Entrepreneurship, that mode of the spirit which requires being a self-starter, self-motivator and an innovator comes with a fair share of hurdles to leap over, obstacles to overcome and tests to pass.
Some of these psychological and social hurdles obstacles are listed below and how to deal with them.
Fear
Fear heads the list because it is one of the most subtle of all. It is one of the most common obstacles that stand in the way of intending entrepreneurs who want to float a business.
Fact is fear exists because of uncertainty. The less one knows about the outcome of something, the more afraid they are. This is why the fear of failure is the biggest fear of all when it comes to starting a business.
The fear of failure is so powerful and domineering that more than 95 percent of people who have brilliant business ideas cannot act on these ideas because they’re too afraid to fail.
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Truth is successful entrepreneurs get afraid too. The difference: they do not let fear stop them.
“I felt that fear when I quit my job and a steady salary to pursue my business dreams. I had a 4-month old baby and my wife wasn’t working at the time. Although I had faith in my business dreams, the fear of failure scared the life out of me” said John-Paul Iwuoha, author of 101 Ways to Make Money in Africa and CEO Smallstarter.com, a business website.
Fear can be conquered and one of the best weapons against fear is action. To take bold and positive action in the face of fear helps an intending entrepreneur take control of the situation and fear will almost always take a backseat.
Perfection
When it comes to business and entrepreneurship, getting started is always better than being perfect. Look at it this way. Starting a business is like learning to walk.
An apt analogy is a baby learning to walk. It does not wait until a perfect time, and then suddenly starts to walk. No. Most babies start by crawling, and then they learn to stand, and then make several attempts at walking. This is how life, nature and business work.
Unfortunately, many people want to check all the boxes before they start a business. They want to raise enough capital to rent an office, hire staff and build a great looking website. They want to start at the perfect time. They want to start big, or not start at all. Big mistake!
Unworthiness
Have you ever felt like you do not have enough talent, education, experience, connections, risk-appetite or luck to become an entrepreneur? That is the power of unworthiness at work!
Many people buy this big fat lie, and that is why they never come around to becoming entrepreneurs.
Successful entrepreneurs come from all kinds of backgrounds. Your level of education, family background and physical qualities do not matter. What matters is your belief in yourself. Only you can decide to be worthy of entrepreneurship.
