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Eaten up by doubts - need help/advice

Anything related to matters of the mind

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I am now a little bit over a year on this forum. In the last twelve months I pondered on many business ideas, but I have discarded as many. It seems like I can't get myself to take action, when it counts. As soon as the planning phase is over and the execution should start, doubts creep up on me and I am kind of paralysed. I skip to another idea and the same process repeats itself. Granted, there were some ideas, that did just not feel right and that I stopped because of that, but most of them I just stopped because of fear.

In the last couple of months I am more and more fed up with this behavior, but I am stuck. I can't get myself to take real action. This is making me more and more depressed, as I have the feeling, that I am wasting my life and I hate myself for that.

So a week ago I was thinking of pursuing one of the two business ideas I have at the moment, just to get going. But as expected, I can't get myself to take action, because I have just too many doubts.

The first idea is one, that I really want to do, but I have a feeling, that I can't do it, because I don't know how and at the moment I am not comfortable with the amount of money, that I would have to invest. Fear is holding me back, because I don't want to fail with this idea and I don't want to lose all the money. That puts a lot of pressure on me and in the end I am not taking any real action. I would really love to try this idea, but I don't feel confident enough to execute it.

The second idea is something, where I think, that there is a gap in the market (marketing wise, but I am not really sure). Anyway, I thought about starting this business with private label products, to see, if the gap is real or not. If the products would sell, I was thinking of developing unique products, so that I can better differentiate my company from the competition.
The money, that I need for that idea, would be much less than I would need for the first idea. On the other hand I don't know, if it is a good idea to start a business, that only has private label products. I mean, the products have a good quality, the ingredients are better than that of most other products and I see many possibilities marketing-wise – but they are still just private label products, that everyone could sell. Should I try it and, if it works, develop new products, that no one else is selling?

Should I start a business, any business, just to get going and get rid of my fear and doubts, even if this business maybe is doomed to fail? (Which I don't know of course.)

If the second idea works, I would try to automate it as much as possible and then start executing on the first idea – that is, if I can manage to start at all. My self-doubts are paralysing me and in the last twelve months they have completely blocked myself.

Maybe someone was in a similar situation in the past and can give me some advice? I would really appreciate it.

Thanks.
 
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lowtek

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So from the sounds of it, your doubts are rooted in a) fear of failure and b) fear of losing money. Both are valid, and it's quite likely both fears will be realized. The question is, how do you 1) increase your risk appetite and b) learn to mitigate risk over all?

What's a nearly risk free venture you can start? How about you just do something in services? You almost certainly have a skill that has a market value, so go out there and earn $1 with it. Then earn $10, $100, etc.

This will teach you a few things:
1) You CAN make money on your own
2) You can make MORE money if you lose it on a product venture
3) You CAN execute and satisfy a market need
4) Failure WON'T kill you and only makes you better

More income means that any money you lose won't sink your ship, and engaging in the market will give you the confidence you need to succeed.

Just get out there and start solving problems. One after another. Don't solve problems you don't have; the problem you have right now is that you're immobilized.
 

Low Chi

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Anticipating to loose money is a bad idea for your capacity to see opportunities and action steps. The following circumstances of your thought chain would lead you to "protect against failing" instead of looking forward to improve the process. (Unscripted )

If you don't want to risk the money for idea one, try to minimize the risk and to clarify potential negative outcomes: If it happens, what would you do? Could you divide risk into two parties with a business partner? Is it possible to test the market with a smaller amount of money? Is there a person in the market you could ask for advice as a mentor? Get clarity regarding your doubts. Inner chatter of the monkey mind or correct "feeling" of the inner voice? (see "6 ghosts of fear" in Napoleon Hill's think and grow rich-book, monkey mind is related to meditation and yoga -> you can google the concept)

Besides that: start loving yourself. You are not your past actions, your past thoughts or your past failures. You are also not chained to your old habitual patterns. Every second there is a chance to regain control over your mind and thought direction (see James Allen As a man thinketh -> especially the "Serenity" chapter). Your self image is a prerequisite for your success and it's transformable. (Psychocybernetics by Maxwell Maltz)
 

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What's a nearly risk free venture you can start? How about you just do something in services? You almost certainly have a skill that has a market value, so go out there and earn $1 with it. Then earn $10, $100, etc.
You are absolutely right, but there is one problem. I also thought about that, but all ideas, that I ever had about starting some kind of service business, just did not feel right. Because of that I stopped them all sooner or later. I found out, that this is a business model, that I absolutely don't want to do.

Just get out there and start solving problems. One after another. Don't solve problems you don't have; the problem you have right now is that you're immobilized.
I have never seen the problem from this angle. From that view it seems easier to solve.

