The Scariest Thing.
What is the scariest part of starting a small business?
Failure? Many new ventures don’t survive the fragile first months.
Or maybe its just about losing someone else’s money–an investor or a gift from a friend. Maybe the confidence they showed in you was misplaced?
Others may say it is fear of endangering your own financial future. Isn’t it better to just stick with something safe and known?
Whatever it may be, it is clear that choosing to start a business is a risky path.
Yet with risk comes opportunity.
One of our recent students took the leap of faith and decided to start a business with our help at ONOW. She started with a small online shopping company which didn’t really take off. An opportunity came along so she decided to switch gears and work with coffee. At first, things were going well, but then competition rose and she began to see signs that things may not succeed.
She began to think of closing her business completely.
At this point she did something scary that probably saved her business. She made a phone call to ask for help. Asking for help can be scary, especially if we want to look to everyone like we know what we are doing. Yet her act of courage was the step she needed to succeed. She called ONOW, and her coach worked with her through her business model, gave her encouragement, and helped her make an action plan to move forward. These steps saved her business.
She has now hired three staff, and expanded operations into four parts of the country. Sometimes courage pays off. But it can help to have a little humility.
