What's your worse fear?

[testudo]

If you own your own business or are looking to start one, can you help me out? I'm putting a support product together for business startups and want to really address what drives people in their own business. If you have a moment, can you answer these questions?


What's driving you to have your own business?
What's your worse fear?


What will make it worthwhile for you if it comes off?
Any feedback will be really appreciated on this.

Thanks for your help

Yvette

http://twitter.com/YvetteMindel

[thebigIAM]

Best get the couch out. This could take some time...

Drivers: Not wanting to compromise. I want to produce high quality and see satisfied customers.

Fears: Losing a child. Having a handicap, (or one worse than I've got already). Running out of money.

[testudo]

Thanks for the response. I should have been more specific about the fear thing! (Although I'm with you on what you said).

What's your worse fear when it comes to either running your current business or your fear if you are thinking about launching a new business? Hope that makes it a bit clearer.

[thebigIAM]

Hassle.

I know a few people who've had some ugly experiences during a tax investigation, including a penniless widow who was hit with a £20k tax bill for her husband's business only weeks after he died. In the final wash less than £200 was owing.

Why are they allowed to treat people like that? She had a breakdown.

[testudo]

Feedback I've had off other people on what drives you to set up your own business is to be in control of your own life. The biggest fears are failure and not having enough money.

Would any of you go along with this or are different things driving you?

[Write My Site]

I'm driven by positive feedback from my clients. My biggest fear (which is also a driver) is failure.

[edmondscommerce]

not making a decent living,

losing clients for whatever reason,

the internet imploding because of a super violent solar flare that fries every microchip on the planet - leaving the world not requiring my services

[FireFleur]

Oddly enough I am rather looking forward to the Solar Flare :)

Yes!, I knew studying VLSI would pay off, first to their robot army wins, post flarepocalypse ;)

[KidsBeeHappy]

Drivers; Becoming too used to doing what I want the way that i want to do it, when i want to do it - effectively making unsuitable for any position where i'm not the boss.

Re the woman with the £20k tax bill - that's nothing, I saw Customs prosecute an 83 year old blind man for a jail sentence!

Fears ; not being able to see the wood for the trees.

What will make it worthwhile; getting to the school summer holidays and being able to take time when i want it to spend with the kids without having to think about it.

[Cornish Steve]

Single biggest concern: that a large public company with come out with a similar product before we have the opportunity to launch and grow our own business. What are we doing to combat this? Building in features that allow us to grow a loyal user community.

Honestly, I don't dwell on the negatives. I don't ignore them, but I don't let them stop our momentum and enthusiasm.

[An Oasis]

Drive - to reach the vision i.e what I want the company to become
Fear - none really I'm a fighter, so not much phases me (although I fear boredom)
Worthwhile - having taken something from nothing to (see drive)

[Mister B]

Drive: The ability to control my own destiny.
Fear: None. Failure is not an option. For sure I encounter obstacles just like everbyody else but you learn to solve these problems and move onto the next one.
Worthwhile: Being able to build a brand/business up and then have one of my children take over once I retire to the rocking chair on the prairie.

And if I may add satisfaction: Seeing people using the products which I have designed, sourced, imported and retailed.

Mister B

[testudo]

Thanks for some really good responses. Any more feedback would be great. :)

[fisicx]

Driver: customer satisfaction.

Fear: none really. If it all goes pear shaped just try something else.

Interesting comments about money. I've never worried about money. I can get by on very little and discovered that there always a way to earn a crust. If you cut back and trim sales you can live very frugally.

[Wild Goose]

driver: being a success
fear: anarchy - this country's one step from meltdown
what makes it worthwhile: no redundancy worries