The dream of starting a business has bubbled up in the hearts of most people at least for a moment or two. Are you contemplating a business idea right now? Are you riding high on the possibilities and excitement the future could hold? That is awesome. But, guess what? There are challenges like coming up with Good business name ideas, but those challenges are not there to stop you, rather they are there to fine-tune your commitment and your business idea.
Keep reading to learn how you can identify the top three challenges to starting your own business and how to face those challenges successfully.
Self Doubt
The biggest and often most powerful challenge you will face during this adventure, and starting a business is definitely an adventure, will be self-doubt. You will always be your biggest critic. However, the difference between the business owners who make it and the ones who do not is understanding how to deal with self-doubt.
Self-doubt is often viewed incorrectly. We have a negative or a doubtful thought pass through our brain, and we simply believe it must be the truth. Here is a little secret: all of our thoughts do not necessarily reflect truth and reality. Our thoughts can be influenced by lots of things: how much sleep we’ve had, how well we are eating, how stressed out we are, past experiences, and lots of other things. Our thoughts are not necessarily who we are, and they are certainly not always the truth.
To deal with self-doubt, you need to do a reality check. Ask yourself the following three questions to squash self-doubt and get yourself grounded back into reality:
- Have other people succeeded at this?
- Do I want this?
- Can I outline a clear path to achieving this?
Fear of the First Step
Many awesome business ideas never get launched because the owner of that idea simply could not take that first step. Maybe it was fear that stopped them, or maybe it was procrastination. Either way, a great business idea is like a snowball. Remember the snowballs from old-school cartoons? They would start at the top of the hill as just a tiny ball of snow, but rolling down the hill it picked up speed and momentum until finally, a huge crashing snowball is racing down the mountain. That snowball is your business idea. It just needs the momentum of your first step.
That first step may be simply picking a great business name and making it official by purchasing a domain. Finding good business name ideas are very important to long-term success, so this is an important and yet simple first step you can start with.
Negative Nellies
The people you surround yourself with will have a tremendous influence over you. Even if you think that you are not that easily influenced, negative talk from others can seep into your brain. If you are already dealing with self-doubt and fear of taking the first step, then the last thing you need is to have any negative energy around you telling you why your idea will not succeed.
During the very early stages of your business creation, it is important that you choose carefully with whom you share your plans. This is important number one because you don’t want anyone stealing your awesome idea, and number two you don’t need to hear a million reasons why it might not work.
Sure, there is always room for “what ifs” but during the early stages of planning, too many “what ifs” can paralyze your energy and excitement. You need that energy and excitement to get the momentum going.
If you can, avoid the negative Nellies altogether. Stay away. If it is someone you can’t exactly avoid; like a parent perhaps, then you definitely need to build up your resistance to them. Before interacting prepare yourself for their negativity. You know it’s coming, and it isn’t the truth. You can also simply not share your plans with them.
Starting your own business is one of the most exciting things you’ll do in life. If you can overcome these first three challenges you will be well on your way to becoming a successful business owner.
Interesting related article: “What is a Startup?“