Beware the Opposition!

Any time you make changes in your life you are going to be met with opposition from people who would prefer you to stay exactly as you are. Sadly, these people are often the ones that love you the most; your family, friends, partners and even work colleagues. However, in your moments of entrepreneurial seizure, the greatest opposition that you will experience (particularly if you’re a seasoned employee) will come from within yourself.

What’s your great business idea?

They say that each one of us has an unwritten book lying within us. It’s my belief that each of us also has a great business idea lying in the depths of who we are as well. However, the reality is that very few of us actually dig deep enough to uncover this aspect of self. Of those who do, fewer still are prepared to inject the passion and enthusiasm necessary to bring these ideas to life.
Understand your entrepreneurial process.
If you hold aspirations of transitioning from paid employment to running your own business, I think it is important to understand the mental and emotional process you go through when you experience moments of entrepreneurial inspiration. When you get a business idea, do you immediately think of all the ways you could make it work or are you someone who automatically sabotages yourself by thinking of all the ways it could fail?
Pushing through entrepreneurial sabotage.
If you are someone who experiences entrepreneurial sabotage, start to note down your habitual opposing thoughts. Here are some examples of sabotage you may already be familiar with;
if the business idea was that good, why hasn’t someone thought of it before?
how can I start a business - I don’t have any money?
what will people think of me if the business fails?
I’m too old / young to start a business.
how can I start a business if I don’t have a business degree?
Once you have an awareness of your own internal resistance you can start to counteract it. You may like to try experimenting with the following self empowering questions:
how can I start this business using none of my own capital?
what partners do I need to attract to make this business a success?
how can I communicate my vision to attract a skilled workforce?
who successfully runs a similar business?
what would I have to do to imitate their success?
Leap of faith
Establishing any kind of venture requires a ‘leap of faith’ as there are no certain outcomes in business. When you are starting out spend most of your time focusing on ‘why’ you want to run your own business rather than the ‘how’. The how will follow naturally once you understand the why.
There is never a ‘perfect time’.
If you are waiting for the perfect moment to launch your business you’ll be waiting a very long time. The only perfect time to start a business is right now. If you’ve got a great idea that you are passionate about, don’t delay! Immerse yourself into it right now! You don’t need any money to start planning and visualising your dream. If you can feel, touch and taste it, all you have to do is get out there and start sharing your vision with as many people as you possibly can. And if you do it effectively and with passion you will attract the right business partners and customers.
To quote Goethe, “whatever you can do or dream you can do, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. Begin it now!”
Copyright Damien Senn 2005. All rights reserved.