Entrepreneurial Journey Myths about Creating a New Business
The below are some common misunderstandings about the entrepreneurial journey of creating new businesses that come up in business coaching all the time. Some of these may need unpicking, some maybe simple realisations oh shit, you mean it doesn’t work like that!
The only requirement is a good idea.
Often people seem to think that for the entrepreneur, once you have a good idea, then all else simply follows, you have a team in place and everything else just gets executed in a natural state of flow and processes. For some refined and experienced business builders, that is how it goes, but don’t be mistaken, ideas are heavily scrutinised and stress tested. It really depends on the team you have around you, and your experience in the market place. Business coaching is often part of the incubation period that helps entrepreneurs make crucial decisions on their next moves.
Starting a new business guarantees freedom.
Many people start their new business because they hate their job, that is always a bad place to start from, It is often quite revealing when someone who comes for business or executive coaching finds themselves loving what they were adamant they wanted to get away from. That is because life is not about circumstances, people can thrive no matter what, that doesn’t mean they have to. Leaving a job with a sense of bitterness and ‘I will show you’ attitude doesn’t always work out well, and often can compromise the development of a new idea, particularly but putting unnecessary financial stress on your life when what you need is a clear mind.
Worth considering on this point, is while it seems that ‘your own business’ will generate more freedom, for most, it is the opposite, as you are doing something you love and feel passionate about, you naturally want to spend more time, and this can be difficult with family connections desiring more attention. I have lost count of the amount of people who have missed their whole children’s upbringing because they were so wrapped up in projects and finding ‘the one’.
Launching a company quickly leads to wealth.
Often a new business venture will drain all financial resources, and lose money before it earns any. There are so many hidden costs, trial and error marketing experiences and unseen money drains that even the most experienced business developer cannot foresee.
Even if you nail it the first time, there will still be time involved before it makes money. Unless your idea goes viral and does the marketing by itself, be financially prepared and take all aspects into careful consideration, the worst thing you can do is burn your resources without a backup plan. It often leads to feelings of failure and doom. Having a business coach along the journey helps you define successes along the way. Sometimes you have to lose to win.
Businesses either flourish or fail.
As a business coach, often I come into the picture where a business is failing (as that’s often where people panic and look for help) or is ‘stuck’. Stuck is often the mindset of the owner, and a feeling that things are not progressing as they ‘should be’. Getting beyond the idea of stuck often helps the business move forward simply because it opens the channel of creative expression that gets closed down when we are caught up in our own mind about where we are going, and how long it is taking.
We are all susceptible to the conditioning of society, culture and our own family values that have been innocently installed in us, and they simply get in the way of creating in the world. The good thing is, there is really very little you need to do when you see that you are living out someone else’s ideas about achieving something, from that place, things flow effortlessly.
All responsibility falls on the entrepreneur.
It is true that at the start, the journey is often lonely, no one else feels passionate about your idea but you, you have many conversations, you feel disheartened sometimes, you feel excited other times, but there is something inside you that just keeps you going, knowing that what you have, is a fulfilling passion to create something in the world.
As you follow that passion and belief, a team of people will show up, you will build new relationships and things will take form, what you can rely on, is the knowing that when there is something to do, you will know what to do, or you will figure it out, because all humans are gifted with innate resilience and can thrive in adverse circumstances.
You need to take a Big Risk When you Invest in Your Start-Up
It may seem like the financial needs of such an idea are huge and there is just no way it could be possible, however I often steer entrepreneurs away from worrying about the finances as it just hampers creative flow and potential. The truth is, we do not know, following our instincts and passion can lead to all sorts of relationships and opportunities coming our way. If having the finances to make something happen in the world was a requirement, most of the adventures I have been part of would never have materialised. The thinking about money just blocks the potential. I am not suggesting to be unrealistic. I.E you are probably not going to build a space rocket if you are broke by next week, but, possible is not about circumstances, it’s about what could happen we don’t know about yet.
Certified Transformative Coach with 25 years of experience helping people live a better life.
