3 Ways to Stop the Fear of Starting a New Business

You’ve got a great idea and want to start a business.   You’ve most likely heard the quotes to push you to start the business.  There is a way to launch a new business without fear.  Read these 3 easy steps to know how. 

Out of the blue, one morning you’re hit with a flash of genius.  You’ve got an idea for a new business.  It’s a great business idea and you share it with family and close friends.  Everyone encourages you to push forward.  Read about your next step.

No doubt, on most days you often wear more than one hat.  It comes with the job.  Sometimes, though, it feels like the only hat you get to wear is a firefighter’s helmet.  When managers move into firefighting mode their priorities shift.   Putting out the fire becomes all consuming.  Another fire comes alone and priorities evaporate, again

Write your business plan to raise the competitive bar by being better.  Be much better and not just different from your competitors.  Being better can help push your revenues and profits more. It will create a distinguishing competitive edge.  When your product or service is much better than your competitors’ you’re giving your customers a better reason to buy from you instead of buying from the competition. Better does not have to me lower price or more features. Better can simply mean your customer believes your product is better.  Here are three fast and easy ways to boost your value model and let your market know how and why you are better than the rest.

There are many well supported beliefs for why it’s so hard to innovate.  Don’t believe them.  The good news is, it’s easy and cheap to innovate.  The better news is you can innovate quickly and successfully.

You might as well be naked if you invest in a Company without knowing the Company’s management.   Unquestionably, an innovating, motivating management is a very valuable asset for a company.  They are capable of extraordinary achievement while extracting the best of opportunities.  On the other hand, an inept management can deflate the value of a Company while squandering market share, cash and opportunity.   You’re not investing, but speculating, if you’re buying a stock with inept management.  Knowing the management of a Company is one way to avoid a vulnerable naked investment in the stock market.

Think back to your the last great customer service experience. Most likely, you still can remember the customer’s name, visualize the customer’s face and feel good about the experience.  At the time, you probably happy to share often with friends and fellow workers.  People like to buy from people they like.  Creating positive customer relationships opens customer to like you and your product.  Your customers will feel good about buying from you the first time and second time and they’ll keep coming back

You can get a bank loan because bankers want to make business loans. They like making business loans. It’s how they make money. Use the three ‘C’s to help you get a bank loan for your business. They worked for me and many other entrepreneurs. The three ‘Cs’ can work for you, too.

If you want excitement, take $800 and go to Vegas.

The voice on the telephone says, “So, you don’t like the 1% rate you’re getting on your bank savings accounts and you want to get more.  I’ve got a great hot investment for you.  You can jump in now and get 8% a month.  You don’t like 8%, I’ve got another one at 25% and another at 50% a month. 

Looking both ways before crossing a busy street makes sense.  It’s something we all know and do.   Here are three ways to do the same thing before leaping into buying stock in a public company.

Everyone says not to micromanage but I’m telling you it’s a good thing. You’ve got everything riding on your business being successful.  You know everything about your new baby and you know it better than anyone.  Your employees don’t know as much as you do about the business.  Working to anticipate what they might do wrong before they do it keeps you up most nights.  Stop worrying.  Start micromanaging for success using these three techniques.   They are easy to use and free.  You can start right away.  Micromanaging can help put your business over the top. 

If you are a skilled mind reader, don’t read anymore.

You might like to read another person’s mind but it’s not going to happen.  People make assumptions when they don’t know the facts.  Stock market decisions based on assumptions are a form of mind reading.   An assumption about a company’s performance is like making a buy, sell or hold decision based on your ability to read the CEO’s mind. 

The big question is, ‘When people buy, are they buying the steak or the sizzle?’  The reality is, they buy both but not one without the other.    It’s the sizzle which motivates people to buy a product.  The sizzle is different for different products and people.   The sizzle in a waterproof watch is that it’s waterproof to a depth of 120 meters.   If the only time your watch will get wet is when you’re in the shower, the sizzle is ‘120 meters underwater and still waterproof’.    For a seventy-year old homeowner, the sizzle in a lawnmower is the 3-year guarantee to start.   It’s hard to believe there can be sizzle in a garlic press but take a look.  

You get a great tip for a hot investment. 

Getting a good sense of the risk in the investment is important but not without some effort.   Solid research is the first step before putting your money in an investment, even if it is hot tip.  

Have you ever started your workday thinking you are the only one who fully appreciates the urgency of the business?  If you have, you are not alone.  You belong to a huge manager’s club but you don’t have to stay a member.  You can let go ‘the power of one’ and let ‘the force be with you’. 

You’ve got a great idea for a business.  You’re anxious to get it started.  You want to quit your day job to get it off the ground.  Before you can sell anything, you need to buy equipment and materials.  Your garage is too small, but you found a great lease in the perfect location.  All you must do is give the landlord a security deposit and pay the rent for the first month, in advance.  Your business plan calls for you to hire two people, right away.  Everything is looking positive.  The business will need money to get started and keep operating until the sales volume gets healthy.  Before you put money in the business, take the hobby test.

The best part of watching Deputy Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson is not how she collects the facts about a murder case.  It’s when she figures out why the facts are important so she put the bad guy in jail.  

When investing in a company, knowing the ‘why’ the facts are important can be the difference between making and losing your money.   The facts about a company often don’t give you enough information to make a successful investment decision without knowing the ‘why’.  

Start feeling good when a prospective customer tells you, ‘the price is too high’.  What the prospect didn’t say was ‘I don’t need it’, ‘I don’t like it’ or ‘I don’t want to do business with you’.  Your prospect is waiting for you to create the opportunity to buy.  Whether you are in a startup or an operating business, use these techniques and you’re only a few steps away from closing the sale.