence in your abilities and skills. Investing in yourself is the most important thing. The more confident you feel in your skills, the more courage you will have to develop your business. And in the end, you don't have to fear the acceptance of others because you know what you're worth.
👉 Fear of financial problems
Starting your own business automatically comes with financial fear. Without it, it would be a bad sign - it would mean you were far too confident in what you were doing. Life can change quickly, so you need to be prepared for the difficulties that may arise. Financial security should be a reason to work hard every day. To make your business successful, there will always be something you need to invest money in. A general knowledge of the financial situation is therefore essential.
👉 Fear of losing creativity
Creative ideas are what entrepreneurs need to run a successful business. So the thought of not being able to come up with unique ideas in the future is understandably frightening. Always feeling the pressure to come up with something more creative and better than last time or than your competitors. So it's important to nurture your creativity.
👉 Fear of failure
Fear of failure is probably what most entrepreneurs feel. It's the word 'failure' that is associated with something negative, as if someone hasn't succeeded. But is it really that bad to fail? What about the things you've learned after failing? Maybe failure can still be a success. Maybe not for the business you've created, but it can be seen as feedback that should be used to improve your business. Always think of the worst possible scenario you could encounter by failing - and you'll see that it's probably not as bad as you'd imagined.
One of the most famous entrepreneurs once said:
"It's fine to celebrate success, but it's more important to learn from failure."
Bill Gates
The resources you'll need
Reading this, you might think that's not what you're afraid of. Why shouldn't I be able to come up with creative ideas in the next 2, 5 or 10 years? But maybe you've just been putting off these doubts? Because you know, in the end, people will just say: I knew you couldn't do it.
I'm telling you: all entrepreneurs experience different fears throughout their careers. The most important question is: who takes risks and fights for their success? Moving forward even if you're afraid means you're always one step ahead of those who avoid fears and take the safer path. Facing your fears will allow you to move forward, take on new challenges and grow, while your competitors will remain stuck in old habits.
Despite all these possible uncertainties, being passionate about what you do can be a differentiating factor between an entrepreneur's success and failure. Not only is passion necessary for an entrepreneur. There are certain characteristics that are also crucial to success.
Essential features for a contractor :
✔️ Imagination
Being creative is the foundation of any business. Entrepreneurship is about thinking outside the box and offering advanced solutions that are better than those of your competitors.
✔️ Self-motivation
Since entrepreneurs are their own boss, there will be no one to push you. It's up to you to provide plenty of personal motivation to stay true to your overall goal.
✔️ Versatility/Flexibility
As an entrepreneur, you'll often find yourself in unfamiliar situations where you won't know what to do. Changing trends are part of your business. Your business only works if you can adapt to different tasks: social media manager, accountant or website developer?
✔️ Self-confidence
Of course, you won't always be confident in what you do. Even so, without confidence in what your business offers and in your abilities, your business cannot succeed. Be committed to your work.
✔️ Optimism
You need the right amount of optimism to achieve your goal. You need to believe in what you're doing. But don't be naive!
✔️ Visionary
Without a business vision, why are you working? A goal is essential - it's what gets you up in the morning and keeps you awake all night. Without a vision, there will be no success.
As you may have gathered from reading this article, entrepreneurship isn't for everyone - and that's normal. But for those of you who have decided to start your own business or are already running your own business, there are challenges you need to overcome in order to succeed. As we've learned, passion can be a useful trait, but it's not the only important one for entrepreneurship. At least we know that passion is what you need to bring when you start your business, in order to get the daily motivation and aim for something bigger and better.
And don't forget :
"One of the big mistakes people make is trying to force themselves to be interested in something. You don't choose your passions; your passions choose you."
Jeff Bezos: Founder, CEO and Chairman of Amazon
As an entrepreneur, don't let your weaknesses cover up your strengths. Focus on what you're good at. It's your job to sell your customer what you're good at, and in the background, get help with what you struggle with. It's your choice to decide how you want your customer to see you: as a company with its own problems or as a company that has everything under control.
At Whatz'hat, we know the challenges you face at the start of your entrepreneurial journey. We've been there, and we've helped many other businesses at the start of their journey or at a later stage when rebranding became an issue.
Working with Whatz'hat frees you from the tasks you struggle with, so you can focus on the aspects of your business you're passionate about. We'll give you confidence in what you do and create something unique WITH you for your future.
Don't hesitate to contact us for a free audit of your business - we're here to help!