Starting from the bottom and striking out on your own can be both quite exciting and frightening too. Here are some of the most common fears of entrepreneurs and how to overcome them.Â
Fear is a totally normal emotion, but its important to keep it in check and not let it control your life. The greatest mark of a successful entrepreneur is his ability to get comfortable with fear, make objective decisions in the face of it and find solutions. Feelings of doubt, inadeqacy and day dreams of impending failure can have you stuck in a fearful mindset that will prevent you from taking action to move your business forward.
Here are five (5) of the most common fears among entrepreneurs  – and some advice from someone who’s been there on how to overcome them.
Fear of Not Being Prepared
The fear of not being prepared makes entrepreneurs take forever to launch their business or complete anything they start. The feel that they don’t know enough and nothing is good enough. Feeling unprepared or feeling like you don’t know enough about what you are doing can cause you to constantly second-guess your every move. It can take away your confidence and hinder your judgment – a distraction you don’t need.
So, when you feel unsure, just ask for help, find the resources or seek feedback from others to help you fill those areas of information or expertise that you feel need to be addressed. We all have knowledge gaps or blind spots in our business acumen.
Don’t be afraid. No one is perfect.
Fear of Feeling Being ‘Found Out’
Deep down many entrepreneurs feel like they don’t deserve the success they have worked hard to achieve or even the oppourtunities come along. These feelings of self doubt embed fear deep inside and ultimately endup limiting how far we can go.Â
The best way to tackle those feelings of incompetency, not being enough or the feeling that you haven’t earned your place, is to keep an accomplishment list. Though may sound vain, it is best to always remind yourself of how far you have come and the accomplishments you have achieved. This way, you are able to see yourself as capable and well-deserving of the successes you have achieved.Â
Fear of The UnknownÂ
The world of business and entrepreneurship is filled with unknowns and thats what makes it such an adventure. Typically, we are wired to avoid the unknown because we fear change. We also hate to lose control or be unable to manage potential outcomes. As a result, to succeed we need to take a massive steps towards an unknown outcome which is extremely scarely. Exploring the unknown will change you and may lead you to only two possible outcomes: success or failure.
To mitigate this fear, try to understand what drives your business. This will give you the confidence you need to feel assured when you take any step into the unknown.Â
Fear of Being Uncomfortable
Entrepreneurship in general is made up of a series of uncomfortable situations where you have to hustle and quicky think on your toes. There are some entrepreneurs who are afraid of being pushed into uncomfortable situations, such as public speaking, asking for payment from clients and more.Â
The only way to overcome this fear is not to avoid it, but to push through our comfort zone. This won’t happen unless we get ourselves in the right mindset, working up to face the challenge that lies ahead. Allowing yourself to get comfortable with the uncomfortable and, before you realize it you will be able to be in those situations without breaking a sweat.Â
Fear of Financial Insecurity
The fear of financial insecurity is what compounds the risk that entrepreneurs face as they must put on the line everything they have to see their dreams come to fruition. Unfortunately, there is almost no way to grow your business forward without putting some money into it.
Thus, the only way to deal with this fear is to take control of your money and educate yourself. Financial ignorance is expensive and is one of the main reasons most businesses fail within that first one and half years of operation.Â
Learning about finance, and handling your fears does help as you ride out the wave of entrepreuership.Â
In A Nutshell
Fear is a fundamental part of our human pshycology and thats what makes entrepreneurship such a great adventure. These fears of entrepreneurs will always come along, but we cannot allow them to control us and hinder us from greatness. Rather, we must face them and embrace the adventure fully to fully appreciate it.Â
Facing fears is part of the entrepreneurial journey, and once you move past them, nothing can stop you.Â
Believe in Yourself!
What other fears have you faced as an entrepreneur? Share them with us by leaving a comment below.
Image Credits: Top by Suzy Hazelwood via Pexels.Â
See also:
Uncertainty is the biggest fear which haunts most entrepreneurs should try to reduce their actual risk by taking calculative risks. Many people say for success does not have a second plan but for reducing anxiety and stress you should always try to mitigate risk as much as you can.