Smash These 5 Big Myths That Prevent You From Starting Your Own Business

Becoming a business owner is your dream, and things seem ready to roll…but are these five myths making you afraid to turn entrepreneur?

You have worked really hard to understand how to run a business, worked for more than 10 hours a day to learn from the startup or company you have worked with, given a lot of hours to learn different skills which can help you build your business…but then you figured you can’t begin, because you are afraid of so many things.

Let’s clear up some of the myths which are stopping you from taking the leap to becoming a business owner.

MYTH 1 – You need a team to start your business

Starting a business can be at times overwhelming but hiring a team while you are starting out is not really required. Unless you have reached a stage where you have a recurring stream of income, hiring a team and then feeling responsible for their careers will be difficult.

Instead, you can engage with coaches and consultants for the skills you are not good with on a project basis and move the company forward.

MYTH 2 – You need a lot of money to start your venture

Starting a business doesn’t need to be this difficult. There are a bunch of methods to begin a business and enjoy the entrepreneurial journey.

Often times, this feels difficult, but business can begin as a part-time hustle until you have your income greater than your expenses. Slowly but steadily, you can begin with maintaining cash flow and then quitting your 9-5.

MYTH 3 – You have to work all the time

Now, this must be something you hear very often. Entrepreneurs work 24×7, they have no time to breathe, to take breaks or rest, they are more like robots sleeping hardly for 4 hours a day and pushing themselves hard to make their dream a reality.

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The truth is, Entrepreneurship is not a 400 meters race but a marathon and hence, a regular, consistent pace plays a more important role than burning yourself out by being too hard on yourself. Work hard but don’t forget to take breaks!

MYTH 4 – You need to know everything

Businesses need multiple skills and the entrepreneur has to juggle many hats to make things happen. The biggest challenge for any entrepreneur is to wait until they pick up all the essential skills before starting their journey.

Actually, that is not true. Entrepreneurship is a process, and more importantly, the growth that comes along the way. Yes, there are certain skills that are definitely required before you can actually expect to earn money such as sales and business development, finances, etc but with a good Business Mentor, one can always learn the skills on the way to becoming a successful entrepreneur. Now is always the right time to start.

MYTH 5 – You have built the complete business product or service plan before you can start

This is one of the biggest myths of all, “You have to be ready with your complete service or the product before you go to the market to sell”. On the contrary, as a Product Manager, my biggest learning was to go out, sell the concept and identify the actual requirement and problem statement and design the solution on the back of actual feedback and requests. This helped expedite the sales process and identifying the gaps always helps design what is required rather than what we think the market needs.

We only have to remember one thing while starting out a business, i.e. baby steps lead to the greatest victories of all times. Keep moving forward and stay in the game!

Image via Unsplash

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