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Here are ten fears that prevent success in the near future

introduction

There is a reason why many people feel happier working for an employer, besides the obvious relief of letting someone else deal with tax hassles, layoffs, overhead, and employee issues. The thought of opening a business

where you are the boss and fingers point toward you, whether in times ofloss or profit, can be a pretty scary scenario. For this reason, I have listed theten most common fears people have voiced when deciding whether or not

• to go into business for themselves.

1. The overall fear of failure, where one is surrounded by a general

sense of dread and anxiety.

2. Fear of success:Will I be overwhelmed and my life no longer my

own?

3. Fear of embarrassment if it should fail.

4. Fear of demands on time.

5. Fear of being undereducated for the job requirements.

6. Fear of being your own boss:“The buck stops here!”

7. Fear of competition.

8. Fear of all the details: accounting, legalities, setting up a Web site,

health insurance, retirement protection, etc.

9. Fear of depleted family time.

10. Fear of customer dissatisfaction.

1- If any or a few of these fears are nibbling at your mind, I have good

news for you—you’re normal! There is not one of us opening a business for the first time or the fifteenth time who does not have these little cuties as bed partners every night. “What if ?” becomes our new mantra, until our

friends and families are ordering Valium. Fears are like packed earth to a worm—you just keep wiggling and working through them.You eventually get there and may have the good luck of leaving a tunnel you’ve blazed for others to “worm through” as well. One of my favorite quotes is,“Fear

knocked at the door; courage answered and no one was there.” I’d like to mention something you may not have thought about. By looking fear in the face and taking a risk, you provide an example to your children, friends, and family, who are watching you and assessing your results. A child raised around a parent or significant role model will learn

2- That she too can go after her dreams.

I was raised in a modeling agency my mother created out of our home. At the age of five, I was on a runway, and the confidence and people skills that experience gave me are immeasurable. But it was the day in, day out of watching her overcome every obstacle and compete with the franchised

3- Modeling agencies and come out on top 

that put the foundation under my feet and the clouds in my hands.“You can be anything you want to, Becky,” was served up daily with breakfast. How can you hand your child a better tool for the future (with the exception of good foundational beliefs and perspective)?

4- The reason fear sinks so many would-be

 entrepreneurs is the fact that it represents the unknown—that spooky Never Never Land that waits for us somewhere “out there.” You have it a little better than those who have been the absolute first to create a market, however. Others have gone before you

and proven the area was “monster-free.” They have even kindly handed you a flashlight in the guise of shared expertise and advice, and unrolled maps showing you where the pitfalls are and how to avoid them. Not so bad,

really. So pick up your machete and compass, put on a brave face, and go boldly out into this wonderful adventure called entrepreneurship. I’ve been traveling its paths for over twenty-five years, and you couldn’t get me to hand in my road map for any amount of money.

5- QUICK LIST METHOD TO SET YOUR GOALS

Most people I’ve been around who wanted to start their own business didn’t for a number of reasons.The one I found that frustrated me the most was laziness.When they took a look at all it required to even get started, they balked, pouted . . . and quit.There are guaranteed failures out there: the ones who never start.

6- I read somewhere about a woman who was in her sixties and told her

husband she had always wanted to go back to school and become a certified psychologist. He encouraged her to do it now.With incredulous eyes, she stared at him and burst out,“I will be seventy-two by the time I open my practice!”

“Well,”said her husband mildly,“you’re going to be seventy-two anyway. Do you want to be seventy-two and living your dream as a psychologist, or just seventy-two and still wishing you had followed your heart?”

7- That man deserves some major brownies!

So, my fellow entrepreneurs, let’s eliminate the laziness factor right now. I will show you, step by step, how to get off your hand-stitched cushion and begin to follow your heart today. First Things First

Decide which area(s) of the scrapbooking field you want to go into: consulting, store owner, teacher, etc. That’s the first thing.You need to know the destination in order to plan a road map. Now, will you be working from your home, or leasing space somewhere? This answer will determine many things, such as capital needed to

8- Open your business, zoning regulations

 if you’re working from home, the need for employees, etc. Decide now, based on what you’ve already read here, which scrapbooking avenue you prefer, so that you can determine whether it is suitable for the home, or if you need bigger digs.All of these things will be covered in detail in their respective chapters, but my goal

here is to get you seated comfortably in a chair with pen and paper and actually generate some action. Alright, you’ve made two decisions already: 1) Which scrapbooking career makes your heart go pitter-pat, and 2) Whether the invoice will have your home address on it or an outside business location.

9- I would like to mention at this juncture 

That the precursor to a decision to run a home-based business should be a family meeting to determine how much support you may expect.This will be highlighted in chapter 4, The Home-Based Scrapbooking Business, but for now, I would encourage you to invite all proponents and opponents to voice their thoughts.

10- Next on our quick list is determining funding. 

Will you be pulling monies to begin this business from a savings account, anticipating ric Uncle Harry’s demise, or is a loan indicated? If a loan will be necessary, how’s your credit? Will there be a partner to share start-up costs? Should you start this venture part-time until more money is available to go full out?

Now find a place by your favorite phone, pop a soda, and secure som quiet time.You are about to become very well acquainted with your telephone keypad and your handy Yellow Pages. Your first stop will be to call your state revenue department to inquire about registering your business. 

11- Details of registering are in the

Following chapter.All I want you to do right now is make a few calls that will enable you to see that all things that seem overwhelming at first are easily broken down into doable steps. Making a few phone calls will show you thisYour next call will be to your insurance agent; if you don’t have one,

Conclusion

now is the time to find one.Ask what insurances you would have to carry for your type of business and specify whether it will be home-based or retail. Jot all the information down. It’s highly likely that any of these calls

will send you out on other calls, but that’s great! You’re gathering information and feeling empowered. If you are hanging your shingle above your own front door, you will need to call the zoning commission with the Planning and Development Department of your county