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Biggest issue you face with starting/running your own business ?

Anything related to matters of the mind

Jamie Young

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I am doing some investigation of my own and see what the people of the forum have to say about their own challenges they have faced with running their business.

It could be literally anything from -
Hiring,
Managing your Team,
Procrastination,
etc

Just want to know what you struggles you faced and what you did to overcome if you did or if you are still failing to address the issue.

Thanks
 
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Entre Eyes

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Since a newbie for me it has always been wanting to emulate the Big Dogs right out the gates with no where near the resources they have.

Bummer...but we have to psych ourselves out that we will get there if we take one step each day towards our goals.
 

mongoose

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I'm scared to commit to one thing. I always oscillate between potentials but i never execute them fully. Probably the fear of failure.
 

Grinder20

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I am doing some investigation of my own and see what the people of the forum have to say about their own challenges they have faced with running their business.

It could be literally anything from -
Hiring,
Managing your Team,
Procrastination,
etc

Just want to know what you struggles you faced and what you did to overcome if you did or if you are still failing to address the issue.

Thanks
@ Jamie Young

Hi Jamie, please read my post for reference. Hope it helps!

 
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D

Deleted74396

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Finding the initial funding I need. I only need a small sum but I don't make enough to save, my credit sucks (because I've always avoided it!) and I lack contacts
 

TreyAllDay

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My biggest thing was the red-tape. Figuring out what licensing you need, whether you should incorporate, accounting, what the laws were, etc.
 

CrimsonNight

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Definitely being consistent and disciplined. For example, I might be very productive in week 1 but won't get anything meaningful done in week 2. Just to be productive again in week 3. A part of the reason is probably I am in the Desert of Desertion right now.

The weird thing is that I have no problem forcing myself to go to the gym every other day. I just need to build the habit.
 

Andy Black

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Finding the initial funding I need. I only need a small sum but I don't make enough to save, my credit sucks (because I've always avoided it!) and I lack contacts
Can you make sales?
 

Andy Black

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Listening to other people.
 
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Lud3ns

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My personal devil is the mindset that I should already be a pro in the niche to start doing something there. Though I understand that it is nuts, it demands some work to clear myself from feeling this.

Also it is not so easy to find professionals who might become your friends and colleagues. Before I have searched for individuals in Telegram, but now I went out from a shell and started conversations here and in Medium. Guys, if you know where are entrepreneurs and professionals are hanging out online, please DM me) From my side, I can help you with funnels, UI, strategy and positioning.
 

Chip01

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Doubting myself and telling myself it’s not going to work after seeing the first sign of failure

That’s probably more a personal, mental thing but it has delayed my growth a lot. My main method of outreach is cold calling too so after a session of rejection after rejection it really hits me hard and I wonder if it’s ever going to work even though deep down I know it can

Also when I see other businesses in the same industry locally that are further on than me it can be demotivating so I need to keep picking myself back up
 

Jamie Young

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Finding the initial funding I need. I only need a small sum but I don't make enough to save, my credit sucks (because I've always avoided it!) and I lack contacts

Have you considered pitching to an online crowdFund ? Not sure about how that works but it could be a route to explore.

Seedrs | Invest online in startups via equity crowdfunding

something like this ?
 
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Jamie Young

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@ Jamie Young

Hi Jamie, please read my post for reference. Hope it helps!


Holyshit what a great post, thanks for the heads up. It seems like a common theme here that the mental aspect of beginning and running a business is an issue coupled with the social environment that one is in operating in, that gives them resistance.

I am not sure if there is an option here for this but a channel by cities/country could be useful in meeting some of the local fastlane forum members and having people that get the process you are going through.
 

Grinder20

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Holyshit what a great post, thanks for the heads up. It seems like a common theme here that the mental aspect of beginning and running a business is an issue coupled with the social environment that one is in operating in, that gives them resistance.

I am not sure if there is an option here for this but a channel by cities/country could be useful in meeting some of the local fastlane forum members and having people that get the process you are going through.

@Jamie Young, thanks Jamie! Yes, changing your mindset from employee to entrepreneur can be a process and take time, but it's completely worth it. What are referring to by social environment?
 

Kraelog

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Issue: Having a broad final goal and having no clue whatsoever how to get there.

I try to clarify what the next minimal step should be, regardless of how small, do that & repeat. Hopefully I'll end up somewhere near my final goal.
 
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Jamie Young

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I'm going to check that out, thanks! I literally only need $4-5k and right now the asset is making nothing and is worth about $5k, so hopefully it doesn't require a large percentage of ownership or anything

If you only need 4-5k perhaps you could raise money through organizing a local event that way you wouldn't have to give any ownership away. Organizing a party or something along those lines could help you get the funds without sacrificing ownership, I think other members will have better ideas flying about if you go investigate
 
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Imgal

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My biggest problems were trying to run before I could walk which then lead to a string of small failures, as opposed to the successes that you want to keep you motivated.

Goal setting was also something that was a big downfall (and still something that trips me up if I'm honest). I either aimed too high so then it felt too pie in the sky so I would give up on it or too small that it created no momentum. Figuring out the middle ground of pushing myself enough to stretch myself but not too far has been key to success for me.
 
