Scared to Start a Business? Why Most People Don’t Start

“But I’m scared of not getting traction.”⁣⁣

My friend said this to me the other day, and I realized so many people don’t even start because of fear that things won’t work out.⁣ In today’s post, I want to address the concern that people constantly bring up to me: “I’m too scared to start a business”!

Scared to Start a Business? Why Most People Don’t Even Start

Many people are afraid to start a business. And when I say start a business, it doesn’t even have to mean anything extensive like creating an innovative product. I mean they’re scared to start anything – like building a blog, building a YouTube channel, creating passive income streams on existing marketplaces, etc.

On one hand, I get it. But on the other, I’m baffled! If we know that exactly zero things will happen if you don’t do anything, then why WOULDN’T you start?

I believe people don’t start because they fear what others may think when they’re at the bottom trying to come up. ⁣

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They’re scared of embarrassment when they’re: ⁣

• Creating content that nobody’s looking at (yet).⁣
• Promoting themselves and feeling like an imposter.⁣
• Trying to get their first few subscribers.⁣
• Talking to people to try and get their first sale.⁣
  

I get it – it is scary!

But It’s Bigger Than You!

I think we commonly forget that each individual on this planet is completely unique. We each bring something different to the table – whether you know it or not. We’ve learned and experienced different things in our past. We also have varied interests, skills, passions, and values. So when it comes to creating, the world could benefit in one way or another with what you’re passionate about.

Are you building something impactful? Creating an innovative product? Or helping people with your knowledge and passions? If you are – that NEEDS to be shared.⁣ The world deserves to receive your unique take on things. You also owe it to yourself to unlock your true potential. ⁣

Think of creating and entrepreneurship as a bigger picture idea. Your specific perspective on life and your knowledge can change someone’s life.

Stop Letting Others Dictate Your Life

And (though easier said than done) we all know that what other people think about your path is negligible.

There are so many examples of successful entrepreneurs who were “failures” before they were successes:

• J.K. Rowling escaped an abusive marriage and worked on Harry Potter as a single mother living on welfare.
• Walt Disney was broke and rejected over 300 times before he got a yes on Mickey Mouse.⁣
• Alan Rickman (Snape) switched from art degree to acting and only got his break after hitting 42
• So many more examples…

When you stop listening to what others expect of you based on the norm, then you can start doing extraordinary things. Extraordinary things have to come from a place that’s outside of normal expected behavior. If people judge you because you’re doing things differently, maybe you should actually feel excitement because it may mean you’re doing things correctly!

Also, when you start letting others’ opinions and judgments dictate your life, you start detaching from your true self. And the more you decide to act away from your norm, the more you’re attaching shame to your actual self. It’s important to live an authentic life to build a solid foundation that allows for you to love yourself and accept yourself.

What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Stronger

The more we challenge ourselves to do scary things, the more we grow as a person.

I wrote about how humans have currently progressed in unhealthy ways in this post. Back in the day, humans were at the bottom of the food chain where they were living in constant anxiety for fear of death:

As we progressed, we began making our way to the top of the food chain. Our lives weren’t constantly at stake anymore, and the more we advanced the more we moved from anxiety to boredom on the graph as we had no real fears:

Now that we’ve evolved, we’re not faced with death on a daily basis, but our constant need to reduce uncertainty and volatility has made us extremely vigilant to try and avoid any bad outcomes. This has now become maladaptive because we run at any sign of failure and fear.

Reminding ourselves what fear actually is in the evolutionary context can be a powerful thing. And rather than leaning towards one extreme or the other, the vacillation between anxiety and boredom is actually a healthy thing. We can run towards discomfort as long as it’s not life threatening – and that’s where real growth lies.

So when it comes to fears around entrepreneurship – if we think in the evolutionary context we can realize that running towards fear may be a healthy thing. When we’re bored and comfortable, we’re not growing. We become extremely fearful and vigilant of challenges. Instead, if we keep challenging ourselves and pushing ourselves outside of our comfort zone, we’re adapting and becoming less afraid as human beings.

Conclusion – Why Most People are Scared to Start a Business

I believe that people are scared to start a business because they are scared of judgment. The crazy thing is it’s all mental – these fears we have are ones we place on ourselves. When we realize that powerful fact, we can break through this illusion to unlock our true potential.

I challenge you to create, despite all the worries in your mind, because you’re worth it!