How to Overcome the Fear of Starting a Business

Having FEAR is NORMAL when starting a business. You are doing something you have never done before! Be proud of that!

Nothing is going wrong, and there is nothing wrong with you. All that’s happening is your mind does not like stepping out into the unknown. It’s always searching for the familiarity of something you did before. It wants reassurance that everything is safe. Did you know the brain’s primary job is to keep you safe and alive? It thinks you will die if you start a business. Good news, you will not! It only wants you to be safe. That’s all!

Starting a business is anything but safe. You are creating something from nothing. There is no past evidence that you will succeed or not. It’s all stepping into the unknown, which is scary. It is common to feel fearful when doing the unknown, as in starting a business. The fear comes from your thoughts about events that haven’t happened yet.

People will tell you to “Be Fearless!” I am not going to tell you to do that. I had a LOT of fear of starting a business. A LOT! Hearing from others to be fearless all the time wasn’t helpful.

As a human, you will feel fear. It’s what keeps you alive. Everyone has fear. Yes, everyone!

Since it’s impossible to be Fearless. I will take you through how to FEAR LESS instead. Are you ready? Let’s go!

BECOME AWARE OF WHAT IS CAUSING YOUR FEAR

Ask yourself, “What is the ONE big fear that is holding me back?” Be specific with your answer. Instead of saying “Starting a Business” state what is it about starting a business that gives you fear?

My big fear was public speaking. I avoided networking and marketing myself because of this fear. Being shy and introverted, my idea of good time didn’t involve being in front of people...speaking! My real fear was not speaking, it was failure and judgement. What if I said the wrong thing or made a fool of myself for all the world to see. To avoid the possibility of feeling humiliated, I wanted to hide. I quickly discovered hiding doesn’t work for you when you are a business owner. Being entrepreneur involves meeting people and tell the world what you do, or you will not get clients.

No Clients = No Business. It’s that simple. I knew that this was my biggest fear holding me back, and I set out to overcome it.

What is your biggest fear you must overcome?

RATIONALIZE YOUR FEAR

Now that you are aware of what you are afraid of, the next question is:

Is your life in danger or not? YES or NO. I’m sure it’s a NO, even though it might feel like a BIG YES!

Next step is to get curious about why you feel in danger or not.

I had to get curious about another fear I had on a recent tour of a cave. SPIDERS! When the park ranger notified us, the next talk would be about the insects in the cave. I told my daughter I am going to skip this part. My daughter replied, “If you learn more about them, you might not fear them anymore.” I didn’t think that was ever possible! As always, she was right. What I learned was what I thought were spiders were crickets. What I feared was not real. I’m glad I was curious to explore my fear more.

What did you learn about being curious about your fear? Did it seem silly to you when you questioned it?

TAKE ACTION

Fear causes us to freeze to stay safe. Taking action is the cure for fear!

Taking small steps with support will help you overcome your fear. It shows the brain that you are not in danger. AKA, you will not DIE!

Joining Toastmasters helped me conquer my fear of Public Speaking. Speaking in front of supportive environment helped me overcome my fear. Even though it took months and I had many obstacles to overcome, I kept taking small steps towards my goal. I want from nervously shaking and forgetting my words to speaking at conferences and entering contests.

I felt the fear, which was not fun, and did it anyway.

What small action step can you commit to taking to step into your fear?

HAVE HOPE

Hope is stronger than any fear. Feeling fear doesn’t last forever.

When you feel fear. Sit with it. Feel it. Make a choice.

Are you going to stay frozen in fear or have hope and take action? You have an option to control it, for it doesn’t control you. Having hope gives you the power to make the future better than the present.

Hope is also having the courage to focus more on others than yourself. When I was speaking, I focused more on the value I bring to the audience than myself. By taking the focus off my myself and putting it onto others took my fear away. It is the same when starting a business. By focusing on all the people you serve helps you forget what your fears were.

When you have hope, you will decide now it’s time to start a business of your dreams!

SUPPORT

Getting over the fear of starting a business requires a lot of support to keep you going when your fear want you to quit or not even start.

If you don’t have anyone to offer that support to you, I would love to be your supportive coach. Since I was able to overcome my fear to start a business, I am passionate about helping others do the same. I help you create a business you love with all the fear and overwhelm.

I hope starting a business doesn’t feel as fearful to you anymore. If it still does, I would love to help you get started. The first small step would be to schedule your no-obligation complimentary session today!

I look forward to talking with you!