8 Reasons Why People Don’t Start Their Own Business

I get asked often why people don’t start their own business.

Especially when each of us are born with a spirit to problem solve.

A business idea is basically a solution to a pain point that someone or a group of people experience.

From our early years as a baby, learning to sit, crawl, walk…we have all spent time trying different things until we figured it out.

And we all did – some just quicker than others.

As we get older, we still have the ability and the tendency to problem solve.

We sit around in the backyard at BBQs and nights out brainstorming business ideas over a glass of wine or two…

Everyone gets excited..

Everyone gets allocated a role based on their skill set.

(I am always given the role of treasurer).

Then..the days and weeks pass and nothing happens.

Why is that?

This blog post explores 8 key reasons why people don’t turn a business idea into a reality.

 

8 Reasons Why People Start Their Own Business

 

1 – Self Doubt

Self-doubt is probably one of the number one excuses that you hear from people who haven’t started a business.

I don’t know how to.

What happens if I am not good enough?

 

SOLUTION

There are a number of different techniques that you can implement to help you manage your self-doubt.

These include:-

• Tracking your results and celebrating every win, including the small ones
• Using positive affirmations to make your mind think in a positive way
• Meditation
• Create a mood board for your business – it can help you to refocus when you are feeling down.

 

2 – Lack of support

It is a strange things, but a lot of people start their business and do not tell their family and friends.

They are scared of what they will say, especially if things don’t go according to plan in the beginning.

So they don’t say anything.

And therefore, do not have the support of their partner, family of friends.

On the other hand, there are many situations where people who do tell family and friends about their business idea, and sometimes, what is meant to be genuine concern – comes as negativity.

How much money do you need to spend?

Won’t that take up a lot of your time?

What about A, B or C?

 

SOLUTION

If you are serious about setting up a business, then you need to be having some serious conversations.

Sit down with your family and friends, and talk through your business idea.

Be clear on your vision, and why you are doing this.

If you have commitments such as a partner and family, work out with your partner how you will make time to work on your business.

Make sure that you have regular check-ins to pulse check how each other is feeling.

Ensure that you celebrate your successes (as well as your learnings) with your family and friends.

 

3 – Fear of Failure

See points 1 and 2 above.

Fear of failure is a huge reasons why people don’t start their own business.

Society has conditioned us to view failure as a bad thing.

Feelings such as embarrassment, shame and hurt come with failure.

Then comes the pity party.

 

SOLUTION

You need to change your mindset in regards to failure.

It is ok to fail as long as you can take something away from the experience.

You need to try different things when starting a business to find out what works and what doesn’t work.

Just don’t keep doing the things over and over again that don’t work- it is a sure sign of insanity (as the saying goes).

 

4 – Information Overload

There is so much information available on the internet about starting a business.

It is very easy to become overwhelmed.

Websites, SEO, digitial marketing, product development, social media…the list goes on and on.

How do you learn all this stuff?

Do you actually need it?

 

SOLUTION

Start simple.

You only need to start with the basics.

As you start to grow and be successful – then you can start to get fancy with different bits and pieces.

Things to focus on in the early days – understanding your customer, a website and driving traffic to your website.

(Check out Business Basics which teaches you all of these things)

 

5 – No idea about the role of a business owner

Some people do not understand what the role of a business owner entails.

A business owner, especially when starting out – is a Jack/Jill of all trades.

CEO, CFO, Marketing guru, Technology expert, Social Media Manager.

You need to know how tomulti-task…but also how to outsource.

 

SOLUTION

Make sure that you do your research before starting a business.

Speak to other business owners about what they love and hate about running a business.

Have your eyes wide open about what the role of a business owner is.

Work out what skills you have, and what you can teach yourself.

For the things that you can’t teach yourself, find someone to do it for you.

There are a number of sites out there – like Fiverr and Upwork where you can hire people to do all sorts of things for you.

 

6 – Perception of running a business

Some people just think that it is all too hard.

They don’t know where to start…

They don’t know how to start.

 

SOLUTION

Just do it and stop procrastinating

What is the worse that happens?

You might fail….but then again ….think of what success looks like for you.

 

7 – Fear of selling

Some people just don’t like the idea of selling.

In order to be successful in business, you need to sell something to make money.

Selling to your family and friends only is not the solution.

 

SOLUTION

Understanding who your niche is, is so important to the success of your business.

Once you understand your niche, you can focus on understanding their pain points and working out solutions for them.

Being able to serve your niche, and solve a problem for them – is one of the secrets of success to starting and running a business.

 

8 – No systems in place

With so much that needs to be done when starting and running a business, a failure to set up systems will be a downfall.

A lack of process or procedure will create confusion for you and will lead to poor time management.

 

SOLUTION

When starting a business, you need to set up systems to be success.

In business, systems are a process, procedure or a method that you utilise to achieve a result.

Examples of systems that you can set up include lead generation, social media management, website, customer service and accounting.

Good systems take inefficiency out of your business and free up your time

If you are looking to start an online business, then check out Business Basics. It is a step by step program to starting your own online business.