Tue 17 Jun 2008
Excuses, Excuses
Posted by Megan Dorn under Random thoughts, Starting Up
“I’m too busy right now.” “I don’t know that much about business.” “I don’t have the money.” Sound familiar?
Everyday thousands of people are struck with great ideas. Many of those people are even gutsy enough to do something about it. If you’re one of those entrepreneurial go-getters, then I’m not talking to you. I’m talking to the excuse makers. You know who you are—the people with killer ideas who reason their way out of risk every chance they get. If you have no desire at all to start or run your own business, then I’m not talking to you either. In fact, why are you even reading this blog (it’s about entrepreneurship and small business if you haven’t figured that out yet)?
So if you do fall in to this excuse-making-but-still-want-to-start-a-business category, then my point with all of this is to tear you down and then build you back up.
The first thing I’m going to do is go through a few of the most common excuses I hear and then tell you why they don’t hold up.
1. I’m too busy right now.
Yeah? So are the rest of us. Do you really think there is ever going to come a day when you have all the time in the world? If you do, then give me a call and let me know how you figured that one out, because all the time in the world sounds pretty great.
Look, starting a business takes a ton of time. I get that. But if all you’re doing is waiting for the right moment to come along, then it’s never going to happen for you. The right moment is right now.
2. I don’t know that much about business.
Who cares! If you already have a great idea, then you have more than most. On top of that, we live in the Internet age where you can find out anything about anything. You have a question? Look it up. You need resources or help? Find them on the Web. I can’t even begin to tell you how easy it’s become. Bill Gates and Steve Jobs knew next to nothing about business when they started out. And if my memory serves me correctly, I think they’re doing quite well.
3. I don’t have the money.
Just because you don’t have $10,000 in cash billowing out of your wallet doesn’t mean that you can’t find a way to make it work. Instead, what I recommend is bootstrapping, which is basically financing your startup the old-fashioned way—with efficiency and credit cards (or personal savings if you got it). It sounds crazy, but it actually can be done. And it can be very beneficial to your business. Follow the link to read up on the ins and outs of bootstrapping.
You should be all out of excuses at this point. If you’re not, let me know and I can help you out in that department. But if you are, then it’s time for a little encouragement.
You’re not alone. Everyone makes excuses because everyone has fear. Excuses are just one of the ways that our minds rationalize our fear. I really want to go skydiving, but I tell myself that I’ll wait until I have top-of-the-line health insurance. It’s completely stupid, I know. First of all, what does health insurance matter if I smack into the ground and die? Second of all, I’m not going to die (hopefully). I know all of this, but my fear causes me to make lame excuses. And letting your fear make decisions for you is no way to live. So I suggest just getting over it—easier said than done, but still doable.
Now it’s just a matter of jumping in. If you feel that you need to ease into it, then ease into it. I never said you had to jump in head first. I just told you to jump in. Starting a business is a big deal, so feel free to take your time. The first step is always the most difficult, but once you take it it gets easier to take further steps. So just go for it already, would you!
