HOW DO YOU NOT GET DISCOURAGED WHEN JUST STARTING A BUSINESS

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Permalink Reply by Chris Capre on February 2, 2009 at 9:06pm: Dear Erika,

First off, know that what you are experiencing has been felt/experienced by other successful small business owners before, and will continue to happen. This is a common experience many people starting a business go through - call it a trial by fire.

During the tipping point for my business, I was at the precipice of almost shutting it down until I heard a story. It was about how the owner of Whole Foods started his store over 30 years ago and all the trials he had to survive (losing friends, borrowing money from family who no longer wanted to see him, having the store flood and emptying out water for days). Whatever happened that would not help the business did. Nevertheless, he persisted and now look what it is today.

I cannot say the elements on the story are true as I heard them second hand. However, it worked to re-inspire me and I took a new look at my business, re-configured my products, got new channels of marketing, and eventually quadrupled my business inside 6 mos. I cannot imagine the me who would have quit and what I would be today. I simply would not accept failure and I think that directed my energy into the right places.

Thus, find an inspirational story to motivate you and put your energy into problem solving instead of frustration.

I hope this helps. Best of luck and may the obstacles to your business being a success be gone!

Kind Regards,
Chris; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Laura on February 3, 2009 at 7:58am: I wish I could say that I have not been discouraged, when I first started my online store, I had all the great allusions of grandeur! That's why I got discouraged, I expected things to go so much better, but it didn't.

It finally came to me to WORK at my business, to get my website and name out there! So I worked and worked, puttting my company everywhere, now some things really worked ( like Google Base, Merchant Circle and Squiddo) and some things didn't ( LIke PPC and Facebook) but I have finally learned the ropes and things have really improved! I'm not there yet, but the business is going in the right direction now.

One other thing, don't be afraid to ask questions, this is a great place for that, but finding other women owners in your area to talk and network with can really be a BIG help!

I hope that this is an encouragement to you as well, just keep plugging, don't give up, you will never know what you are able to accomplish by giving up!

Laura Farias
owner
Firefly Glow & Novelty
www.fireflygn.com; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Nascent Dynamics ( ) on July 3, 2009 at 9:11pm: Hi Erika,

I looked into your profile, but didn't see anything about your business. I like your page header though, for "Give your best, do your best, and be the best."

Like others who have posted here, I agree that you need to expect discouraging challenges. Though virtually anyone can start a business online, it is becoming that much more competitive. Just remember you choose the attitude to take on your challenges.

Sometimes getting discouraged is a great survival mechanism. If what you are doing is wrong, you would be ignorant to just optimistically proceed doing the same things. You need to be prepared for failure by really understanding the nature of the the risks you are taking.

One thing I can tell you from experience; once you have discovered a vision for what you want to do, nothing can stop you from pursuing it. Discouragement just goes with the territory. It represents all the reality in between you and your goals.

The thing about visions is they are a broader conceptual organization of you in a business. The details that build you up to materializing that vision should all be subject to change and depend on what you learn as you go. It's the vision that remains unchanged by adversity.

I do not recommend following every path you see forward to your dreams. Too many people are too good at selling other people on their "roads to riches". I can suggest the answer to your questions is that simple though. Envision the basic steps you are going to take to build your business, and use your best judgement of what you can do from a common sense perspective.

Not getting discouraged when just starting a business is the easiest thing to do, if you think about it. I'm just entering year two of four I have set aside to research and develop my own business. I am working on every detail practically every day. By the time I make it official, I will have a business plan loaded with market research, marketing plans, financial controls, and I'll likely already have an active clientelle.

Four years of preparation and I bet you I will have enough planned action and contingiency plans to last me 5 or 10 years. I cannot imagine anything business related that will be able to discourage me because what I am specializing in is the patience to succeed with confidence, the knowledge of entering into business intelligently, and the tools to adapt my business in an ever changing environment to the objectives of a deeply personal vision of myself that does not change.

Best,

Anthony Reardon
Nascent Dynamics ( ) Modern Business for the Modern Environment; ▶ Reply to This