Fear!
The very word is enough to strike fear into the hearts of those of us running our own business. It can paralyse us from taking the steps needed for success. It can inhibit the way we think of ourselves and our business. It’s that negative voice in our head that suffocates and stifles us.
The fear of failure!
For those of us in business, this is a common thing when looking at business statistics. Could we be the next to close our doors in defeat? Are we doomed to failure? Who knows the answer? But one thing is certain. If you let the fear of failure rule over you, it could harm your business.
Fear will force you to stay in your comfort zone
You will play it safe. You won’t take any risks. You will do what you are used to. The fear of failure will control you. By doing something new in business, you may face defeat. If you have a great idea that is previously untested, you may keep that idea buried. You daren’t throw caution to the wind, as you may fall flat on your face. But here’s the problem. Your competitors are probably stepping out of their safety bubble. They are probably experimenting with new business concepts that you have been unwilling to try. They are looking at spreading out into new markets, while you are toiling away trying to reach people in the locales you are familiar with. You will be one step behind while others move forward.
Fear will keep you in the past
We are living in a brave new world, with changes in business that free us and makes us less inhibited. There are technologies that can automate our daily tasks, and as the following website testifies, can help us to manage time-consuming processes. There are downloadable apps and software tools for nearly everything. And that’s great, you say, but they’re not for me! You think failure is around the corner because these technologies are a fad. You’re safer doing what you have already done, using manual processes and older technologies because you are used to them. You don’t want to spend your profits on something that may be difficult to understand, or on something that could be replaced by something else down the line. But by not keeping up with with the latest trends, and by not adopting the latest advances, you will harm your business. You won’t be as productive. You won’t be as efficient. And while you’re busy debating new equipment, your rivals will be one step ahead of you and beating you in business. They will be future-proof while you are proof-positive that staying in the past rarely works.
Fear will limit your growth
Fear will limit growth in your business, as you won’t have the technologies at hand to improve your operation, and you won’t be exploring new possibilities that could offer you expansion. But the fear of failure will also limit your personal growth. By allowing fear to rule over you, you won’t gain new skills, you won’t broaden your mind, and you won’t have the personal rewards that change can bring you. You will be stuck, doing what you have always done, running your business the only way you know how, and because you are not growing in any way, your business won’t grow, either. You feared business failure, but you may be instigating that failure because of your fear.
Don’t let fear stop you from trying new things. Show courage, step out of your comfort zone, and rather than face failure, you may well face success instead. After all, if you want something you have never had before, you have do something you have never done before!
