Photo by Anastasia Shuraeva: https://www.pexels.com/photo/close-up-shot-of-a-laptop-7278886/
It’s not easy to run any business, no matter what kind of person you are or what your personal circumstances look like. Even the most capable businesses in the world, with international traction, can make mistakes and pay dearly for them.
That doesn’t mean you should give up on your dream to commercialize an idea or work for yourself. After all, there’s a fair amount of success to achieve if you’re diligent, and with a careful focus, you have as good a chance as anyone. You don’t need to become a household name or brand to make a tidy profit and keep yourself and your employees (should it come to that) in business.
However, as with any new life change, it’s easy to discourage yourself from pursuing it. While we can’t make the decision for you, we can definitely discuss the four most common stressors and worries that may be holding you back:
Stressor 1: What If No One Cares?
The fear that nobody will want what you’re offering is probably the biggest mental hurdle most entrepreneurs face, and it keeps plenty of good ideas locked away in people’s heads forever. You’ve likely curated a decent vision of your product or service, but then you start wondering if the world actually needs another coffee shop, consulting firm, or whatever brilliant concept you’ve been developing.
Here’s the thing though, you don’t need everyone to care, just enough people to make your business viable. Even the most successful companies started with small, dedicated customer bases who slowly and icnreasingly valued what they offered. Nike wasn’t trying to sell running shoes to every person on earth when they started nor were they in a position to create multi-million-dollar athletic sponsorships; they marketed to serious runners who cared about performance.
The best way to tackle this worry is to start testing your idea on a small scale before you commit everything to it. It’ll help you slowly build a foundation.
Stressor 2: What If I Can’t Find Merchant Platforms?
Getting set up to accept payments from customers can feel tough when you’re starting out, and that’s more pressing if you’re dealing with online sales or need to process transactions in multiple ways. The payment processing world seems complicated from the outside, with all sorts of fees, compliance requirements, and of course, tax planning.
Thankfully, payment processing has become much more accessible than it used to be, with plenty of options designed specifically for small businesses and startups. You don’t need to figure out all the complex merchant account setups that big corporations use just yet, as many platforms now offer simpler options which are mostly plug-and-play into most websites.
If your business has unique payment needs or operates in a less accepted industry, working with a specialty merchant service provider can solve most of your processing challenges, so there’s always another option.
Stressor 3: What About The Impact On My Family?
Starting a business affects everyone around you, that’s true, and it’s a responsibility can feel crushing when you’re trying to decide whether to take the leap. You’re almost certainly thinking about mortgage payments, school fees, family holidays, and all the other endless financial commitments that depend on a steady income.
It’s a question we can’t answer for you, but if you’re realistic about your timeline and have honest conversations with your family about what the transition period might look like, you can prepare them. Sometimes, you don’t have to quit your day job immediately and dive headfirst into entrepreneurship if that’s not going to work out well. Remember that many successful businesses started as side projects.
However, it’s certainty rational that building up savings before you make any major career changes will help you feel more confident in that new role, and could reduce the pressure on your new venture to succeed immediately.
Stressor 4: What If Similar Competition Exists?
The answer is that it almost certainly does unless you have a lightning-rod invention no one has ever considered (unlikely). Finding out that other companies are already doing something similar to your idea can still be deflating, but competition actually validates that there’s a real market for what you want to offer. The existence of competitors means customers are already spending money on solutions in your space. If you’re lucky, there won’t be such a presence in your area..
You don’t need to better than everyone, but you do need to to be better at serving your particular customers than anyone else is. Every market has room for multiple players who approach things differently or focus on different customer segments, so unless the space is truly saturated with mid-tier competition, don’t worry about this.
With this advice, we hope you can more clearly think about your business launch going forward:
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