Remember being
a kid? Did you sit on a fence and dangle your legs or did you hop right
over that fence? The answer matters. It reflects your outlook on life.
If you’re like most kids you sat on the fence wiggling your
legs while giggling with a friend and day dreaming, talking about all
your big plans for life. The problem is most people never get past the
fence sitting phase, even though they grow up and get jobs.
When I was a
kid, I loved hopping over fences. It was fun to climb to new heights
and see what was on the other side. But like most folks the majority of
my adult work time has been spent sitting on the proverbial fence at
the same job, day in and day out, waiting for the pension, figuring
I’d be there the rest of my life.
But one day I
took a good hard look at my life and realized I wasn’t
meeting my financial or lifestyle goals. I wanted more than the same
old paycheck and the same old hours and the same old headaches. As I
began working towards starting my own business, I embodied the Nike
mantra, “Just do it”. This mantra is the fence
hopper, and entrepreneurial mantra. Yet, oddly enough for most people
it’s, “I will, I will” followed by
“I won’t, I won’t.” The problem
is fear, self-doubt, insecurity, lack of support, and tools erode the
dream of owning their own business before it’s even given a
chance. I faced these same concerns.
Confidence/No
Fear
Early on, I
realized to succeed required getting in the “right
mindset” to be my own boss. This involved getting over
self-defeating talk and convincing myself I could do it. There is an
_expression in sales if you fake it long enough you believe it. The
reasoning is that by acting confident, you become confident. So for me
it became a matter of selling my self. Like any good sales person will
tell you, to be good in sales you need to know your
customers’ hot buttons, earn their trust and value and meet
their needs. I sold myself on the idea of going into business for
myself
When I started
the business there was no paycheck, no set date when the money would
arrive, and even worse I worried that the money might not show up at
all. This became my biggest fence to climb.
Contending
with my own self-doubt and insecurity was one thing, but hearing the
negative concerns of friends and family voiced over and over made
matters worse. In their eyes I was working a "good job", and they
didn’t understand why I wanted to trade a secure paycheck for
uncertainty. All I heard was "you can't do that" and "that's too
risky". Those kinds of comments worked against me for the first six
months and threatened to undermine the entrepreneurial "can do and will
do" attitude.
Friends and
family didn’t understand the kind of business I started known
as affiliate marketing, but they felt qualified to tell me,
“If I could make money online it would probably be illegal or
at best immoral.”
What they
didn’t realize is that affiliate marketing is a $14 billion
industry. (Source: Marketing Sherpa) and is expected to grow considerably more. (Source: Forrester Research)
Supporting
Your Endeavors
Aspiring
entrepreneurs need the support of their spouse or partner. Fortunately,
my wife is 100% supportive. I know some people, who sadly enough, will
never succeed because their spouse runs around saying things like,
"That's a waste of time". If your spouse or significant other is angry
you’re spending time working on something other than your
"real job" its going to be difficult to start a business and work
around the negativity they are harboring.
Getting The
Tools
When you start
something new it’s hard to know ahead of time what tools and
knowledge you’re going to need. Combine this with a natural
resistance towards spending money on an unknown venture and
you’ll likely wind up lacking something that’s
essential to your business.
For instance,
my first attempt developing an online business utilized a free domain
name and web hosting which hampered my ability to have a professional
looking web site. Plus, I felt overwhelmed entering a new industry and
market. There was simply too much to know and I didn't know where to
obtain the right information to make the business venture a success.
When things looked their bleakest, instead of abandoning my plans, I
found help and that’s when the success began.
Knowing
When And Where To Ask For Help
Reading the
motivational book, Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert
Kiyosaki provided numerous insights. The top four principles entail:
- “Work
to learn and not to earn" mindset
- Form
relationships with people who are successful and willing to pass on
their knowledge
- Being
successful requires making a personal investment.
- Working a job
you will not get you ahead financially
By following
these principles I worked out a deal with a business colleague. I
agreed to work for free while he taught me the ropes. With finances
tight it made more sense to donate time instead of placing myself under
financial duress. Thanks to his generosity I’m now successful
in affiliate marketing with numerous specialty web sites.
Goal
Setting And Balance
Goal setting
can get out of hand if you’re goals aren’t
realistic. When I didn’t meet my monetary goals by a certain
date I became angry, due to the "job mentality". By being both the boss
and employee the insecurity and anger set in. Instead of letting the
emotions wreak havoc take time to examine what went wrong and why you
didn’t achieve the goal. As you get better at running your
business it gets easier to figure out ways to achieve goals in a
realistic timeframe.
Testing
the “Own Business Mindset”
The real test
came when I made the decision to quit the "real job". With the
resignation letter in hand all the childhood messages: go to school,
get good grades, obtain a high-quality job, stay employed until 65, and
retire with a modest pension all these words of advice rattled my
plans. Shaking those beliefs ingrained throughout the better part of my
life proved difficult. To get past the fear I reminded myself of
companies like Enron, where employees took the safe route only to lose
their pension and livelihood. Plus, I looked around at all the
companies downsizing and outsourcing eliminating countless jobs. I
realized the idea of a secure job ‘until you’re 65
is a myth and that security is what you make it, not what some one else
provides.
Running my own
business there’s always another fence to climb over to reach
new heights of financial success; the income keeps getting higher, just
the way I like it.
About the author:
Colin McDougall is a very successful Canadian online business entrepreneur. His Crediteria Website - www.crediteria.com is the resource for all things Credit Card. Also if you have a website and want to really get it moving then visit www.veo20.com
Men fear thought as they fear nothing else on earth - more than ruin - more even than death...... Thought is subversive and revolutionary, destructive and terrible, thought is merciless to privilege, established institutions, and comfortable habit. Thought looks into the pit of hell and is not afraid. Thought is great and swift and free, the light of the world, and the chief glory of man. ~~ Bertrand Russel
