Are You Sure You’re Ready To Launch A Business? No? Read This!

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness
That most frightens us.”

Marianne Williamson’s poem, “Our Deepest Fear” is a favorite among many entrepreneurs. It’s interesting that she is also seeking the 2019 Democratic nomination for U.S. President, because who can forget the battle cry that rang out loud and clear in 2008…

“Yes, we can!”

Obama won the presidency on it. Surely you can start a business using it!

Yet fear is often the key to the locked chains that shackle your imagination and hold you back from trying hard to build the business of your dreams.

There are two kinds of fear a business builder must fight down.

One is common. It’s the “fear of failing”.

Paradoxically, it’s also the kind that’s rather easy to understand – and easier to fight down, once you figure out the root of it all.

Because let’s face it. Even though you’re afraid of failing, you don’t really have much to lose yet, do you?

Where You Are – And Where You’d Like To Be

Let’s imagine a typical scenario.

You’ve been thinking about launching a business online.

And being the keen student that you are, you’ve diligently done your research. Googled articles about online business. Followed blogs written by successful entrepreneurs. Signed up to email newsletters from the gurus of e-business.

Let’s also say you’ve chosen to sell a book – and follow it up with a more detailed course about a subject close to your heart, one in which you’re some kind of expert.

You understand what it takes to build a “sales funnel” – and so

• you write the book,
• create a short special report to introduce yourself to your audience,
• craft a series of emails to warm them up to the idea of buying your book, and
• maybe even outline the course that you’ll create once you’ve got some traction in the marketplace.

But suddenly, you lose your nerve.

You’re anxious about taking the important next steps to launch your business, to put your product out there for the world to judge.

You’ve developed the “fear of failure”.

You imagine the happy state you’d like to be – having sold thousands of copies of your book, followed by hundreds of delighted fans, who are simply raring to throw their money at you to gain access to the fantastic and detailed course you’re putting together just for them.

And you contrast that against where you are today and ask:

“Can I really do this? Will I even get halfway there?”

Hesitant, unsure, doubtful, you seek feedback from…

The Absolutely Wrong Person!

Your friend. Or your family. Or your social media networks.

Why do I call them “the absolutely wrong” people?

Well, because unless you’re a business networker who engages in conversations with many experienced entrepreneurs, chances are high that your typical social network includes people just like yourself – with little, if any experience in building or running a business.

So how could they possibly give you a valid opinion about your proposed business and your plans for it?

There is one thing they do know well, though. They know YOU.

And so they’ll respond to your request for feedback – based on what they know about you as a person.

The little they know may suggest that you can’t possibly succeed at a business.

That you won’t be able to cope with all the stress and hassle.

That you can’t really be serious about it.

That you’re just passing through a phase, and the feverish craze will soon subside.

That it’s all wishful thinking, with no hope of success.

Yada, yada, yada.

Effectively, they’ll just project their own insecurity and uncertainty upon you – but make it seem as if they’re actually looking out for your wellbeing.

Maybe you instinctively realize this is true.

But no, like most people, you’ll probably still go to those you already know – and ask for their advice, even if you know the person you’re asking doesn’t have a clue!

Listen…

If you want frank feedback about your business plans, ask a successful business person.

That person will tell you what you need to hear – not what you’d like to.

And while it may not be rosy and pleasant either, at least you’ll be able to make corrections and improvements to your plan based on what you hear.

For instance, they might listen to your idea of selling a book and following up with a course, hear you express your fear of taking the next step, and then stare right into your eyes and ask:

“So what if you fail?

What Do You Have To Lose?

Because look at what you’ve done until that point.

You’ve written a book – of maybe 100 pages. If you’re a lazy writer, and manage no more than 4 pages a day, that’s 25 days of work.

The free report introducing yourself to the audience is another 12 pages – so that’s 3 more days.

Putting together a website with a form to grab your prospect’s email address and pitch your book to potential buyers took maybe a week longer.

So your “investment” into your business is 5 to 6 weeks of unpaid labor.

And the worst thing that could happen if you try launching your business plan and fail… is that it goes to waste.

Big deal, right?

Even if you created your entire detailed course before you got started, it still would only cost you another couple of months of effort.

Losing that isn’t a major problem, is it?

Nope!

Then what are you really afraid of?

