Fear of failure in your business is one of the most common feelings that prevent many potential entrepreneurs of growing their businesses and many others to even start a business dream.
Camino Financial is a financial institution co-founded by Sean and Kenny Salas, children of a Latina entrepreneur who lost her business of 30 restaurants after 25 years of operation. Sean and Kenny have made the promise to never leave another Latino business behind.
by Guest Contributor Suanny Garcia
You’ve accomplished launching a business and you’re now a small business owner and budding entrepreneur. Now that your business is stable, you can stop thinking about growth, right? Wrong.
Many small business owners are reluctant to grow their baby — using the term “baby” quite figuratively to illustrate a business that has not yet reached its full potential because it’s struggling from some serious attachment to its safe space. In reality, the correct term would be risk-averse, which quite literally means a disinclination to take risks. No entrepreneur is going to say building a business or creating a brand is fear-free, in fact, it’s quite the opposite… fear-full.
We all get it. Why fix what is not broken in the first place? Why increase your potential for failure when your current rate of success is not so bad? Well, when you’re not growing, you run the risk of staying behind, remaining stagnant, boring, passé, and eventually a thing of the past. In this social-network driven day and age when new technologies and marketing strategies are inundating buyers with the next new thing, it’s imperative you reconsider putting your fear on mute. As a business owner, you must learn to master the waltz of fear and possibility. That means, where there is no fear, there is even less possibility, and the reverse is also true: big fear almost always equals big possibility.
We’ll go over how important it is to invest, to fear big and fail fast, how you can measure your risk of investments, how to win from your business failures, but first… let’s talk simple steps on how to get over the fear.
4 Tips to Overcome the Fear of Failure as a Business Owner
1 Imagine the worst, then let it go
Visualize the worst case scenario happening and then remove your thoughts from it. Accepting and removing the feeling of potential failurefrom your life will give clarity to your actions, inspiring every step to be imbued with a sense of optimism and good spirit — now that you’ve acknowledged what could go wrong, go right.
2 Keep in mind: regrets are worse than failure
Regrets linger much longer and have much more weight than fear. If you’re reluctant to branch out because your fear of failure, imagine living with the perpetual weight of the doubt of never having reached further. If you’re reluctant to branch out because you fear for your family’s stability, there’s a chance down the line that your business might become stagnant as a result of your fear of growth.
3 Develop a culture of experimentation
If you’ve failed many times in the past, fail faster in your present. Numerous failed attempts certainly signify that you already know exactly what won’t work, which means you’re close to what will work.
4 Accept inspiration
No, it’s not just a hoo-ha word artists use as an excuse to put off that new project “I’m not inspired today;” it’s science that you can make work to your advantage. Inspiration isn’t always everywhere, and won’t come every time you call for it… sometimes you have to actively seek it.
Read about others who have accomplished the level of success you’re fearful of, or simply read about others who are successful regardless. Camino’s blog has several amazing resources that are sure to motivate:
How 3 Latinos Achieved the American Dream and Became Millionaires
How Dollar Shave Club Achieved A Billion Dollar Evaluation in Less Than 6 Years.
Now, let’s say we’ve finally crossed the bridge to the other side of fear, sided with the possibility rhythm of the waltz, became a growth experimenter… so now, what do you do?
You put your capital where your mouth is, and I’m not just referring to dentists. If you’re even considering growth, your business is probably stable and you’ve saved up some funds — or have investors backing you up — but regardless, you have the money to spare.
You might be interested: How your small business can survive and thrive with these cash flow tips
In The Importance of Working Capital, Camino Financial details exactly how you can use your funds to invest in your own company. New equipment? Check. New bathroom for your business? Check. New marketing team? Definitely, check (this is a huge factor for the growth of your business) — it took Jennifer López more than 10 years to become an overnight success.
This post was published on Camino Financial on June 24th, 2018.
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