Are You a Reluctant Entrepreneur? 5 Tips to Help You Move Forward

The question I get the most as it pertains for my brand and my business is how did I transition from being a corporate employee to owning my business and being my own boss. People love to hear a passionate story about how someone turned a negative into a positive to help fuel their own dreams and ambitions. And while I am more than glad to share my story with the masses in hopes of helping people achieve their goals, my story is not one that is warm and fuzzy—actually, it is quite hardcore and sad.

I want people to go out and make it because they truly want to change the world in their own little way. Not because I am a model of what they would like to be in terms of being an entrepreneur. Some of you are looking for the catalyst to tell you what you probably already know, when in actuality, you are looking for reassurances because you are a reluctant entrepreneur.

What is a reluctant entrepreneur you ask? It is someone who is hesitant to start moving forward with their own business or endeavor because they are looking for absolutes. Some people refer to this as being afraid to launch.

I personally was that person several years ago. I’ve always wanted to start my own business, first as an HR consultant and then as a headhunter while I was working my corporate job. I did the research, picked out the name and purchased domains, and wrote out a business plan. But what I didn’t do was actually launch—I was reluctant to move forward for fear of the unknown.

It wasn’t until I lost my job (aka got FIRED) that jumped head first into turning my hobby (which was this here blog) into a full-time project that could make revenue and pay my bills.

I want to be frank with you—if I hadn’t lost my job in 2009, I’m not sure I would be here now. Because, like some of you, I was a reluctant entrepreneur. I had the know-how, the work ethic, the ideas, and the passion. But I didn’t have the energy for failure. So I was reluctant; I didn’t want to give 100% into something I wasn’t sure would work.

So to you reluctant entrepreneurs, I totally get it. My blessing in disguise was losing my job during a horrible time in our economy when no one was hiring. I didn’t have a choice but to launch and move forward—there were no other offers for employment and hey, my family and I had to eat.

Here are my tips to help you if you are a reluctant entrepreneur:

• You probably will fail: And that is okay. Because failure prepares you to correct what is wrong so you can move forward and WIN. So if you are looking for instant success, don’t. While it can happen, it often doesn’t happen the first time out. Develop a tough skin and be persistent.

• While you are busy being still, others are moving around you: The world doesn’t stop spinning just because you are stuck. And the next person could move forward with your very idea and WIN, because you were too scared to launch.

• Without risk, you don’t have a business: There are no certainties in business. And if certainty is what you are looking for, then perhaps, starting your own business isn’t for you. Without risk, there is no reward. Don’t be afraid to take a risk, even if it’s small. Start your endeavor as a side hustle and still keep you day job.

• If you don’t do it now, you won’t do it: Don’t be that person who looks back ten years later and hates themselves because you didn’t empire build. Time waits for no one.  Not even you.

• TRUST A TRY.

I want you to say goodbye to being a reluctant entrepreneur. We all doubt our abilities at some point, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t move forward with your entrepreneurial goals. Do it. And if you fail, do it some more, differently.

Thoughts?