D

Deleted74396

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If you only need 4-5k perhaps you could raise money through organizing a local event that way you wouldn't have to give any ownership away. Organizing a party or something along those lines could help you get the funds without sacrificing ownership, I think other members will have better ideas flying about if you go investigate

Thanks for the idea!
 

Ganglion

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My biggest problem is making a profit when using paid traffic.

I've thus far made all my income from free SEO traffic. Now I realise I need to dig into paid traffic, but feel hamstrung by how expensive paid traffic is.

I know that the solution is to set myself apart with a unique product/service and charge a higher price than the competition, so I am working on this.
 
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BizyDad

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D

Deleted74396

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My biggest problem is making a profit when using paid traffic.

I've thus far made all my income from free SEO traffic. Now I realise I need to dig into paid traffic, but feel hamstrung by how expensive paid traffic is.

I know that the solution is to set myself apart with a unique product/service and charge a higher price than the competition, so I am working on this.

There are other organic mehods you can get traffic with besides SEO too. What's your product/service? I like using Facebook as half the world use it and it's so easy to utilise even without paid ads
 

SEBASTlAN

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PowerJen

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Definitely being consistent and disciplined. For example, I might be very productive in week 1 but won't get anything meaningful done in week 2. Just to be productive again in week 3. A part of the reason is probably I am in the Desert of Desertion right now.

When you are fixated on your goals and take time each morning to write out the three things you want to accomplish, I think that will clear the problem up. Also, you can make time for socialising for ten minutes every day and there is an app which you can make sure (it kicks you off) - called Five Minutes I think.
 

Jamie Young

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My biggest problem is making a profit when using paid traffic.

I've thus far made all my income from free SEO traffic. Now I realise I need to dig into paid traffic, but feel hamstrung by how expensive paid traffic is.

I know that the solution is to set myself apart with a unique product/service and charge a higher price than the competition, so I am working on this.

Are you sure you have fully explored SEO ? It may be worth hiring an expert to come in to give you some insight on developing your website to get more exposure.
 

Thinh

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Biggest Issue You Face With Starting/Running Your Own Business ?

Myself.
As in, many times I didn't really believe I could do it (whatever my goal was). I would give a half-assed effort, and at the first difficulty I would be like "meh, guess that's not for me."

The crucial thing I realized is that it's a problem many of us might have, yet fail to notice. It operates at the limit between the conscious and subconscious levels. It's insidious, because we tell ourselves that we're go-getters, that we're motivated, ambitious and willing to put the effort in.
We're not like "oh I'm a loser, a quitter, so I won't try this." But if you're like me, you're able to come up with 36 reasons, in five minutes, why it's probably not going to work, that your case is special and that's not at all because you don't believe you can.

But the underlying problem was exactly this: while I told myself I believe I can do something, it's just what I tell myself, but not what I truly believe.
Like someone scared shitless repeating "I'm not scared, I'm not scared," right before going on pissing their pants. It took a big dose of reflection, tough love and humility to admit the truth.

Another issue faced many times is aiming too big, too high, too soon. As others have said in this thread, I would try to replicate the successes and feats of people I look up to. But these people are visible justly because they have been there since a long time and have a lot going on.
So I would compare myself to them and try goals that were way out of reach and, of course, fail.

It's a lot better to aim smaller—and I'm saying this as in within reach but still challenging, not easy—than to aim for outrageously ambitious goals.
"Aim for the stars, so even if you fail, you'll land on the moon." Well in France there's a saying about people who are "on the moon": it means they have no clue. That's quite fitting! I think aiming for the stars thing is bullshit, a feel-good phrase for dreamers.

Which leads us to this:
When you are fixated on your goals and take time each morning to write out the three things you want to accomplish, I think that will clear the problem up

I disagree. I don't think fixating on a goal is a good idea, for two reasons:
  • It only makes one more frustrated, by emphasizing the distance between where they are now and whatever they're after, and repeatedly reminding them of that gap.
  • When fixating on a goal, it's too easy to fall into being event-oriented instead of process-oriented. As an ancient Chinese sage said: "When you're focused on a faraway target you forget to look at where's going to be your next step."
  • It makes you bash your head into walls. And guess what, your head will crack first. Because you're so fixated on a goal, when you encounter problems (which you inevitably do), you are in "try hard" mode when you should take a step back, or time off, to do other things and come back later with fresher perspectives.
So, to sum it all up, here's what I would tell myself if I could go back in time and slap me in the face to save the years it took to understand that:

I believe it's good to have a goal, but you have to truly, truly, truly, truly, truly (yes, 5x truly, at least) believe you can do it.
And it should be realistic and you should not fixate on it.

P.S: some people might argue in favor of setting unrealistic goals. There's even the 10x movement that's famous for that. I don't buy into this shit. Or at least not in the commonly understood way.
 
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MichaelCash

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Well, I am failing to analyze my ideas/project before I get into this.
Then in the middle I realize that the idea is not perfect.
It is hard to select the right ideas and then have courage to commit to them for long period of time
 

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