Fear of Failure

Fear of failure was first mentioned in the Entrepreneurship section, but I believe it is of such importance that I want to include some discussion about it in this report as well.

From personal experience as an entrepreneur, business advisor, and consultant, plus the reading of considerable research on the subject, I have concluded that fear of failure is the number one reason many people do not start their own business.

Statistics seem to indicate that lack of capital is the number one thing holding back many would-be entrepreneurs. But, since almost all new entrepreneurs face that same challenge, I believe that many people use lack of capital as an excuse for not starting their business…to mask their fear of failure.

Will you have smooth sailing when you start your new business? Very unlikely! You absolutely will have difficulties—starting a new business is not easy.

Carl Jung, the Swiss psychiatrist said, Man needs difficulties: they are necessary for health. This sounds a bit trite, but I guarantee that after you have been in the business ownership world for a while, you will look back and laugh at your fear. Experience—including failure—will make you a better and more complete entrepreneur.

Plan Well--Then Act

I am frequently asked if a person can just start out part-time to see if their business “catches on.” Well, there are a few instances where product development, or the like, could be done on a part-time basis, but if your new business is to be your full-time livelihood, and not just a hobby, you need to go “all in."

Plan well—then act! Go fast, go hard—you cannot blow an uncertain trumpet. (Theodore Hesburgh) If you nibble away at your plans, your fledgling business will never “get its legs” and grow like the business you envisioned.

How bad is failure to an entrepreneur? Well, here is something you may not have thought about. Even if your business fails, you will take away all the benefits of real-world market data and business experience that no MBA classroom or Harvard diploma could ever give you. While others were talking about entrepreneurship…you "experienced" it.

There is only one Cardinal Rule when you are facing your fear of failure: you must remember that failure is an event, not a person. The only real failure in life is the failure to try.

I will leave you with this:

I really don’t think life is about the I-could-have-been. Life is only about the I-tried-to-do. I don’t mind the failure, but I can’t imagine that I’d forgive myself if I didn’t try. —Nikki Giovanni, Poet and Teacher

Then when you have embraced and conquered your fear, I recommend you read the next report in this series, How to Start a Business.

3/28/12