I once had the idea of starting my own business, but I had no money. I looked for ways to start my business without money, but I had no office. I worked out how to turn my home into my office, but I had no clients, and on top of that I was too shy to make cold calls to find them. New problems came up, such as not having the right equipment, or any contacts or connections. Even when the idea of writing a book crossed my mind, I quickly realised that I had no publisher to back me.
I probably had no talent, so it would be better if someone else started it. That is how a series of excuses begins that, for James Altucher, are excuses to hide a single one, which is usually laziness. Most of the obstacles that come up when we talk about starting a business are blessings in disguise that will force us to be more creative. Between what you have now and what you would like to have there will always be a huge gap. All you need to close that gap is creativity.
These are the most common excuses Altucher has observed in the people around him, although he warns that everyone has their own list, and all of them only shield human laziness. It is not even fear of failure. It is just the laziness of trying something, and the work and sacrifice that trying would involve.
1. I have no money.
Altucher says that when he started his first business he did not have a cent. He had to be creative to reach his friends and family, telling them what his set of skills was and what kind of clients he was looking for. Anyone who needed something I could offer or solve, I would be happy to do it for a fee.
“I made sure everyone knew about my skills and why they needed my help.”
At first it was a weekend job, then a part-time business, nights and weekends, until I was able to devote myself fully to my own business and make it work.
2. The lack of equipment and money.
Altucher recounts that while he was talking with a friend about the amount of money many people make by uploading videos to YouTube, his friend told him he would like to do it but did not have a good camera to record the videos. Altucher offered him his phone, because any mobile phone these days has a camera a thousand times better than you need to upload videos and make money on YouTube.
Other users will probably upload higher-quality videos, and that will force you to be more original and creative, since your videos will look lower in quality, though acceptable. His friend did not like the idea, and later admitted that he did not upload his own videos out of laziness. We love excuses.
3. I don’t have time.
“I don’t have time,” said a long-term unemployed man who was a lover not only of laziness but also of procrastination, one of the greatest enemies of success in any field. Putting everything off until tomorrow makes our tomorrow even darker than today already is. There is always time to fulfil our dreams, as long as we are willing to set out on the road to reach them.
Great books have been written by people who had no time.
4. I’m not good enough to do it.
Perhaps a lack of confidence in yourself and your own abilities is a good excuse that hides the laziness of learning. I don’t think any business owner knew everything they needed to know about the business when they started. Although you need to understand the basics of business and of finance applied to business, it is also true that everyone alike will run into problems and setbacks they were never prepared for.
See also: Conclusion: the most profitable businesses are clothing, food and technology
If you don’t consider yourself good, learn what you need to get better. At least you already recognise certain limitations. That is already a good start.
5. I don’t have a university degree.
Congratulations. Me neither, and that has allowed me to show that those of us who learned through practice tend to get better results than those who came out with the theory. The world is changing, and the good luck for entrepreneurs is that you don’t need to be a dentist to set up a competitor to Vitaldent (a large Spanish chain of dental clinics), and “you don’t need to be an airline pilot to create a company that sends rockets into space” (Richard Branson). Nor do you have to be a designer to build the world’s largest clothing empire, or study journalism to have your own news blog.
6. I’m too old now.
Altucher tells the story of Rodney Dangerfield, an aluminium siding salesman who wanted to be a comedian but felt too old at 50. Nobody wanted him at that age, so one day he decided that if no club would take him because of his age, he would create his own comedy club. That club is today the most popular in New York, and many of today’s film stars, such as Jim Carrey, made their name there.
An entrepreneur’s mindset is very simple: “if you want something, go and get it, and if you can’t find it, create it”.
7. I have no talent or aptitude.
If there are people with no talent for what they wanted to do, the first to come to mind would be Mick Jagger, who, you have to admit, is not exactly gifted as a singer, and whose voice at first even sounded unpleasant. But Jagger had charisma and personality. With that, who on earth cares whether you can sing?
Julio Iglesias is not exactly an example of vocal power either. He is probably one of the least gifted singers when it comes to voice, as he really moves within a few notes of the stave, yet he knew how to make the most of that small voice and make it as melodic as possible, to the point that his is one of the best-used voices around. In the same way, he was one of the people who gave meaning to the phrase “personal brand”.
Remember that there are more talented people who have failed than people without talent who have succeeded. That is because hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard.
Climbing each step of the ladder of success is hard and laborious. You have to be ready to face the frustration of temporary failure.
When it comes to excuses, they don’t choose us: we choose the kind of excuse we want to use to dress up a single excuse, which is that we are lazy by nature. Of course, some people fight laziness and others don’t.
When we start our own business, we do so with the statistics and the odds of failure against us. Not all of us will have a happy ending, but if we don’t at least try, the ending is certain not to be a happy one.
What’s your excuse?
Further reading
- 15 habits and choices for success
- The secret to getting rich is having a stupid business idea
- How to fail in business without losing your dignity
Featured image: travelmag.com, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
