Friday, October 29, 2010

Top 10 Fears Entrepreneurs and their Startup Companies Face

Happy Halloween, Kansas City entrepreneurs!  Sunday night is almost here—the perfect night for walking through Kansas City haunted houses, pumpkin carving with the family, telling ghost stories, and of course, Trick-Or-Treating.  And although most successful entrepreneurs are not afraid of Grim Reaper costumes, “haunted” cemeteries, and scary music, there are other fears that haunt Kansas City entrepreneurs every day in the workplace.  So, in honor of this spooky holiday, I have compiled a list of the Top 10 fears for entrepreneurs.  Don’t be afraid, take a look:

1.  The Fear of Failure
Without a doubt, most entrepreneurs have a fear of failure.  When 50% of new businesses fail within the first five years, it’s difficult to overcome the fear of failure.  Instead of letting this fear define who you are and where your company is going, use the fear to push yourself beyond what you thought you could do.  Prove yourself (and the statistics) wrong—do not let failure be an option.

2.  Economic Uncertainty
Five years ago, economic uncertainty was probably not a major fear of most entrepreneurs.  The times have changed, however, and companies big and small, young and old, are worried about what the declining economy means for them.

3.  Being Your Own Boss
Being your own boss can be terrifying.  Not only do you have to keep tabs on your company, but you also have to keep tabs on yourself and make sure that you are doing everything it takes to create a successful startup business.  Entrepreneurs must be able to motivate themselves throughout each workday to see that all necessary tasks are completed.

4.  Raising Capital
Having enough money for establish a startup is one thing—staying afloat is another.  You will need money to start up, operate, and grow your business.  To ensure that you have enough money to develop a successful startup, seek capital from a venture capitalist, angel investor, and the like.  Recently, the development of online funding platforms, such as peerbackers, has helped many entrepreneurs reach their American Dream.

5.  The Job Will Consume Your Life
It’s true: entrepreneurs can spend anywhere from 50-72 hours a week on their businesses.  In order to overcome this failure, be sure that you have your work-life balance in place even before your business starts up.  This means to prioritize what’s most important to you.

6.  High-Wire With No Net
When you have been in your own small business and survived the early years that weed out most startups, you have the fear that you can never turn back to “the devil you knew” (i.e. traditional employment). The struggles of entrepreneurship make you forget why you left corporate America in the first place and your memories become revised to dwell on how easy and happy it all was “back then.”

7.  The Length of the Process
Many entrepreneurs fear the overall longevity of a startup venture.  It takes time to grow a business so an entrepreneur must be extremely patient throughout the entire process.  And although your business may be getting more profitable every year, you look at your old car in the driveway and then your neighbor’s new Lexus and feel that if only you’d stuck to corporate, you’d have new toys, too.  Patience is virtue!

8.  The Merry-Go-Round Stopping
Entrepreneurs who already have an established company often fear that their company will slowly begin to fail.  Even though everything may be going well in the beginning, entrepreneurs always fear that the phones will go silent and that no one will want what they sell anymore.

9.  Getting Stuck
Although many entrepreneurs fear that their businesses will stop all together, even more seem to worry that their company will merely never make it to the top.  This entrepreneurial fear is that the company will never break through the wall of the business by being just“okay”.

10.  The Competition
Entrepreneurs always live in fear that someone else out there may be smarter than they are and therefore, develop a better product or service, consequently, blowing theirs out of the water.  It’s best to use the competition as a driving force for your company to become a better, more successful one instead.

During this Halloween, don’t let your fears impose on your entrepreneurial dreams.  Continue to reach for your goals, never let your fears bring you down, and of course, Think Big.  Happy Halloween, entrepreneurs!  

Written by Allison Way.  Allison is a writer and videographer for Think Big Partners and bizperc, two of Kansas City's newest entrepreneurial resources.  To read more of Allison's work, please visit the Kansas City Entrepreneurship Examiner.

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