I AM AFRAID I WILL FAIL - WHAT SHOULD I DO?
It is normal, and even wise, to feel some nervousness about starting any new venture. We have three suggestions to start with: 1) Provide as much of a financial cushion for yourself as you can, before you begin. Any new business takes time to get started and begin to become financially viable. In fact, you may wish to start your home based business in your spare time while continuing to work at your "day job" for a while. You may wish to view it as a "hobby" for a while - until you gain the confidence to step out full time into a work from home business. 2) Connect yourself with others who have already gone through what you are going through now and come out on the other side. 3) Get as much training as you can in the mechanics of using the internet and finding your way through such obstacles as taxes, government regulations, legal issues and so on. The more you know about these things - or better yet the more you know about how to LOOK THEM UP the less fearful these things will be. The most basic internet search will lead you to sites and links which will give you step-by-step instructions for putting your home based business idea into effect. If you have a little start up money (and you should expect to need some) you can find, for a small fee, someone to design a web page for you or furnish you with all the forms you may need for administering your business in a professional way. Don't forget - the idea is for you to make maximum use of your PERSONAL skills and interests. You don't need to feel that you have to start out knowing EVERYTHING - no one does. But once you get in contact with others who have done this you will realize that if they can do it, you can. One thing that many beginners neglect in their eagerness to get started is proper preparation in the form of a solid business plan. Again, a quick search on the internet will lead you to ways to find good templates for business plans that you can use to plug in your particular information. This will not only be an invaluable asset in promoting your business but will serve to focus you on exactly what you want your business to be and to do. A good business is neither too narrow in focus (limiting your possibilities) or too wide (not having clear goals.) It is difficult to present to others exactly what you do if you do not have a clear idea yourself. Sometimes in writing a business plan a person realizes that want they truly want is something slightly different from what they originally envisioned. That's good! Look for a good business plan design and then shape it to fit your ideas. People sometimes become discouraged early because they had too high an expectation of sitting back and watching the money roll in. You will see ads on TV which encourage this kind of expectation. Ignore them. Realize from the beginning that any business takes hard work and some disappointments before it gets off the ground. But isn't that the case with a salaried job also? At least your hard work is going for something you are building for YOURSELF, not for someone else. And your early disappointments will give you valuable experience instead of knocking you down a step on the corporate ladder. Don't forget, the internet - and the use of it - is the one thing that will DEFINITELY grow in the future. Remind yourself, too, that those thousands of people out there working at their own businesses cannot all be geniuses and you don't have to be either! In part two we will explore the government, non-profit and paid services that can help you shed the fear you have about starting your home business. |
