Myths you still believe about becoming a business owner

“I want to have my own business”. This thought comes to our minds and stays there as a platonic wish. Something that we accept is ideal, but we still believe it doesn’t fit in our cultural perception of reality. I will share with you some conclusions and common-sense clarifications that will save you years of pain, waste of energy and unnecessary fails. The following points are widely accepted beliefs that are commonly misinterpreted. I will explain what is true about these assertions and what is just absurd. I will also share some reasonable solutions that have worked pretty well for me and the people I admire the most.

“We are whoever we want to be.”

True:

Of course, you are the only one who can decide what to do with your life, and you are usually your only limitation. Just be careful about this decision and make sure you’re not just copying someone who is miserable on the inside but shows the opposite on Instagram. You are responsible for defining what success means according to you and only to you. Personal success is what makes you happy, whereas traditional success is just what other people can measure and compare. Sometimes, having money will make you a slave and being accepted will make you someone’s bitch. What if you don’t want the highest salary in your company? What if leaving your office at 4:00 pm to see your children is more important to you? What if you don’t want to be famous, and enjoy being in a supermarket without having anyone around taking you pictures? This personal concept doesn’t mean you are mediocre, though. It means that you have more exciting goals to achieve.

Absurd

I’ve heard many personal coaches who insist on the idea “you can be anyone you want”. Nope, you cannot be a young person and enjoy your 20s if you were born in 1945. No, you cannot be an opera singer if you don’t have the right voice and talent. No, you don’t even want to be a Victoria’s Secret Supermodel if you are an anatomically correct human being. No, you can’t magically change fundamental physics and biology to make them fit your desires. Despite reality being so stubborn, life is still amazing, and there are plenty of other things we can and should achieve if we have motivation and discipline. Accepting this ridiculous definition of freedom is the main reason why we are so frustrated and clinically depressed. The reality is that sometimes (most times), life is not what we want, and that is OK. Accepting this means that you are finally growing up, and you are no longer that kid that cries like a maniac because you can’t eat lollies for breakfast every day.

Will power is also overrated. It does sound like a superpower, but try to explain this to a drug addict, or a person in a toxic relationship. You will then understand that changing unwanted aspects of your life is not that simple. You need way more than a strong desire; you need a plan.

Reasonable solution

Change your friends. Yeap, you’ve read right. Because reality doesn’t care about your feelings, and your willpower is not a superpower, you need to gain control over as much as it is in your hands to control. Losing friends is easy, effective, and it’s probably already your best talent.

According to scientists, we are a construct of our cultural environment. We are wired to believe and behave like the rest of the group that will help us survive (our family and society). This cultural cohesion and sense of belonging helped our ancestors face survival challenges faster and more successfully than those who tried by themselves.

If you want to change who you are, forget about your pathetic willpower and focus on changing your social circles instead.

• Open a meetup account and join groups of business owners and successful people.
• Go to networking events organised by industry organisations and universities.
• Join courses directed to business owners.
• Be ready to suit up and learn some business etiquette.
• If you are into dating, refine your filters and red flags.
• If you are already married, ask your wife to join your new journey.
• Finally, don’t be a dickhead. The last things you want are enemies and resentment. Be kind to your current friends and ditch them with courtesy and diplomatic excuses.

By meeting new friends, you will notice how your ideas will no longer be validated, your vocabulary and behaviour will naturally change, and you will learn stuff no one else taught you before. Finally, you will be able to find the right team for your projects.

“My ideas have to be 100% unique and original.”

True:

Avoid stepping into a great man’s shoes. You are better than that. Copies will never look as good as the original. Try to be good in your own unique way.

Absurd:

For some reason, people believe that good ideas mean no one has ever thought of them. Have you ever shared a business idea and heard your friends saying something like: “hmm, sounds very interesting, but, unfortunately, someone already does that…” Huh? can somebody please show me one single case study or research that suggests this is a serious issue? As a matter of fact, the newer the product to a market, the riskier it is proven to be according to real science. See ANSOFF Matrix below.

Reasonable solution

As you can see in the graph, it is valid to start a business with an existing product in a market that already trades similar stuff. Yes, it is ideal to diversify the market with new and original products, but you would need a reasonable budget for such an ambitious undertaking.

Quitting your dreams because someone else is already in the market is like not talking to a beautiful woman because she already has many prospects. Don’t be that loser. You are great in your own amazing way and, trust me, there’s nothing sexier than a person who believes that. Maybe that girl is sick of all the idiots who are not like you. Go and talk to her and launch that damn business!

The experience will, sooner rather than later, teach you that you will always have to deal with new competitors, and there’s nothing bad about it. See your inevitable competence as an opportunity to innovate, take advantage of the unattended niches, and learn from their errors and success stories. This methodology is known as “benchmarking”, and all decent companies do it.

If a business already exists and is successful, that’s great news! It is the best indicator of a growing demand for your product. You don’t want to invest all your money and energy in a solution that no one else is providing. Perhaps, your idea is so bad no one would bother. The absolute lack of competitors may be a red flag.

Finally, you might be wondering why the education system and government insist so much that business ideas need to be like nothing that was ever seen before. Well, your country has to make a huge effort to encourage new entrepreneurs to think of ways to diversify the economy (I vote for this policy). Most governments are willing to offer grants to mitigate the risks associated with investing in uncertain business opportunities that no one has tried before.

“Don’t tell anyone your ideas.”

