Your friends are projecting their own fears

So you are looking to take the risk of leaving regular employment and start your own business. Naturally, you will turn to family, friends and trusted colleagues for their support and advice.

Unfortunately most of what you will hear is well meaning advice about how you couldn’t possibly succeed. 

Forgive them, they mean well.

When you listen to the advice try substituting ‘I’ for the ‘you’ they are saying. Pretty soon you’ll realise that they are projecting themselves into your situation and telling you their personal fears.

That is fine, but remember that they haven’t had the courage to take the step you have yet – so they’ll have a lot of fears and anxieties to tell you about.  For the worst offenders it may be necessary to limit contact for a while as your confidence is already likely to be pretty thin and they’ll only bring you down.

Save your meaningful conversations for those who’ve been in the same boat before and come through. I had a few people help me this way, and once I started I have never regretted it.

Your business plan is wrong

According to recent long term study the main predictor of startup failure in its first three years was the existence of a business plan. The second most highly correlated predictor of failure was following the business plan.

This makes sense intuitively. 

The business plan is your ideal of how the business will grow, how your customers will buy your product and so on. It’s like a teenager talking about their ideal partner. Basically it is a fantasy.

When you are failing to make sales as predicted, your savings have gone and your credit card is close to maxxed out then you will do anything to bring money in the door.

You are learning by doing. Through trial and error you are finding out how the market actually works, what customers really want, how much they are willing to pay, how good your employees are at delivering and so on.

Keep your objectives in mind, but don’t be rigid in following the plan.

The secret entrepreneur makes no money

I often come across people who have a world beating business idea that will allow them to become a multi-millionaire. The only problem is that they won't tell you what industry it is, the general concept, or anything.
They think that their idea is so precious and so groundbreaking that if they tell anyone it will be stolen - they are secret entrepreneurs.
The only problem is that you can't build a business without talking to people. Share the general concept, meet people in the industry, learn how the industry works, test your concept, go raise funds.
If you keep it secret then you'll have no partners, no patents, no clients, no cash flow and a lot of regrets

Is that an excuse or a reason

An old mentor of mine used to question everything I said about the difficulties of starting up by simply asking if my statement was an excuse or a reason.
Be brutally honest with yourself - if it's an excuse get past it, if it's a reason then find a way round the obstacle.
Question your own motivations and actions through this simple question.

The perfect is the enemy of the good

An old Russian saying. Stop waiting for perfection - make something good enough instead and sell it now.
Ask yourself - What can you do now, sell now, make now?
Will people buy it?
You can't build a business without income so stop optimizing, stop perfecting and stop finding excuses to not launch your product or service.