What is your biggest fear about becoming an entrepreneur ?
Entrepreneurship is hard for one single reason - unpredictability. This unpredictability makes entrepreneurship a risky affair and not everyone has the same appetite for risk. Depending on your age, personal situation, financial resources etc. you might be able to sustain less/more risk than some one else. However, it is essential that you identify what your biggest concern is about an entrepreneurial life ?
In the quest to identify what exactly is stopping you from becoming an entrepreneur, here’s a list of questions you can ask yourself to zero in on your biggest concern:
- Are you afraid of failing and the social stigma associated with it ?
I left this cushy job with XYZ. If I fail, my family and friends will think I’m a loser and an idiot.
- Are you concerned about how you will sustain yourselves when there’s a period of little or no income ?
How will I pay the bills if I become a full time entrepreneur ? Living in a place like XYZ isnt exactly cheap. I dont have a rich daddy who will bail me out if things dont work out. What if any unexpected expenses crop up ?
- Are you concerned about the unpredictability and fear the unknown ?
Will this idea work ? What if the economy goes into a recession ? What if the product isnt successful ?
- Are you concerned that your personal and social life will be disrupted ?
I will not be able to take vacations with my wife. I might not be able to frequent Cafe Coffee Day.
- You have an idea but no clue absolutely about where to begin ?
I have an idea about a ticketmaster like site. But where to begin ? How will the technology, channel partnerships etc all work out ? How do I go about getting info on events ?
- I am a techie and have no knowledge about marketing - sales
I dont have the marketing skills or the aptitude to sell - will I be able to build a viable business from my idea ?
- If I fail, how will things work out after that ? Will I be able to re-enter the corporate world if needed ?
While there may be hard data evidence to quell some of the concerns, some need anecdotal observations while some others - you simply need to seek answers as an individual since there is no single, good answer. You need to ask yourself such questions and identify what is your biggest fear. Once you’ve zeroed in on it, you can work towards debunking that fear.
PS: the list of questions above is generic and aims to capture a broad range rather than drilling down on one specific question.
Leave a comment and let me know what is it that is your biggest concern ? And how do you plan to address it ?
June 3rd, 2008 at 11:33 pm
Hi Pranav,
I think my biggest fear while persuing my idea and taking it till execution is “time”! Time is an important factor and deciding on deadlines and adhering to them is the toughest thing.
My fear lies in losing the grip of idea, losing the market till the time my idea arrives, losing the team if my partners find themselves in a different situation after a particular timeframe etc.
Money and all those things will always be a concern but anyhow they can be managed but time is a thing which only knows to move forward!!!!!
June 4th, 2008 at 1:40 am
My biggest fear is actually identifying the right problem to solve. There are tons of ideas, but most of them trivial.
June 4th, 2008 at 2:23 am
My fears are
1. Will I be able to lead the team to success. Can I make them as motivated as I am. Will they stay with me for a long time.
2. What if my competitors copy the idea and make my business redundant?
3. I don’t want to do any illegal or unethical activities, but will the business survive still in this ruthless world.
June 4th, 2008 at 2:26 am
Sometimes havin a rich daddy isnt such a big advantage.. coz comes along wit it is the responsibility of takin care of the exisitin business.. rather than venturin out on somethin new.. ask me
June 4th, 2008 at 2:45 am
Forming the right business plan and convincing the right people is the key. Once thsi is done, money is not a problem.
The next stage is probably the sustenance of the business, and taking it to its logical conclusion. It is in many ways a bigger challenge, as the initial “enthu” is gone, except probably for the founder
June 4th, 2008 at 2:56 am
Hi,
Interesting post Pranav. For me the biggest fear is the fear of failure. I dont want to fail in anything I do. Not because the world would laugh at me or because I would be rated as a failure by my peers. But because I myself would not be able to achieve the standards that I have set for myself.
Regards,
SG
P.S.: Although have seen your blog lots of time, noticed it just now. Keep up the good work.
