Aspiring entrepreneurs often don’t even start up. The reasons are aplenty, but if you can get over these five, you have got a sure shot chance to start your first venture.
You have it in you to start your own venture. Or so you think. Starting a venture requires much more than an idea.
Proof is that there are hundreds and thousands of aspiring entrepreneurs who think they have a winning idea, but never manage to put it into action! They never manage to start up.
Here are five reasons that are stopping them, or YOU from starting up.
Reason #1 – Worrying About Ideas
Are you the kind of person who has always dreamt of starting your venture, but never managed to find an idea that’s great enough to push you into one? If that’s you, then you’re not alone.
Many aspiring entrepreneurs fall short of starting up just because they obsess about finding the right idea.
You don’t really need an ‘idea’ to start up. What you need is to identify a problem and just solve it better than the how most are currently doing.
Once you think you have got it (an idea), but are still not sure, just go for it. Launch the damn idea. Build it into a product prototype if you must and put it out into the hands of the people, the customers.
No amount of market research will help you unless you actually develop a Beta or a prototype of your product. Let the actual customers sample it. Let them give you first hand feedback. And then you build from thereon. This works just about every time!
Reason #2 – Worrying About Capital
Don’t worry about something you don’t have. Because most often, what you already have gives you enough to worry about!
I co-founded Arkenea Technologies with Zero capital. Yes, Zero! All you need to do is to challenge the conventional paradigm. Keep thinking how you can work your way around.
If you want to start a product company, bootstrap. Pool in your resources from savings or borrow from friends or family. There are many more ways of raising money to build your product.
But importantly, get a proof of concept done (outsource if you must) and take it to investors. Or take it to your first set of customers. There is no trick, but to get started.
If you plan to start a services business, then get your first client, and then hire a team to work on it if you have the time or simply outsource. Deliver a fantastic product and then work your way into setting up your own team.
Reason #3 – Procrastination
There is a reason why they say, ‘Never put off until tomorrow what you can do today.’ Most often, you will see your best ideas executed in just awesome ways simply because you sat on it for far too long.
The first step of starting a venture is to start one. If you want to start your business, shut up and start up.
If you don’t act on your idea today, someone else is bound to stumble up on it and take it to market before you can. Trust me, no idea is unique until it is executed.
Reason #4 – Fear of Failure
If you are going to start up, you are bound to fail. For in failure are life’s little secrets. For in failure is where you will discover the secret to your next successful venture.
Angry Birds was the 52nd attempt that finally made it for Rovio. PayPal was Max Levchin’s fifth attempt at entrepreneurship that finally won him the things he deserved.
So embrace failure. You cannot learn to ride a bike by reading how to ride one. You’ve got to hop onto one, fall a few times, but then you get up and hop on again. And only then will you gain the confidence and the balance to ride free. Let a hundred potholes or bumps then come your way, you know how to ride!
Reason #5 – Lifeless Goals
If your goal is to make money, let me tell you this, your venture is doomed before it even takes off. You may surely end up making some, but that will be in the short term.
You need commitment and conviction. And how does that come?
By setting inspiring goals. Goals that are beyond money and number of customers. Set goals that talk about creating value. Set goals that talk about the real benefits to your customers.
Such goals drive passion to create a difference. This passion creates positivity. This positivity creates excitement and energy. And if you’ve got this, so will your customers. They will sense it and open their wallets for you. Money will follow.
So here you go. These are the five key reasons why you will never end up starting your venture. If you feel you need help in overcoming any of these or simply to validate your ideas, I would be glad to help. Email me.
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