“Dreams don't work unless you take action. The surest way to make your dreams come true is to live them.” ― Roy T. Bennett
An entrepreneurial journey almost always begins with a dream. For many, this remains a dream. Some dreamers allow the fear of failure overcome their desire to live out their dream business ideas. Others jump in without preparation.
The key to successfully start your own business lies in the process of nurturing your dream. Allow it to develop. Invest time and effort. Start with taking baby steps.
Why Baby Steps?
Maybe you will need to quit your job to start your business. Or perhaps, you are looking to move into the next step of your professional life. In either case, it’s ok to feel scared. After all, you would be moving out of your comfort zone – and into unfamiliar territory.
How should you handle this fear? By taking your time!
Don’t take any drastic step and just quit working one day. The road to entrepreneurship is a long one, and there are many gradual steps that you'll take along the way. Instead of jumping in headfirst, start with small steps, and avoid snap decisions. Start with research and brainstorming, and then put together a business plan. Over time, you'll gradually dedicate more and more time to your entrepreneurial venture, and eventually, the time will be right for you to quit your day job and chase your dreams with confidence.
What Else?
Take stock of your strengths and weaknesses.
That means preparing yourself for the rewarding challenge of entrepreneurship by digging deep to consider what you are and aren't capable of. That way, you can make sure you have the right people on your team to complement your strengths, ensuring that you have everything it takes to be a success. There has long been a debate about nature and nurture in entrepreneurship, but the truth is that most of what you need to be a successful business owner and self-starter can be learned, as long as you have a few basic characteristics in place already, such as:
- Focus
- Ability to set short- and long-term goals
- Dedication and perseverance
- Organization
- Leadership
- Communication
- Resilience
- Confidence and self-reliance
- Ability to learn from mistakes
Prepare Yourself Mentally for the Realities of Entrepreneurship
Being an entrepreneur is rewarding and fun, but it is by no means easy, and one of the most significant things you can do to allay your fears is to accept and prepare yourself for the challenges you'll face. For one thing, you'll need to be able to handle stress as an entrepreneur and perform well under pressure. You can prepare for this by honing your time management skills, because the more efficiently you can work, the less stress you'll face. Having a solid emergency fund saved away will also help, because much of the stress that business owners face is financial. You'll also have to be ready never to give up because entrepreneurship demands patience, time, and never-ending effort.
Fear can be a powerful emotion, and it has stopped many people over the years from pursuing their dreams. But if you’ve decided it’s time to take your career and your success into your own hands, then you can't let fear of failure get in the way of your dreams. The best way to prevent this from happening is to prepare yourself emotionally and mentally for everything that entrepreneurship will entail, and that way you'll be ready to face the challenge head-on when it comes time to become one of the entrepreneurs who quit the corporate world in favor of bigger and better things.
Take the first step towards entrepreneurship. Download our guide to get an idea of the challenges stepping up on your own can throw at you.
