Dreaming of leaving the 9-5 behind and embracing life as a small business owner? You’re not alone. But too often, the same concerns stop would-be entrepreneurs in their tracks, and their ideas never see the light of day.
Here are a few common factors holding people back from getting started, and some practical tips to help you overcome them.
It’s true that all of these factors will be affected if you choose this path, and starting up needs you to be all-in rather than trying to do everything. So, consider whether you can make alternative arrangements to your current commitments.
For example, could you ask or hire someone to help with housework? Is provision available to help you care for children or other family members?
The other common barrier is being in a sound-enough financial position to ultimately leave your job and run the business full-time – an understandably scary prospect, especially in these difficult economic times.
Sage have published a comprehensive guide to how much capital a new venture usually needs, but starting a business with no money is absolutely possible if you’re willing to work hard and make sacrifices. Having some money saved to cover essentials like housing, bills and food for a few months is also helpful, if you possibly can .
Get creative with your funding streams to try to secure as much capital as possible – think crowdfunding, investments from family and friends, or startup competitions like The Pitch to get your idea in front of the right people and potentially win some investment.
Our guide to finding the right investor will help you to get started with finding potential income streams, and has some tips on securing the funding, too.
You can now compare a range of insurance quotes from leading providers via Smart Business, with the help of one of the UK's leading insurance providers, Simply Business. It's a small thing, but why not see if you can save time and money for your small business? Start comparing today.
The level of commitment that running a business demands means you’ll need to be fully dedicated, so spend time developing an idea that isn’t just filling a gap in the market, but is also something you really care about and will find fun to work on.
Our guide to sanity-checking your business idea explains how to test out your idea to see if it’s viable. However, only you know whether you are passionate enough to devote all your time, energy and potentially money to making it a success long-term.
Remember: you don’t have to handle everything yourself. In fact, when starting your business, a solid understanding of what you can do and how your idea will benefit people is essential – but so is understanding what skills and experience you don’t have.
Before taking the plunge, do a thorough and honest analysis of what skills you currently have and which ones you don’t. Then, split the second list into skills you can learn (before starting the business!), and things it’s just not reasonably possible to become proficient in.
For example, you can learn the basics of bookkeeping and use accounting software to help you manage finances in the early stages, but if you’re running a fashion brand and have never sat down at a sewing machine before, you’re likely best off outsourcing the production of your designs.
Outsourcing represents a significant investment, but doing it wisely can save lots of hassle down the line, and be the solution you need to get started. Our guide to hiring freelancers has useful advice on finding and choosing freelance resource, and how to work with them effectively.
The reality is that anyone with a great idea and a drive to make it work can start their own business; in fact, some of the stereotypically-entrepreneurial personality traits can do more harm than good. There’s a big difference between believing in your business idea and refusing to take on board feedback and rejections from investors!
That said, if you know you face mindset challenges like those mentioned by UKBF member Jack Riley on our recent forum, you can take steps to address these. Jack cited “fear of failure, procrastination, stress management and self-confidence” as just a few of the things they faced when starting up, alongside challenges with mental health.
These might sound familiar, but what can you do about it?
You could learn and practice stress management techniques, work either privately or with a mental health professional on overcoming self-doubt, or practise your public speaking or networking skills to feel more confident at it. You could also read our seven tactics for overcoming impostor syndrome to help you navigate these challenging feelings when they arise.
The goal here is not to change your personality into that of an entrepreneur, but to make the experience of business ownership feel less terrifying.
Here are a few common factors holding people back from getting started, and some practical tips to help you overcome them.
You have too many commitments
Let’s start with the big one. Too little time, family commitments, financial circumstances – the list of reasons why now isn’t the right time to start your business goes on.It’s true that all of these factors will be affected if you choose this path, and starting up needs you to be all-in rather than trying to do everything. So, consider whether you can make alternative arrangements to your current commitments.
For example, could you ask or hire someone to help with housework? Is provision available to help you care for children or other family members?
The other common barrier is being in a sound-enough financial position to ultimately leave your job and run the business full-time – an understandably scary prospect, especially in these difficult economic times.
Sage have published a comprehensive guide to how much capital a new venture usually needs, but starting a business with no money is absolutely possible if you’re willing to work hard and make sacrifices. Having some money saved to cover essentials like housing, bills and food for a few months is also helpful, if you possibly can .
Get creative with your funding streams to try to secure as much capital as possible – think crowdfunding, investments from family and friends, or startup competitions like The Pitch to get your idea in front of the right people and potentially win some investment.
Our guide to finding the right investor will help you to get started with finding potential income streams, and has some tips on securing the funding, too.
How can you find time for all those essential tasks?
We know there are so many tasks to consider and complete as a small business owner, from insurance to your tax return. But these essential admin tasks can't be ignored, which is why we set up Smart Business, to help give you more time back for your small business.You can now compare a range of insurance quotes from leading providers via Smart Business, with the help of one of the UK's leading insurance providers, Simply Business. It's a small thing, but why not see if you can save time and money for your small business? Start comparing today.
You don’t have the right idea
Maybe you know you want to run a business, but haven’t discovered your groundbreaking idea yet. Or maybe you started one but found that your heart wasn’t really in it, so you’re put off from trying again.The level of commitment that running a business demands means you’ll need to be fully dedicated, so spend time developing an idea that isn’t just filling a gap in the market, but is also something you really care about and will find fun to work on.
Our guide to sanity-checking your business idea explains how to test out your idea to see if it’s viable. However, only you know whether you are passionate enough to devote all your time, energy and potentially money to making it a success long-term.
You’re not considering outsourcing
In one of our threads where members discuss what holds them back, UKBF member Mark T Jones identified that “inability to delegate/outsource effectively” is a common theme in businesses that don’t get off the ground.Remember: you don’t have to handle everything yourself. In fact, when starting your business, a solid understanding of what you can do and how your idea will benefit people is essential – but so is understanding what skills and experience you don’t have.
Before taking the plunge, do a thorough and honest analysis of what skills you currently have and which ones you don’t. Then, split the second list into skills you can learn (before starting the business!), and things it’s just not reasonably possible to become proficient in.
For example, you can learn the basics of bookkeeping and use accounting software to help you manage finances in the early stages, but if you’re running a fashion brand and have never sat down at a sewing machine before, you’re likely best off outsourcing the production of your designs.
Outsourcing represents a significant investment, but doing it wisely can save lots of hassle down the line, and be the solution you need to get started. Our guide to hiring freelancers has useful advice on finding and choosing freelance resource, and how to work with them effectively.
You don’t think you’re an entrepreneur
It’s easy to think that an entrepreneur looks and acts a certain way: achievement-driven, effortlessly confident, and with an endless reserve of world-changing, money-making ideas.The reality is that anyone with a great idea and a drive to make it work can start their own business; in fact, some of the stereotypically-entrepreneurial personality traits can do more harm than good. There’s a big difference between believing in your business idea and refusing to take on board feedback and rejections from investors!
That said, if you know you face mindset challenges like those mentioned by UKBF member Jack Riley on our recent forum, you can take steps to address these. Jack cited “fear of failure, procrastination, stress management and self-confidence” as just a few of the things they faced when starting up, alongside challenges with mental health.
These might sound familiar, but what can you do about it?
You could learn and practice stress management techniques, work either privately or with a mental health professional on overcoming self-doubt, or practise your public speaking or networking skills to feel more confident at it. You could also read our seven tactics for overcoming impostor syndrome to help you navigate these challenging feelings when they arise.
The goal here is not to change your personality into that of an entrepreneur, but to make the experience of business ownership feel less terrifying.
