Self-doubt is a huge issue for entrepreneurs and those striving to create a better lifestyle for themselves. So many thoughts can arise when you are on the verge of a change. Many of them are positive ones, but just as many are not.
I’ve been battling it out with the self-doubt troll over the last week or so. After an epic battle I’m proud to say that for the very first time since got started in the online business/lifestyle design world, I’ve won.
I’ve had about a million business ideas over the last 5 years. Many of them bad and stupid and I’m glad I didn’t pursue them fully. However, there are some that I know would have worked out in the long run, but I just couldn’t pull the trigger. I was a big wuss.
The hardest part for me, and what had always held me back, was the thought that my idea/product just wasn’t good enough. Would people really pay for what I had to offer? You may be facing a similar scenario, and if you haven’t yet, believe me you will.
I’ve come up with a few ways to help get over this annoying self-doubt:
1. Trust in your skills. Deep down you know you have the goods to provide a great product or service. You are smart, don’t let self-doubt convince you otherwise. “Trust in the results from your hard work,” is something that I say to myself (out loud, yes I’m weird) all the time. It works.
2. Get opinions from people you trust. Ask a few close friends or relatives what they think of your idea. The key here is to ask people whom you know will answer you honestly. We all love people who are naturally encouraging and could make you feel like robbing a bank is a great idea, but they won’t be helpful to you here. Get honest, real and uncensored opinions. If the overwhelming consensus is that your idea sucks, maybe you should ditch it after all.
3. Understand that even if your idea crashes and burns, it was a learning experience. What’s the best way to learn? By messing up. How many times are you going to put your hand on a hot stove? Probably just once. Screwing up is part of life. I’ve done it more times than I care to talk about, and you probably feel the same. Failure is a huge part of success.
How have you dealt with self-doubt?
the growth of this site depends on you, please share it. get free updates when I post again by rss or by email.
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi Nate,
I think it is safe to safe that most entrepreneurs question their ability to pull off a business idea. Unless, you are an ego-maniac you will regularly doubt yourself. That is probably healthy because it forces you to consider other options and back up plans.
However, I have seen a lot of foolish businesses started without the owners understanding of the market or the industry. If you are going to invest your life savings, make sure you have some experience in the industry.
Online businesses are more forgiving because cash investments are low, but remember that also means lots of competition. If you are starting an online business, I would say go for it and learn as you go. You will improve over time and there is no better way to learn than by doing.
If you are investing a lot of money in a real world business get a job in a similar and successful company first, so you can learn the ropes on someone else’s payroll.
One thing that is worth remembering is that no entrepreneur knows what they are doing. We all make this up as we go. We all have the power to shape the business in anyway we want. Sure, there are good practices that are more likely to succeed, but overall there is no right or wrong way to run a business. The craziest ideas are often the most successful.
As per the usual, I agree with John that doubt is good for you, and that experience is incredibly valuable (even if you’ve only experienced failure up to this point).
That being said, I myself have never had more fun than when I have cast caution to the wind and gone through with a wild idea. Whether or not it succeeded is not the point…the point is that in all cases I learned a lot, gained some valuable insight (and stories to tell), and lived to keep on doing the same thing today.
You chose a great note to end on, too: “Failure is a huge part of success.” Not acknowledging this simple fact is what keeps most people from taking risks. Get the word out, and hopefully we’ll have a lot more innovation in the world!
Colin and John, thanks for the great comments!
John, I like your point about online businesses being more forgiving. This is really true and putting yourself out there and failing probably won’t really cost much at all. Traditional offline businesses certainly have much larger costs to start. Also, you are right about saying that there is no one way to run a business. The ability to improvise and make decisions is a huge asset for any entrepreneur.
Colin, casting caution to the wind is definitely an exciting way to go! And I’m glad you liked that last part of the post. Innovation is extremely dependent on ditching the fear of failure. I mean, we all know how it took Thomas Edison several thousand tries to get his light bulb to work right, nobody cares how many times he failed now. He is seen as an amazing innovator.
Thanks once again for the comments guys!