Fear of Failure and Self-Doubt: An Advantage When Starting A Business

Can I do this? Am I really the right person for the job? If you’ve asked yourself these questions before, GOOD! 

Fear of failure and feelings of self-doubt are natural. It means that you care about your business! So, let’s NORMALIZE these feelings because every social entrepreneur faces them. 

Heck, every person in the world faces them! Think back to when you were learning to ride your bike for the first time or when you asked someone out for the first time. All of these are nerve-wracking moments! 

When you try something new, it’s inevitable that you’ll feel this way. 

Fearing failure and experiencing too much self-doubt, however, can hinder your performance and make starting-up and running a business near impossible. 

We have to learn how to harness these feelings so that we work harder AND smarter instead of not working at all, as a result of us being afraid to make mistakes. 

Fear is often a powerful tool to propel us forward, but let’s not let it stop us in our tracks. Here are some tips that you all can implement in your own lives so that you can manage your feelings of fear of failure and self-doubt BUT reap the benefits. 

1. CORRECT YOUR MINDSET

My first tip is to correct your mindset. Despite having a vision and plan, no one knows how their business is going to turn out! 

Ditch the need for control, root yourself in making decisions that are aligned as closely as possible with your strategic plan, and move forward. Keep the momentum going and your business will evolve. 

Perhaps, you’re not where you want to be today, but constant decision making will get you there. And after making decisions, if you find yourself in a place that you don’t like or don’t think is right anymore, go back to the drawing board and readjust your course of action. 

Don’t sweat it! 

Don’t know that your strategic plan is yet? That’s okay, I’ve got you covered! 

My Unleash Your Purpose and/or Unleash Your Profit course will help you build a strategic plan. 

My Unleash Your Purpose course focuses on developing your big idea, and working through board procurement, sustainability, and budget development.

My Unleash Your Profit course is centered around developing a personalized roadmap together so that you can build a profitable and scalable business. 

Check them out! 

2. LEAD WITH DECISIVENESS 

Yes! No! Yes! No! Yes! No! 

Avoid indecisiveness. 

As a leader, you set the vision and you’re ultimately in charge of “navigating the ship” so that others can follow your footsteps. 

Analyze all your decisions and choose the decision that either 1) aligns best with your strategic plan (I know I mentioned this above, but it’s SO important), and/or 2) just “feels” right to you. In other words, trust your gut. 

Have faith in your decision making and again, if it turns out you made a wrong decision, oh well! 

You learned, and that’s something to celebrate! Now, you know the path you want to take and can readjust your current position. 

People are trusting you and your vision, so be confident in the moment and later on, don’t be afraid to admit if you were wrong! 

3. TRY SOMETHING NEW 

My third tip is to push yourself to try something new. The best time to make mistakes is when you’re building your social endeavor. You have to figure out what works best and what doesn’t work for you. It’s all part of the process! 

I urge you to try something new despite being scared to do it or thinking you’re not good enough. Quit it! Any mistake you make, the world will forget. People move on fast. So, try something new and whatever it is, just put it out there. Don’t care about what other people might think. This is your time to experiment! 

You’ll get better as you go along and by facing your fears, you’ll become less afraid with time to step out of your comfort zone.

4. SUCCESS TAKES TIME 

This one is simple and doesn’t need much explanation. Success takes time. Most successful people take years to reach their level of success… it’s not an overnight thing, usually. 

And many people may have “tactics” for you to follow, but there is really no “quick trick” to becoming successful. It’s all trial and error (in addition to time and persistence). 

Instead of researching tactics that have worked for other people, think through what “tactic” will fit your strategic direction? 

What do you need for your life? What will make you happy and fulfilled? 

Is your social endeavor going to be a 24/7 gig or a side hustle? What amount of time are you willing to put into your business? 

These are the types of questions you should ask yourself and stick with what works for your life, not someone else’s. 

Does sitting and responding to every Twitter user for 4 hours a day sound like something that would fit in with your strategic direction and what you need to do for your life? Probably not. 

What about DMing people on Instagram all day, everyday? Probably not. 

These are tactics used by some successful people, but that may not mean they’re to be used by you. 

5. REFRAME NEGATIVE SELF-TALK 

Negative self-talk is one of the biggest culprits of self doubt and fear of failure. It’s your brain’s way of protecting you from harm, and all of us do it. 

To overcome negative self-talk, you can interrupt your thought process by doing this simple exercise. Ask yourself whether or not these thoughts are helping you or hindering you. 

This was recommended by psychologist Audrey Erwin to stop negative self-talk. You’re reframing your brain by taking a step back and thinking logically. 

Try it out the next time you find yourself in a place of negative self-talk. 

6. DITCH THE NAYSAYERS 

 Don’t get me wrong here, when I use the term “naysayers,” I don’t mean the people in your life that question you or provide constructive criticism… you need these types of people surrounding you! 

When I say naysayers, what I really mean are the people around you who you may consider to be toxic. You don’t feel good when you’re with them and you can tell they don’t really support you. They make you think you can’t accomplish something, when really you can. 

Don’t think twice about them, let those relationships go! When the going gets tough you’ll want to have positive people surrounding you! 

7. ACKNOWLEDGE ACCOMPLISHMENTS DAILY 

My last tip is to acknowledge your accomplishments everyday. At the end of each day, I sit down and write my daily accomplishments with my kids! 

I encourage you to make note of even the smallest tasks you complete throughout your day and celebrate them. This is a great way to keep motivation running high.

Additionally, in regards to accomplishments, I encourage you to write down short-term goals and acknowledge your day-to-day progress towards them. It’s much easier to stay motivated and on track and when you see the small accomplishments that lead up to your bigger short-term goals and ultimately, your long-term goals. 

Thank you so much for reading today’s post. 

Let me know what you think and comment below what your favorite tip was and why!