How to Conquer Your Fear of Founding a Startup
It’s completely natural to doubt yourself as the founder of a startup. No matter your age or background and experience, it’s a daunting challenge you’re facing, and when you start out alone, every decision comes down to you. It’s a level of self-trust that very few ever have, or will, experience.
As you begin your journey and more people start to become involved, the level of responsibility only adds to this fear. No longer is it simply yourself that the success of the business impacts — you now have employees, investors and potentially your own friends and family relying on you to prove yourself.
The good news is that this fear is completely natural, valid and normal. It’s something every single entrepreneur will face at some point in their career, no matter how passionate about their product or business they are. The important thing is to ensure this fear doesn’t compromise your decision-making skills when they matter most.
So, how do you conquer the fear?
Identify your support system
The people around you are going to be your biggest source of support through the highs and lows of founding a startup. Not only should your support system be made up of those removed — friends and family who will listen to your problems — but also those who have high stakes in your startup being a success. Investors, partners, potentially employees, they all care about the startup just as much as you do, and whilst it’s never a good idea to overshare, having their eyes and ears on new decisions and having others to big up what you’re doing is a great way to put your fears to the back of your mind.
Set Attainable Goals
If you’re just starting out on your journey, it can feel impossible to even think about goals. The huge amount of processes, details and tools to make the clock start ticking in the first place is undoubtedly going to feel overwhelming — so narrow it down. Think about the bigger picture: what is your overall mission? And then start to think about the building blocks that will take you there. Breaking down how to reach your goals will make the journey more digestible. If you don’t know where to start, you should consider joining a programme for startup founders that addresses the A-Z of founding a startup by preparing you with the most important processes and methods for success.
Embrace learning
No matter where you are in life or business, there is always something new to learn. The most successful entrepreneurs and leaders of our time are open about how much they embrace learning new things. The dynamic nature of the tech world means it’s easy to fall behind, and the first step to overcoming this is by recognising where you need to put the hours in to learn new skills — when you’re founding a startup ‘winging it’ won’t cut it.
Prepare Yourself
The number one way you can overcome your fear of failure, is by doing everything you can to ensure it won’t happen. Being prepared is the foundation to eliminating fear, because fear is largely to do with the unknown — having the essential tools and knowledge in place early on in your startup journey will make all the difference. My 6-week Kick-Off course is built for entrepreneurs and founders who are looking for tried and practiced methods, strategies and skills that they can implement into their business early on.
To find out more and apply to Kick-Off, head over to our website or send me a message on Linkedin.
