Challenge #3: Why me? Overcoming Entrepreneurial Fear

• 5 week challenge, How to Start a Business

Now that you have explored your business idea in the previous challenge. Now it is time to start looking at you and your unique qualities. Everyone is capable of having an idea for a business but what makes you uniquely qualified to do this business?

 
If you feel like you are balking at this question than you are not alone, many entrepreneurs face, entrepreneurial fear, the challenge of the ugly little voice in their head saying, “you can’t do this” or “you’re stupid”. I know I faced entrepreneurial fear when starting CRTL + ALT Marketing, it took me a while to get going, but I finally pushed myself to do it or maybe the universe was politely kicking me? Barbara Corcoran, real estate mogul and Shark Tank expert has stated in a Forbes interview that this is something that never quite goes away, but she uses it as a driving force to propel her. For more stories on the challenges and self doubt that entrepreneurs face check out this Forbes article. It will make you feel better about yourself and your journey!

 
Still not convinced? Then I suggest in the most respectful and loving way that you need to do some work on your “entrepreneurial fear” and get that ugly little voice to take a back seat for a change. You, like everyone, deserves to have your inner strength shine through and do what you are born to do. Everyone is challenged by their voices at varying parts of their life and they love to rear their ugly head if given the opportunity. They tend to appear and be strongest when triggered by an event and for some they can consume your mind and talk you into inaction and being passive – essentially rope you in to not starting your business.

The key to working with our inner Struggles is knowing:
1. How they are triggered
2. When they come, how do they manifest in your mind, body and spirit
3. What is your coping strategy for dealing with them (the negative voices)

 

Essentially, our insecurities are like having an unwanted friend, family member or Tasmanian Devil come visit, they always seem to hang around and if you ignore them they get more unruly. So, applying this logic…

 
1. The friend, family or Tasmanian Devil come because they heard you had a birthday party and they just HAD to be there [The trigger here is they don’t want to miss out]
2. You know they arrived by their loud and obnoxious behaviour, inappropriate comments and they leave a trail of damage like knocked over furniture [The clues that indicate that they are present in your life]
3. You could ignore them, but that never seems to work, their behaviour just gets worse. You could drink or take more drugs, but that is only temporary relief. So maybe you put them to good use by asking them to help out at the party or recommend some people they can chat to. You check in on them once in a while and they really don’t seem as bad as what you first thought. [No judgement, but our go to coping strategy is usually ignoring… it will go away! Stage two is usually using other external things in our life to ignore it more. Stage three when we realize that this is no longer working we decide to look inwards for relief and realize it was not as bad as you had initially thought]

 

So, if you need to do this work I suggest working with a reputable life coach or psychologist to help you in this area. Check out my video for my interview with my life coach.

 

I have delightfully digressed, let’s get back to…

Why you are awesome and how you can overcome your entrepreneurial fear!
In conclusion, I believe you are awesome and you should believe it of yourself too – you have an idea and you owe it to yourself to explore it. When you realize that you are both awesome and have some scary insecurities and its ok not to be a perfect all knowing and seeing being – it is a powerful place to be. Because essentially you have mastered working with those inner voices and found a way for them to be a partner in helping your dreams come true. When you are in this venerable, yet powerful space you are essentially ready to start looking at the third challenge: Why I am the best person in the world to own this idea?

Take some time to explore these questions associated with yourself to overcome your self-talk (entrepreneurial fear) and be proud of what you have achieved so far in your life.
• How did your idea come about?
• Are you extremely passionate about this idea? What are you prepared to do to make it work?
• What skills (education, working experience, hobbies and/or life experience) qualify you to set-up and run this business?
• Who and what can you leverage from your past or current situation to bring into this new venture?
• What are your strengths?
• What are your weaknesses?

To work with these questions you can download my entrepreneurial questions template by subscribing to my email list.

Self exploration tips
When you are done making notes, write a small bio about your self. Also at this point I recommend updating your CV. Show-casing your skill sets is a great way to feel awesome about things you have done and can be a great inspiration for your new venture.
P.s. For my insecure bunnies…If you feel like your CV is light or not robust enough, don’t worry, all entrepreneurs started somewhere and it will be your passion to learn and understand the industry that is going to drive your success. And if you have read “Outliers” you only need 10,000 hours to become an expert, so get started!

The key take away points from challenge 3 Why me?

• Look at your strengths and Weaknesses
• Make or update your CV
• Write a small bio about your achievements and passions
• If you need it: Get help to push past insecurities
• Check out my video
• Download my worksheet by subscribing to email list on top of this page

Image source: Image designed by Nicole Fortunaso