True:

There are some things that you should never share with anyone:

• Don’t share your industrial secrets like recipes, programming code or know-how.
• Don’t share your database of clients (unless you want to use a few as testimonials).
• If you already have a team, don’t share your business decisions with external teams unless you want to hire external consultants.

In short, don’t share anything that will help possible pirates copy your competitive advantage. Sign NDAs when necessary.

Absurd:

You are not telling anyone your business plan because you fear someone will steal your idea and do it first. What? Well, yes… as soon as your new revolutionary product gets some traction, someone in China will already be mass-producing it to the rest of the world for a fraction of the price. Embrace competence today and tomorrow.

The most revolutionary and disrupting ideas are usually adaptations and improvements of existing inventions and concepts. The following are some examples:

1. Despite what the movie The Social Network says, which is a piece of rubbish, Facebook was not the first social networking site nor the last one. The whole race dilemma between the characters is ridiculous. In 2004, Facebook had to compete against Myspace and MS MSN when it was first launched. Plato was actually the first online community, and it was created in the 1960s. Twitter became a good alternative to Facebook in 2006. Instagram dared to join the game in 2012. What happened to the losers who sued Mark Zuckerberg is a mystery to me. I believe they had no intention to start up any business, and they just wanted a slice.
2. Maurice and Richard McDonald did not invent hamburgers in 1948. Burger King (Hungry Jacks for my Aussie readers) was not afraid to start in 1954. No one really knows who invented hamburgers, but data shows that they’ve been widely commercialised since the 18th century. Nothing stops anyone from selling burgers today.
3. 4. 5. 6… the list goes on and on. Just name the most innovative and revolutionary scientific theory, invention, business model, or company you can think of. There’s always a predecessor with an initial concept.

Reasonable solutions

• Ideas are worth being shared. When you talk about your plans with the right people, you will see how most of them will simply try to help you refine your strategy and find key contacts — the benefits of involving other brains overweight the risks.
• Don’t worry if someone copies your idea. It’s not the end of the world. Use new competitors as guinea pigs. Spy on them, buy from them, work for them and show them who rules. You will have to do this eventually with future competitors anyway.
• Download a free NDA from the internet.

So remember, find the right people to share ideas with, hide what you really should hide, accept the inevitable risks, please don’t stress too much about competitors at any stage and enjoy the game.

“Business competence is a race to see who gets to the market FIRST.”

True:

Well, if you are in a construction project, you want to buy that perfect land before anyone else. This loss doesn’t mean, though, that the land of the planet is over. It only means that you lost a business opportunity today, but next year will probably be better.

Furthermore, in some cases, the older the brand, the more experience it demonstrates. For example, you want to hire a lawyer with more than ten years of experience solving cases like yours. However, that doesn’t mean that there is no room for a young graduate who can solve more straightforward tasks in a junior position in the same law firm.

Absurd

Have you ever chosen a brand in the supermarket based on the company’s year of registration? You should probably be more interested in the expiration date of that fish. No one gives a duck who has introduced a solution first or second. Brands compete for quality, prices, value, package, distribution… it is OK to be second or seventh in time as long as you’re good enough to be an appealing option today.

Rushing things out can also make you make stupid decisions when you’re not ready.

Reasonable solutions

• Start a business when you feel ready, and the weather looks favourable — Master the art of opportunity.
• Don’t be discouraged if someone had taken the lead. They are not perfect, and you probably can do it better or just different.

You need money to start a business

True

You will probably have to invest some capital in your new project. Even the company registration needs some budget.

Absurd

People invest their life savings in brilliant ideas without one single day of experience in their target industry. Just because an idea is freaking good, it doesn’t mean you have the right leadership and team to make it happen. I’ve seen this problem every day with pretty cool digital startups. Founders have this amazing idea to create an app. They jealously keep the secret to, somehow, ensure they will create a global monopoly that will change the world. The truth is they have no clue what a programming language even means. They spend thousands/millions of dollars hiring programmers just to realise late that they have designed a monster no one is able to use. Programmers will do whatever you tell them to do. When disaster strikes, your programmers will wash their hands because they delivered your piece of art in scope and in budget. They will apply for a new job showcasing their newly acquired experience. Finally, the founder will have to start from scratch because the new programmers won’t even try to understand the existing code. Did you know any of this? It is absurd! Do some research about your target industry before losing all your money.

Reasonable solution

Robert Kiyosaki proposes the Cashflow Quadrant. A very straightforward methodology to start with baby steps and scale.

1. Start as an employee. If you can’t afford to create a business, start making money and experience as an employee.
2. Become your own boss. Now that you have some savings, you can afford a small business. Don’t hire anyone yet. Be the manager, accountant, secretary, employee of the month, boss lover and president of the union at the same time. You will gain a holistic understanding of your business.
3. Good job, your business is getting some traction, and it is time to hire a new replacement. As the owner of a company you understand better than anyone, you will choose wisely the new team that will take your business to the next level without your intervention.
4. Use the new incoming money to invest in more businesses.
5. Enjoy your new life, boss. You can now get married and divorce so you have to start all over like a pro.

• Step 5 is not mentioned anywhere, I just made that up.

In conclusion, we are experts in coming up with unnecessary and unrealistic concerns and excuses. We forget about what’s really important, lose focus and end up committing expensive mistakes. No wonder the number of successful founders is so small. We are our worse enemy.