Anticipating to loose money is a bad idea for your capacity to see opportunities and action steps. The following circumstances of your thought chain would lead you to "protect against failing" instead of looking forward to improve the process. (Unscripted )
That is so true, but I have never seen it that way. It seems like trying to protect against failing will make it more likely to fail.

Besides that: start loving yourself. You are not your past actions, your past thoughts or your past failures. You are also not chained to your old habitual patterns. Every second there is a chance to regain control over your mind and thought direction (see James Allen As a man thinketh -> especially the "Serenity" chapter). Your self image is a prerequisite for your success and it's transformable. (Psychocybernetics by Maxwell Maltz)
Easier said than done. But you are right.
 
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RazorCut

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Inertia is the hardest force to break.

As @lowtek says your procrastination is grounded in fear of failure. You lack the confidence to follow through to execution.

Having prepared the ground work several times, then halted at your first signs of doubt you've created a limiting belief and then re-enforced it through the power of repetition.

If I were in your position here are the steps I would take to move forward:

I would commit to my best business idea. The one that helps the most people. Truly helps and benefits THEM, not me. The goal is to solve other peoples problems. My problems and your problems will be solved as a direct result, and in direct proportion, to how many people we can help, and how well we can help them.

Bearing that in mind I need to commit to that ONE idea. I will write all my other ideas down on a piece of paper and then go and store that away where I can't easily get to it. In a jar in the garage or better still I dig a hole and bury it.

This is a symbolic act to rid us of the temptation to fall back to other options. It draws that line in the sand. If there is any related stuff on my computer then that is either deleted (and the trash can emptied) or transferred to a pen drive and stored with the list.

Now we only have ONE idea and ONE idea alone. Time to reinforce that commitment.

I need to face my fears. I go for a long walk (at least an hour) in the countryside away from distractions and other people. Trust me there is a lot of power in thinking whilst in motion and isolation. There will be no phone but I will take a small notepad and pen. The idea is to think about all the positives a successful outcome would create for us and our family. And equally to contemplate all the negatives as well.

Once back we create a list of both. Take the list with the worst case scenario. Physically sit down, think and rationalise it. What is the worst that can happen? Lose some money? Lose some time? Lose face?

Money

If I lost the money how bad would it be? How long would it take me to recover? Would it put me in financial meltdown? Homeless with nothing to provide for my family? Or would it just be a setback? An inconvenience? If the former what ways are there to reduce my exposure? Crowdfunding, Pre-sell or take on a Partner perhaps. I need to reduce the risk down to a point where it might hurt but it won't cripple me. So it becomes an acceptable risk. I need to then come to terms with it and accept it.

Time


Time is our most precious commodity. We can always get more money, we can never get more time. You have already wasted a year. What would another 3-6 months cost you? Ask yourself 'would I be in a better position in 6 months time if I didn't put my energies into executing on this idea?' Probably not, you would probably be in the exact same position you are now, only more frustrated. So can you happily live with a 6 month time commitment? Look at it and wholeheartedly accept it.

Loss of face/fear of failure

The biggie. I refuse to look at this in terms of success and failure. This is not black and white. I'll tell my friends and family I am running an experiment. I don't know if it will work or not but I'm going to give it my all and see what happens. I'm going to commit to putting something out into the market and see if the market likes it or not.

I have a strong hunch it will but there are no guarantees. I'm just looking for feedback, whether that feedback is positive or negative I can't be certain. However I never allow myself to think of a negative outcome as failure, only feedback. Pure and simple. It is just a response from the market.

That takes all this nonsense of fear of failure off the table. It takes the pressure off. Once I have feedback from the market I can then decide how I move forward.

In the language of your own quote:

"I shall either find a way or make one."

If you still cannot commit after going through that lot then I would consider getting a mentor/coach or just give up and take up fishing or something.
 

LuckyPup

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I am now a little bit over a year on this forum. In the last twelve months I pondered on many business ideas, but I have discarded as many. It seems like I can't get myself to take action, when it counts. As soon as the planning phase is over and the execution should start, doubts creep up on me and I am kind of paralysed. I skip to another idea and the same process repeats itself. Granted, there were some ideas, that did just not feel right and that I stopped because of that, but most of them I just stopped because of fear.

In the last couple of months I am more and more fed up with this behavior, but I am stuck. I can't get myself to take real action. This is making me more and more depressed, as I have the feeling, that I am wasting my life and I hate myself for that.

So a week ago I was thinking of pursuing one of the two business ideas I have at the moment, just to get going. But as expected, I can't get myself to take action, because I have just too many doubts.

The first idea is one, that I really want to do, but I have a feeling, that I can't do it, because I don't know how and at the moment I am not comfortable with the amount of money, that I would have to invest. Fear is holding me back, because I don't want to fail with this idea and I don't want to lose all the money. That puts a lot of pressure on me and in the end I am not taking any real action. I would really love to try this idea, but I don't feel confident enough to execute it.

