Starting a company is scary. It’s a crash course on everything from design to accounting to sales, with no guarantee it will “work”. But every entrepreneur today has something very special in common: they chose to embrace the fear of entrepreneurship because they couldn’t not do it.
Fear and vulnerability aren’t pretty, but they’re needed.
Acknowledge That Your Fear Is OK
It’s OK to acknowledge the nerves and apprehension you may have and what could happen to your startup. In fact, I would say it’s critical to your success. If you continue to push your feelings down and ignore them, it could hurt more than help you.
From observing, reading, and talking with other business owners throughout the past few years, I’ve seen a few commonalities. One of these being that every single one of them took the time to acknowledge the fear. Then they dismissed it. They moved forward, pushed pass what was trying to hold them back, and they went on to do great things.
When You Realize Your Fear
It’s important to accept what could happen with your business. The statistics stating that businesses will fail in the first five years are pretty staggering. But you know what? Even if you become one of those businesses, you’ll be OK. Your failures don’t define you.
Creating a business isn’t scary. Anyone can put their name on a form. But growing a business is. It’s growth, investors, business partner disagreements, and more. Every week.
Vulnerability Is Key for Entrepreneurs
I get it, no one likes feeling vulnerable. It’s hard and it feels weak and we think we’re going to be judged. Push past it, admit what you may be struggling with, and you’ll soon see the results. Because everyone is struggling with something. When we’re vulnerable with each other, we can lift each other up and help each other through it.
As Matt Thieleman, founder of mindfulness coaching company Golden Bristle, describes, it’s important to take a look at where you need to go. Once you do that, you can push through and begin to see the results.
“Being an entrepreneur is hard. You’re learning new things and doing things every day that you’ve never done before. So you’re pretty bad at them to start. It’s scary and you’re vulnerable. But that fear is there to teach you whatever lesson you need to learn and grow. And learning to see it for what it is and pushing through is how you get to where you need to go.”
As we begin to practice our vulnerability and empathy, we’ll be better prepared to work towards our goals — and accomplish them.
It’s so easy to let fear win and let failure be your label. But it doesn’t have to. Acknowledge what has happened, then take the next step. It doesn’t matter if it’s a leap or a crawl. Just keep moving. Brush off the hurt and the mistakes and the fear and find where you’re supposed to go next. Embrace the vulnerability and the fear, and let it motivate you.
It’s not easy, but it’s worth it.
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