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The 6 Biggest Fears of Starting a Business (and How to Overcome Them)
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Starting a business is daunting.
You’re removing your security blanket and assuming the risk and responsibility of ownership. Who wouldn’t balk at this sudden pressure to perform?
But this feeling is nothing more than fear of the unknown. You don’t know what to expect, how this journey will turn out, or if you’ll succeed. Not knowing what the future holds is far more terrifying than anything you’ll experience as a business owner.
In this article I'm going to discuss the common fears associated with starting a business and provide you with actionable insight on how to overcome them, such as how to break down the tasks into manageable steps and building a support network to keep your head in the game.
Let’s start by acknowledging and understanding your fears.
What are your fears?
Luisa Zhou is a renowned entrepreneurship coach. She describes the six common fears entrepreneurs face before starting their business:
- Fear of Failure
- Fear of Success
- Fear of Rejection
- Fear of Being Judged
- Fear of Financial Security
- Fear of Not Having an Idea
Fear of Failure
This is by far the most prevalent fear entrepreneurs face.
Society has created a terrible stigma around not accomplishing something, even if it’s your first try.
They’ve also discounted the value you get from trying, experiencing, and falling short. It’s like they’ve forgotten what it’s like to be a child learning to walk.
Falls, slips, and bruises are all part of the learning process.
You need to experience failing if you’re ever going to succeed. The trick is mitigating your risk and ensuring you learn from each misstep, so you don’t repeat your mistakes.
Fear of Success
This is an ironic fear, but debilitating, nonetheless.
Entrepreneurs put the cart before the horse and start wondering what happens if their business takes off.
Will I be able to handle that workload?
Will I be able to maintain that level of growth?
Will I be able to manage that level of responsibility with employees?
This key is to not create problems before they exist. Your imagination can run wild and come up with a million scenarios that have no basis in reality yet.
So don’t let these hypothetical situations dictate your decision to start a business. Simply acknowledge they exist but focus on the tasks you have immediately at hand.
Fear of Rejection
Humans are hardwired to avoid rejection at all costs.
When living in small tribes hundreds of thousands of years ago, being cast out from the village was a death sentence. We rely on mutual support and cooperation to survive as a species.
Fast forward to today, that fear is very much alive in our lizard brains, even though our logical brain knows America isn’t going to ship us off if our business fails.
It’s natural to take a customer’s rejection as a personal rejection, but the reality is that a customer could have a thousand reasons why they didn’t buy your services that have nothing to do with you as a person.
The key is to get out there and try.
Yes, you’ll face a lot of no’s on the way, but you’ll also experience yes’s – and there are few feelings better than landing your first big client or making a huge sale.
Those wins will quickly overshadow any minor loses along the way.
Fear of Being Judged
Judgement is very similar to rejection, except that it’s largely in your head.
Humans have a natural tendency to project their own fears and inadequacies onto others. We think that because I’m not confident in my business that other people are thinking I’m going to fail.
And if they verbalize their judgement saying you’re going to fail, it’s the exact thing happening on their end: they don’t have the confidence in themselves and they project onto you their own emotions.
The key is to ignore what other people are saying and again focus on the tasks you have at hand.
The Imposter Syndrome voice in your head will never fully go away, and neither will the peanut gallery.
Fear of Financial Security
Going all in on your business and relying on it for financial stability is a heavy decision.
There is a reality check that needs to happen before you cast off from the pier, and it means you need to be brutally honest with your situation.
The good news is that you don’t have to cut off your primary income stream while you get your business started.
I had this conversation with Michael Klemmer of Aerial Resupply Coffee.
He started the company with an initial personal investment of $500 and had a 9-5 job while he got it going.
He waited until he had seen consistent revenue and was confident in his trajectory before he quit his day job.
Just like skydiving out of a plane: each time is terrifying, but trusting your equipment and training will have you landing on the ground safely each time.
(For the record, very VERY few people die from equipment or procedural errors in skydiving. Casualties typically happen when people ignore steps or take unnecessary risks. Sounds like business...)
Fear of Not Having an Idea
This is my favorite fear.
“I don’t have a good idea to start a business around.”
In the words of Jocko Willink: Good!
Then don’t come up with an idea. Do something instead that is already tried and tested. This is what we preach at the Vet Collective.
We talk about the three paths to entrepreneurship being Borrow, Build, and Buy.
Borrow an idea means to open a franchise. These already have a proven business plan, tested systems and processes, and logistical support from headquarters. You just need to execute.
Build is the traditional entrepreneurship route, meaning you start it from scratch. But you don’t need a new idea. Plumbing services, landscaping, car detailing, mold restoration. These are all needed business that don’t require out-of-the-box ideas.
Finally, Buy. Literally purchase an existing, successful business and keep it running. Or better yet, improve it.
The takeaway is that you have lots of options. Don’t let your imagination (or lack thereof) be your limiting factor.
Now that you've acknowledged and understood your fears, let’s push past them by creating a clear path to success.
Fear is nothing more than uncertainty with the unknown.
Once you know what lies ahead, fear quickly diminishes.
This is why we break big projects into individual tasks, each with relevant steps. We eat the elephant one bite at a time.
Fortunately, for you, we’ve already broken down the steps to starting a company with our Business Launch Guide.
The final piece to overcoming your fear of starting a business is having a reliable support network.
Building a business is challenging enough. Trying to do it alone is nearly impossible.
Surrounding yourself with people who encourage you to push your boundaries and share your vision of a better future will keep you focused and in a good head space.
This is why we created the Vet Collective – a place where veteran entrepreneurs can both learn from and teach other veterans starting businesses of their own.
Education, training, and resources are critical to your success; but so is having of people you can lean on for help when you come to decision points or challenges.
Fear is a leading cause of would-be entrepreneurs never starting a business.
Whether it’s the fear of failure, success, rejection, judgement, finances, or creativity, it’s just that: fear.
This can all be overcome by simply starting, developing tasks into manageable steps, and finding a supportive community. Turning the unknown into known-knowns.
Now get out there and overcome your fear.
This week's Harder Not Smarter Podcast episode:
EP 021 of the Harder Not Smarter Podcast, we sit down with Chase Hughes, a former Naval Intelligence veteran and all-around behavior expert. After retiring from the US military in 2019, Chase didn't slow down; he pivoted to teaching interrogation, sales, influence, and persuasion. He's the brain behind the 6MX system, now the gold standard in intelligence tradecraft, and the author of the bestselling book on behavior profiling, persuasion, and influence, The Ellipsis Manual. Oh, and he's also the only consultant in the world who offers a 300% money-back guarantee – talk about confidence!
Whenever you're ready there are a few ways we can help:
Business Launch Guide: We'll take you from business ideation to execution in as little as 30-days. Having a clear plan and checklist dramatically improves your success as an entrepreneur. Get yours and start today.
Vet Collective Community: There is no better way to succeed in business than having a trusted group of entrepreneurs to support you on your journey. Sign up for webinars, digital content, group forums, and more.
Newsletter Sponsorship: Advertise your business on this newsletter to 6,000+ veteran entrepreneurs with a 50%+ open rate.
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