insideKENT Magazine Issue 73 - April 2018 | Page 150

BUSINESS
COMMON FEARS WHEN STARTING A BUSINESS... cont.
FEARS TO OVERCOME
Not knowing where to start
Ask most entrepreneurs how they started and
it’s likely they had a lightbulb moment,
followed by very little idea about how to first
set their ideas in motion. A great starting point
is to seek out someone who has achieved
success in a similar business to the one that
you're interested in starting for yourself. Find
out about what drove the person to begin their
business journey, about the structure of their
existing business, and reach out to see if they
can offer advice or information. The internet
is a great tool for beginning research on
business ideas similar to the one you have
and the brains behind them – who will have
all approached their ideas in different ways.
Just knowing that success has grown from
the hard work and dedication of people who
once had no clue where to begin should
uproot the seed of doubt in your mind. Take
one step forward at a time (even if along the
way you stumble a few steps back) and the
path will stretch out before you as you
continue to walk.
No business experience
Some of the most successful business
founders started their entrepreneurial journeys
without any prior business experience;
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Richard Branson and Walt Disney to name
but two. Having a business background isn’t
necessary to start a company and business
skills can be acquired through colleagues and
advisors, and learned over time. What is
required is having a unique insight into the
industry you want to go into, or a core skill
and competence that makes you well qualified
to start your venture. You’ll of course need a
passion for the product or service, massive
motivation, tenacity, perseverance and vision
to turn your business idea into a reality. Have
a clear vision on the kind of company you
want to start, the role in the business you’d
like to play and whether you need and want
help to get the company off the ground – it
might be a good idea to consider a co-founder
with complementary skills.
Not being an expert
It takes years to become an expert at anything,
and the likelihood is you probably know
enough about your product or service to
answer the lion's share of questions and solve
most issues that may arise in the beginning.
What you don’t know, you need to learn and
will be able to find the answers for with
thorough research, so don't worry if you don't
feel like a pioneer in the field…yet. Learning is
absolutely required for continued growth, so
commit yourself to excellence and strive to
find out more.
Not finding funding
Being a business owner would be a bit too
much of a breeze if every person with an idea
just sashayed into bank and was given a pat
on the back and a huge loan. In reality,
entrepreneurs without investors have to
jumpstart their businesses off their own backs
and many find that a slow and steady process
of building the business (perhaps with a small
business loan, but without an enormous
amount of debt) minimises financial anxiety.
In order to raise funds through your bank or
an investor, you’ll need to do a lot of ground
work to validate your business first, so build a
prototype and do your market research before
you even consider pitching your idea. If you
have identified your customer base and can
show a clear path to profit, as well as a
willingness to work extremely hard to get there,
you have a much greater chance of raising
capital and support.