The second idea is something, where I think, that there is a gap in the market (marketing wise, but I am not really sure). Anyway, I thought about starting this business with private label products, to see, if the gap is real or not. If the products would sell, I was thinking of developing unique products, so that I can better differentiate my company from the competition.
The money, that I need for that idea, would be much less than I would need for the first idea. On the other hand I don't know, if it is a good idea to start a business, that only has private label products. I mean, the products have a good quality, the ingredients are better than that of most other products and I see many possibilities marketing-wise – but they are still just private label products, that everyone could sell. Should I try it and, if it works, develop new products, that no one else is selling?

Should I start a business, any business, just to get going and get rid of my fear and doubts, even if this business maybe is doomed to fail? (Which I don't know of course.)

If the second idea works, I would try to automate it as much as possible and then start executing on the first idea – that is, if I can manage to start at all. My self-doubts are paralysing me and in the last twelve months they have completely blocked myself.

Maybe someone was in a similar situation in the past and can give me some advice? I would really appreciate it.

Thanks.
@RazorCut gave some great advice. I can relate to your problem. Regarding choosing the "best" business idea, have you used a Weighted Average Decision Maker (WADM)? If I recall, MJ mentions it in TMF . I created one for myself when trying to determine which of 4 business ideas I was going to pursue. It helped.

28303
 

LuckyPup

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Inertia is the hardest force to break.

As @lowtek says your procrastination is grounded in fear of failure. You lack the confidence to follow through to execution.

Having prepared the ground work several times, then halted at your first signs of doubt you've created a limiting belief and then re-enforced it through the power of repetition.

If I were in your position here are the steps I would take to move forward:

I would commit to my best business idea. The one that helps the most people. Truly helps and benefits THEM, not me. The goal is to solve other peoples problems. My problems and your problems will be solved as a direct result, and in direct proportion, to how many people we can help, and how well we can help them.

Bearing that in mind I need to commit to that ONE idea. I will write all my other ideas down on a piece of paper and then go and store that away where I can't easily get to it. In a jar in the garage or better still I dig a hole and bury it.

This is a symbolic act to rid us of the temptation to fall back to other options. It draws that line in the sand. If there is any related stuff on my computer then that is either deleted (and the trash can emptied) or transferred to a pen drive and stored with the list.

Now we only have ONE idea and ONE idea alone. Time to reinforce that commitment.

I need to face my fears. I go for a long walk (at least an hour) in the countryside away from distractions and other people. Trust me there is a lot of power in thinking whilst in motion and isolation. There will be no phone but I will take a small notepad and pen. The idea is to think about all the positives a successful outcome would create for us and our family. And equally to contemplate all the negatives as well.

Once back we create a list of both. Take the list with the worst case scenario. Physically sit down, think and rationalise it. What is the worst that can happen? Lose some money? Lose some time? Lose face?

Money

If I lost the money how bad would it be? How long would it take me to recover? Would it put me in financial meltdown? Homeless with nothing to provide for my family? Or would it just be a setback? An inconvenience? If the former what ways are there to reduce my exposure? Crowdfunding, Pre-sell or take on a Partner perhaps. I need to reduce the risk down to a point where it might hurt but it won't cripple me. So it becomes an acceptable risk. I need to then come to terms with it and accept it.

Time


Time is our most precious commodity. We can always get more money, we can never get more time. You have already wasted a year. What would another 3-6 months cost you? Ask yourself 'would I be in a better position in 6 months time if I didn't put my energies into executing on this idea?' Probably not, you would probably be in the exact same position you are now, only more frustrated. So can you happily live with a 6 month time commitment? Look at it and wholeheartedly accept it.

Loss of face/fear of failure

The biggie. I refuse to look at this in terms of success and failure. This is not black and white. I'll tell my friends and family I am running an experiment. I don't know if it will work or not but I'm going to give it my all and see what happens. I'm going to commit to putting something out into the market and see if the market likes it or not.

I have a strong hunch it will but there are no guarantees. I'm just looking for feedback, whether that feedback is positive or negative I can't be certain. However I never allow myself to think of a negative outcome as failure, only feedback. Pure and simple. It is just a response from the market.

That takes all this nonsense of fear of failure off the table. It takes the pressure off. Once I have feedback from the market I can then decide how I move forward.

In the language of your own quote:

"I shall either find a way or make one."

If you still cannot commit after going through that lot then I would consider getting a mentor/coach or just give up and take up fishing or something.
Read this twice. GREAT STUFF! Thanks for sharing!
 
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Taktik

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Inertia is the hardest force to break.

As @lowtek says your procrastination is grounded in fear of failure. You lack the confidence to follow through to execution.

