Editor’s note: This article was first published in July 2010. The reference to losing at most 3,012 euros appears to be the minimum share capital of a Spanish limited company, legally 3,005.06 euros in 2010; Spain has since allowed such companies with 1 euro of capital. The mentions of the current crisis and recession are also from 2010.
There is no such thing as fear of starting a business. What exists is fear of failing when you start a business. Once you’ve accepted that fear and the possibility of failure, everything gets easier. Even so, here are a few tips to help you feel more confident as you take your first steps in the business world.
1. Success is never guaranteed, but only those who take risks find it
There’s no greater failure in life than doing nothing out of fear of failing. At some point in your life you’ve been attracted to a woman and, even though you knew she felt something for you, you were afraid to tell her plainly for fear of being rejected.
With time and age, I hope you’ve learned a lesson there. If she turned you down, at least you tried, and you knew it was time to look for someone else, because she wasn’t the one for you. If she didn’t turn you down, you learned how important it is to act in order to get a reward.
Life is full of victories and defeats. Victories encourage you to keep going, and defeats teach you to try other strategies to reach victory.
2. Success starts with the quality of the people around you
If Sergey Brin hadn’t become friends with Larry Page, Google would never have been born. Surround yourself with people whose achievements in life you admire. Surround yourself with people who bring you positive values. You don’t have to run away from negative people. Just study them so you’re clear about what you don’t want to be in life.
Surround yourself with, and try to talk to, people who have already achieved what you want to achieve. If you want to become an entrepreneur, a circle of entrepreneurs will be your best university.
3. Lose your fear of losing money
This is one of the big fears: thinking that if you start your own business and it doesn’t work out, you’ll end up in debt for life. Let me tell you that isn’t so. On this point, I recommend reading how to choose the legal form of your business.
An entrepreneur’s losses depend on the capital the business is liable with. A self-employed person is liable with all their personal assets, present and future, but a company is only liable up to the capital contributed. If you know in advance that the most you’ll lose is €3,012, some of your fears will probably disappear.
Still, think positive. Think about what you can gain, not about what you think you’re going to lose. If a football team took the field thinking the other side was better, its fears would come true.
4. Study before you start a business
I’m not saying you should go to university, since there’s no degree that teaches you how to get rich in business. Universities train the people who will later help you grow your business. Read about how great business figures such as Steve Jobs, Donald Trump and Robert Kiyosaki got started. They all have a lot to tell you about starting a business. Each has his own point of view, and each found success in a different way but with something in common. Every one of them took risks in business and lost their fear of starting out.
See also: The only three ways to achieve financial freedom
Read a book or two on corporate finance, business administration and the like. Think of it as entering a game: you need to know the rules beforehand.
If you know many people whose businesses failed, most of them were never prepared to make them work. Just look at how their competitors kept growing after they closed.
Learn from the winners and write down the losers’ mistakes so you never make them.
5. Lose your fear of starting a business in a crisis
Many entrepreneurs are thinking about starting their business but can’t make up their minds because we’re living through a recession. Let me tell you, it’s like when you want to quit smoking. Now’s not a good time, I’m very stressed. Now’s not a good time, I’m on vacation. The point is, it’s never a good time. Business is the same. Our “mental helplessness” paralyzes us in the face of our fears, and we make excuses that we know are just that: excuses.
Here are five reasons why a crisis is a good time to start your business.
6. Take the plunge, but with knowledge
Starting your business is easy. As you can imagine, the hard part is making it profitable. These days you should know whether your business will be profitable even before you start it. To do that, first and foremost, you need a business idea that you know in advance will be profitable. You can find that out by drawing up a business plan.
A business plan will help you get your bearings and focus better, and, no less important, it will help you get financing for your business. Here is the structure of a business plan.
Take it one small step at a time. Those small steps are essential before you start walking fast and then running. Shortcuts are no good in business. Everything requires gradual learning.
And when we talk about advice from professionals, by a professional in this field we mean someone who has already started businesses. I recommend reading the following articles:
- How to start a business with no money
- If you have a business idea, 10 tips for putting it into practice
- The entrepreneur’s mindset, according to Donald Trump
- Start a business or buy one?
- How to become a successful entrepreneur
Featured image: Martin Taylor, CC BY 2.0, via Flickr.