June 4th, 2008 at 4:41 am
Hi,
My biggest fear is the failure to make money. I have one or two ideas and even if after trying the idea is not clicked in the minds of clients then what to do.
Considering the low cost startup (in terms of investment), if you are not able to get a client either in a month or two, is a big deal. Because when you are just starting up there will be not support from either VCs or Angels until you have good network.
If you need to evolve your idea into a product, you need atleast 3-4 months working on that based on the idea. Let’s say I am the sole person working on it fulltime and the after working for this period, it should make inroads into client minds within a month. If this doesn’t happens, then it is a failure.
June 4th, 2008 at 7:26 am
I believe if you have any of the above fears or some other you will never be an entrepreneur, I would like to term is as risks and have risk mitigation strategy.
Without that you will always remain a Fence Sitter.
June 4th, 2008 at 7:53 am
The fears that you have mentioned are big , but the biggest one is here : Despite all the odds you have the consistency to keep continuing and contributing towards the vision is required …
I would like to address the few concerns and answers to few of your questions.
Getting back into the corporate world : offcourse you can get back to a corporate world; say 4yrs of exp and 1yr of sabatical looks fine..
social stigma: beggers can’t be choosers , the crowd is a spectator and if can’t defy them then there is lack of confidence in the person or the idea is not strong enough to let him do the extra mile.
Its a Risk * time factor which remains constant.
if you want to rise high in less time, risk has got to be increased
give more time less risk reach the same level.
June 4th, 2008 at 8:11 am
I believe its fear of faliure for me. I was working fine in US with good job and i had this urge of being an enterprenur. I had tons of ideas every day and more i read about India and things around me I felt more confident. I quit my job moved to India and did try to implement my ideas but nothing seemed to work. I failed to even get started because of faliure. Everytime I would work on idea i will start getting neagtive thoughts.
Wasted 8 months of time going from here and there… lost all my confidence and was really depressed. Finally moved to Dubai and am back with the JOB but again i am getting all the ideas
But this time I will be more cautious. I would take that step since my family is well settled. Not everyone can afford to do that. So for me fear of faliure was the reason. I still plan to do it all over again but with much better planning and execution. Hopefully sooooon.
June 4th, 2008 at 9:59 am
My Biggest fear is that I will never be able to find a good motivated team which will stay along with me till the delivery date!
June 4th, 2008 at 12:52 pm
Scared of failure, not being able to make money, not being able to pay my bills…..
But most of all, I am scared of not being able to grow. It is not enough to get a few big clients or be featured in magazines and newspapers the first few years. In order to be deemed truly successful, startups must continue to grow. And this is not simple.
Another fear is getting taken over by a big company and seeing your vision dissolve into nothingness once your company becomes part of an ocean.
Both these fears might sound trivial because the scary situations seem to occur after the startup has become successful, but they are still food for thought, especially for those who are not in it solely for the money.
June 4th, 2008 at 1:21 pm
A fascinating look into the minds of Indian Startup Founders - http://www.ifounders.in
June 4th, 2008 at 10:18 pm
Boy — thats a whole lotta comments..Am a little backed up today - Will read and respond in a day. Thanks to all for sharing your concerns and keep them coming..
June 5th, 2008 at 8:46 am
This one is less of fear and more of a startup concern.
I have always had a difficult time finding the right people with domain knowledge for a business problem. Lack of focus is one of the key reasons for folding a startup.
I was involved with a startup that wanted to implement SaaS in the SMB industry. Half way through the project, one of the stakeholders realized that he wanted an ERP system instead of a document management system.
Six months after the system was developed, Frankenstien had to be scrapped.
June 5th, 2008 at 9:51 pm
To me its the marketing skills. With the kind of team with me, we can make almost any product. Marketing is the hardest job on earth.
June 10th, 2008 at 4:06 pm
since each comment deserves an individual response, I hope I can effectively answer each one of you.