Back to Marianne Williamson…

“Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.”

Yes. What you often suffer from is not “fear of failure” – but the opposite…

“Fear of SUCCESS”

Let’s face it,

Success IS scary!

Everything changes – suddenly.

If readers love your book, suddenly you’re the focus of attention to a lot of people.

• They’ll want to ask you questions about the book.
• They’ll start acting on your advice.
• They’ll try out what you suggest.
• And when it works, they’ll scream in delight and excitement, before rushing to tell their friends to buy a copy.

It just keeps growing bigger and bigger, like a snowball rolling downhill.

Now THAT’S scary, indeed!

Silence That Nasty Little Voice.

Deep inside your mind, the little voice that’s grown used to everyone (often including you) saying “You can’t do it” and “You’re not good enough” – that voice now issues a stern warning.

“Are you sure you want to risk making a fool of yourself?” it asks, in the silent darkness of the night, when you’re lying awake, plotting the launch of your new business venture.

It’s the time when your defences are down, your confidence at its weakest, your worst fears linger just beneath the surface.

And it’s at times like this you should summon up, from deep within you, the courage and boldness to address it firmly and strongly.

You’ll answer that little voice – with a loud roar:

“Look! I’ve got nothing to lose. I’m going to give it a shot. So there!”

Buh-bye, fear of failure.

Buh-bye, fear of success.

You’re ready to get going – on the most exciting journey of your life.

A journey that may end in wild success, or maybe miserable failure. But even if you “fail” the first time, you’ll learn so much from the experience, you’ll be better equipped at your next attempt to win through. 

Most important, you’ll have beaten back the demon of FEAR that threatens and throttles you from chasing your dreams.

Remember when you first decided to try your hand at launching a business?

What made you get started?

Surely you believed there was some way you could add value to people through your business.

• By sharing your experience and knowledge.
• By helping them with something.
• By assisting or doing things for them.
• By making their life easier.
• By connecting people, supporting them, encouraging them.

Whatever.

That’s still true, isn’t it?

Then why let an imaginary “fear of success” (or “failure”) hold you back from even trying?

Push Past The Resistance

Two things help you push past that looming barrier of fear and uncertainty.

1. Your Purpose
2. Your Passion

Ask yourself WHY you’re doing what you plan to do. What is your underlying purpose?

• Is it to take better care of your family or people you love?
• Is it to add value to other people’s lives?
• Is it to leave your mark on the world in some way?
• Is it to earn a boatload of money that’ll ease your life and buy you stuff you want?
• Is it a spiritual calling, or the urge to fulfil a deeper longing?

Whatever it is, define it clearly – to yourself.

That is what will keep you pushing through any hurdles and roadblocks you run into as you build and grow your business.

And then, connect it with your passion. 

What do you LOVE doing – so much that you’d do it even without getting paid for it?

That’s your passion.

If you can hitch your purpose to something you’re passionate about, nothing can hold you back.

And what you’re passionate about doesn’t even have to be directly connected to your purpose.

For example, there’s an accountant who loves working with figures and financial data (passion). His purpose is to help underprivileged communities. So he does pro bono work for non-profit organizations.

He says: “When I add up numbers in rows and columns on a spreadsheet, I don’t see the figures… I see the faces of the people I’m helping”!

Another writer gifts his book to charity organizations, and asks them to sell it to their fans and volunteers – and keep all the money as donations.

He gets readers for his writing (passion), and helps worthy causes with the money raised that way (purpose).

So Here’s What To Do…

To put it all into a nutshell, let’s distill this lengthy post into short, crisp actionable points.

1. Follow your heart. Launch your business. Don’t let fear hold you back.
2. Don’t be afraid of failing. At this point, you really don’t have much to lose.
3. Don’t be afraid of succeeding, either. It may be different. But it’s the nice kind of different!
4. Focus on whatever you hope to achieve through building your business (your purpose).
5. Try and link what you do to stuff you enjoy (your passion).

We started with a quote from Marianne Williamson’s poem, ‘Our Deepest Fear’.

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness
That most frightens us.”

Here’s how it continues:

“We ask ourselves
Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?
Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God.
Your playing small
Does not serve the world.”

So get out there, you champion, you!

Build your business. Grow it bigger. Change the world.

You deserve this shot.

And so do your customers.