At the end of the month, we will be celebrating all things scary for Halloween. From Frankenstein to fangs, fear comes in many different guises in October. But what are the most fearful things for small businesses and how can they be faced?
Whether you’re thinking of starting a business or have already taken the plunge, there are always going to be things you’re afraid of – and that’s a good thing. To tell you why, we’ve looked into what scares business people most, and how to overcome them.
Fear of failure
It’s important to remember that failure goes hand in hand with business. Often, it presents an opportunity, rather than an obstacle. When you are faced with failure – in any context – it is your reaction that defines what happens next. If your fear of failure is too strong, it could even mean that you are hesitant to try. And being afraid to try means that you will never have the failures that every entrepreneur goes through before making a success of their enterprise. Without failure how do you know if something isn’t a good idea? Celebrate it as an opportunity to improve upon a mistake, get the kinks out and move closer to achieving what you want.
If you don’t win a pitch, if you don’t meet your targets, or if you make a mistake on a report, there will always be something you can learn from. For instance, if your fleet encountered a busy period that you couldn’t keep up with and as a result you lost a client, there are updates to your system and response times that can be reviewed.
Reacting with logical, practical steps means that you don’t give failure the option to become bigger than it needs to be. Nothing is black and white, and by considering the different outcomes across the spectrum of failure and success can help you develop and build, ready for your next shot. To overcome this fear, think about the positive outcome that could happen, rather than the negative one. Don’t wallow. Go out and get busy and you’ll feel your confidence and courage grow almost immediately.
Money
At the top of many worry-lists is money. Whether it’s going over budget, losing a key client, or investing your life savings into your business, it is a very reasonable fear to be scared of losing money. Even things out of your control, like the economy, can affect the financial success of your business.
In order to manage your money – and your fear – keep a stringent eye on your finances in regular meetings with your accountant, and don’t bury your head in the sand if you see things heading in the wrong direction. That way, you’ll be able to devise a strategy to re-budget, find new business, or restructure the way you work in order to change course. Whatever happens you need to make sure you stare your fears in the face; things will just get worse if you ignore them.
Someone stealing your idea
When you settle on the big idea, the fear of someone copying it becomes very real. But remember what led you to this eureka moment: it’s your strengths, your expertise and your experience that make you best placed to realise it. Your approach is unique, so it’s likely you’ve got a head start on anyone who wants to do the same thing.
To overcome such fear, make sure you get your product or service copyrighted and patented if possible. Start building the right infrastructure and customer base as soon you can. One of the ways that companies stay ahead of the competition is by constantly innovating. Take Facebook for example, they are continually evolving their product – sometimes successfully, sometimes not – and as a result have grown exponentially alongside the broader technology and social media sectors.
People’s opinions
Is sending a follow up email desperate? Will people think that you’re running out of money? Or that you hardly have any clients? These kind of thoughts can stop you from putting your best foot forward. Of course there are times when you should leave clients to think, but if you find yourself doubting your own capabilities in these situations, remember that you’ve got the skills and expertise to back them up.
Whether it’s throwing all you’ve got into a new idea or presenting at a conference, nerves often centre on what others might make of you. In a public-speaking situation for example, remember that people have come to listen to you and learn from what you have to say. Flip the narrative so you think more about what you can give them in order to calm yourself down, and relay information confidently. You can gain strength and courage this way.
Begin to incorporate simple tweaks to your routine, such as going to bed a little earlier, sitting down to eat and making time for exercise. As you start practising these small changes you’ll start to see your business fears get smaller and your reactions become more logical. Without veering into motivational coach territory, the bottom line is that the only way to deal with fear is to face it. Once you do this a few times, you’ll start to question what there was to feel so scared about.
Content on this page is paid for and provided by Kia Fleet sponsor of the Guardian Small Business Network Accessing Expertise hub.