@ rabi,
“losing grip of the idea”
though I’m not an entrepreneur myself, after talking to several other entrepreneur friends, I know for a fact that its quintessential for you to be passionate and believe in your idea. When you passionately believe in your idea, you will not lose grip or focus on your idea.
“losing the market till the time my idea arrives”
Rabi, to address this, your entrepreneurial idea needs to be tractable. The time to go to market in terms of an Internet startup is short - so obviously, you cant take forever to launch your idea. It needs to quick to market and rapid iterations from there on. Of course, if you’re talking of some serious technology, it will take time to develop and launch. But that shouldnt deter you - see Google’s example. When google launched, everyone thought that search was already conquered by yahoo-MSN-Ask. You shouldnt be afraid of ‘biggies’ entering your market. As a startup, agility and nimbleness are on your side. You should use that to your advantage.
“losing the team if my partners find themselves in a different situation after a particular timeframe etc.”
That’s why its essential that you select your co-founders and team very carefully. They need to be convinced and believe in your idea as much as you do.
June 10th, 2008 at 4:11 pm
@Paras
My biggest fear is actually identifying the right problem to solve. There are tons of ideas, but most of them trivial.
The key is to identify what you yourself think is a problem. Most of the successful companies have started this way. the best example I can provide you is about Netflix.
NetFlix founder was frustrated with paying late fees and with the limited collection that the nearby Blockbuster store provided. and thats how he started NetFlix.
Most often than not - any problem that you face, its highly likely that others face the same problem as well. some of today’s most pervasive problems are information overload, productivity etc. See Paul Graham’s essay on how to identify what problems to solve.
June 10th, 2008 at 4:27 pm
@Keshava
My fears are
1. Will I be able to lead the team to success. Can I make them as motivated as I am. Will they stay with me for a long time.
2. What if my competitors copy the idea and make my business redundant?
3. I don’t want to do any illegal or unethical activities, but will the business survive still in this ruthless world.
1. You need to identify your core competencies - are you a techie ? Are you a salesman ? Are you a biz dev guy ? After you’ve identified your core competency, you need to make the call if you are a good leader. If you have a techie background and doubt your leadership skills, you should probably find a co-founder, who’d be able to lead the team. As a founder and a good leader, it will also be your job to sell the startup idea to your team. In other words, it is your job to convince and sell your idea and dream to your team and keep them motivated enough.
2. Unless your startup has some serious technology or IP behind it, rest assured that there’s a very good chance that someone, some where will most definitely work on it. probably, even beat you to the market with it. But that shouldnt deter you if you really believe in your idea. That’s why its essential that you remain focused and believe in your idea. In fact, you should always include the possibility that there will be other competitors in your market, as part of your biz plan strategy.
3. You dont have to be unethical or do anything illegal to succeed. Instead, you can let your startup - technology do the talking. Constant innovation in terms of features should be a good way to deal with competition.
June 26th, 2008 at 2:27 pm
Hi, as I wrote in several articles like this one Entrepreneurship fear of failure most of the fears can be summed up as the fear of failure. Although some say entrepreneurs are big risk takers and they have a good tolerance on failing, I’m quite sure that failing is the most common reason.
June 26th, 2008 at 7:24 pm
Simple put … ‘creative destruction’
July 10th, 2008 at 4:39 am
there is no security in our country. Big VC firms are here to hand shakes with people who became industry gurus by licking during licence raj of India. Ideas are worth nothing in this country. Need a debate, then will prove it or go yourself in the market with a idea, huge real time experience of India, no IIT/IIM degree, as first venture and then tell me what this country has to offer.
July 28th, 2008 at 7:11 pm
My biggest fear is financial. What if everything falls apart and I am stuck paying for stuff that I can’t afford. I don’t want to wait forever to start, but I also don’t what to risk ending up homeless (probably won’t happen). My biggest hold up to starting right now is money.