I’m sure you’ve met people like this – people who have amazing talent, creativity and problem solving abilities, and you think ‘Wow, that person could sell that and have a great business, no problem!” And you tell them that, and they blush, and shift from foot to foot, and come up with reasons and excuses why they could NEVER start a business.
Maybe YOU are one of those people. Maybe YOU have created wonderful products that could be shared with the world, but they languish at the back of the garage, or shoved into a drawer, and never see the light of day.
I’ve met lots of people like that. Wonderful creative people who usually give me AT LEAST one of these reasons why they don’t start a business.
1. If I start doing/making/creating this for a BUSINESS, it won’t be fun anymore.
Really? Why not? How do you know? As soon as the word “business’ is mentioned, people conjure up images of filing cabinets, tax returns and sweat shops.
If you love to create beautiful and useful things, and you have fun doing it….why do you think the fun will stop if you sell those beautiful and useful things? Isn’t getting money for doing something you love, fun?
Yes, I grant you, you may have to be more organised, you may have to learn some new skills, but guess what? That could be fun too!
In fact, you could spend far more hours in the day having fun making stuff, than you do at the moment!
2. “I’m not really business minded….”
No, me neither. Nobody is. There is no such thing as a natural born business person. Business skills are learned. Some people learn them through trial and error, some people have business mentors or take courses, but EVERYONE can acquire business skills. Bad business people are people who need more skills. That’s all.
3. I’m frightened of losing money….”
No-one wants to lose money. But you need not re-mortgage your house to start a business, many small businesses start at the kitchen table with an investment of $100. It can be done, and done very successfully. All you need to do is budget. And before you say “I’m not an accountant”, if you can manage to pay monthly bills and run a household, then you are as or more qualified than many business people I know.
4. I’m not really “Salesy”
Thank goodness. I hate sales people. All that pressure, sticking their feet in the door, tricking me into buying……seriously? Those days are gone! Great sales people build relationships with people.
Have you ever found a product that you love, and then enthused about it to a friend? Who then went and bought it? You made a sale! For someone else in this example.
Relationships + Passion = Sales. Simple. No bruised feet or trickery required.
5. What if no one wants to buy my stuff……?
Ah. Now we’re getting to the real reason. The MAIN reason. People don’t start businesses because of fear. They (you) are afraid that people won’t buy their stuff.
Fear of rejection paralyses. It’s the main cause of procrastination and self- sabotage.
Starting your own business and selling stuff that you make, whatever it may be – art, craft, apps, industrial equipment, whatever, requires an investment of passion and commitment. You give a little piece of yourself, and when people don’t buy your products, it can feel like they are rejecting you.
And rejection is not a nice feeling. So we tend to avoid it.
You cannot eliminate that feeling, you can only work through it. But you CAN minimize it, by finding those people who are MOST LIKELY to buy your stuff.
As my husband said recently. “You can’t sell apples to people who want to buy oranges. You have to find the people who want apples”
And that is called MARKETING. And Guess What? You can learn how to do that too!
Lots of ideas? Not sure which one is the BIG ONE? Worried about spending time and money on a project that will be a non -starter? Get the 14 Step Checklist to find the BIG IDEA that will ROCKET START your business!