Having prepared the ground work several times, then halted at your first signs of doubt you've created a limiting belief and then re-enforced it through the power of repetition.

If I were in your position here are the steps I would take to move forward:

I would commit to my best business idea. The one that helps the most people. Truly helps and benefits THEM, not me. The goal is to solve other peoples problems. My problems and your problems will be solved as a direct result, and in direct proportion, to how many people we can help, and how well we can help them.

Bearing that in mind I need to commit to that ONE idea. I will write all my other ideas down on a piece of paper and then go and store that away where I can't easily get to it. In a jar in the garage or better still I dig a hole and bury it.

This is a symbolic act to rid us of the temptation to fall back to other options. It draws that line in the sand. If there is any related stuff on my computer then that is either deleted (and the trash can emptied) or transferred to a pen drive and stored with the list.

Now we only have ONE idea and ONE idea alone. Time to reinforce that commitment.

I need to face my fears. I go for a long walk (at least an hour) in the countryside away from distractions and other people. Trust me there is a lot of power in thinking whilst in motion and isolation. There will be no phone but I will take a small notepad and pen. The idea is to think about all the positives a successful outcome would create for us and our family. And equally to contemplate all the negatives as well.

Once back we create a list of both. Take the list with the worst case scenario. Physically sit down, think and rationalise it. What is the worst that can happen? Lose some money? Lose some time? Lose face?

Money

If I lost the money how bad would it be? How long would it take me to recover? Would it put me in financial meltdown? Homeless with nothing to provide for my family? Or would it just be a setback? An inconvenience? If the former what ways are there to reduce my exposure? Crowdfunding, Pre-sell or take on a Partner perhaps. I need to reduce the risk down to a point where it might hurt but it won't cripple me. So it becomes an acceptable risk. I need to then come to terms with it and accept it.

Time


Time is our most precious commodity. We can always get more money, we can never get more time. You have already wasted a year. What would another 3-6 months cost you? Ask yourself 'would I be in a better position in 6 months time if I didn't put my energies into executing on this idea?' Probably not, you would probably be in the exact same position you are now, only more frustrated. So can you happily live with a 6 month time commitment? Look at it and wholeheartedly accept it.

Loss of face/fear of failure

The biggie. I refuse to look at this in terms of success and failure. This is not black and white. I'll tell my friends and family I am running an experiment. I don't know if it will work or not but I'm going to give it my all and see what happens. I'm going to commit to putting something out into the market and see if the market likes it or not.

I have a strong hunch it will but there are no guarantees. I'm just looking for feedback, whether that feedback is positive or negative I can't be certain. However I never allow myself to think of a negative outcome as failure, only feedback. Pure and simple. It is just a response from the market.

That takes all this nonsense of fear of failure off the table. It takes the pressure off. Once I have feedback from the market I can then decide how I move forward.

In the language of your own quote:

"I shall either find a way or make one."

If you still cannot commit after going through that lot then I would consider getting a mentor/coach or just give up and take up fishing or something.
Wow, thanks for the comprehensive reply. I will definitely go through the steps you wrote out.
 

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@RazorCut gave some great advice. I can relate to your problem. Regarding choosing the "best" business idea, have you used a Weighted Average Decision Maker (WADM)? If I recall, MJ mentions it in TMF . I created one for myself when trying to determine which of 4 business ideas I was going to pursue. It helped.

View attachment 28303
Yeah, I tried WADM. The business, that takes the most money to start (which I guess is also the business, that could, if successful, help the most people) won. It is also the business, that I really want to start and that I am the most scared about.
I will try the things out, that @RazorCut mentioned and see, if I can get going.
 

LuckyPup

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Yeah, I tried WADM. The business, that takes the most money to start (which I guess is also the business, that could, if successful, help the most people) won. It is also the business, that I really want to start and that I am the most scared about.
I will try the things out, that @RazorCut mentioned and see, if I can get going.
What scares you about this business (more than the others)? If it's the investment and you're unsure of your chances of success, what have you done to mitigate the risk? How can you validate the market?
 
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What scares you about this business (more than the others)?

The money, that I need to invest, as it is the biggest sum of all the business ideas.
But my biggest fear is fear of failure. The business is really ambitious and I am not sure, if I can make it happen. I never tried a business like that before and so there is a lot of doubt. I have no idea, if I have even a little chance to get the business going. This doubt is getting me to think of different businnesses to start, that are not as demanding as that one. My line of thought is, that maybe I am better of if I start a businness, that is not as ambitious at first. That way I could learn many things business-wise and maybe I will then be more courageous for the first idea (and have more capital).
At this point I am fully paralyzed and not working on anything, because the replacement idea is not as well thought out or at least it seems so to me. The consequence is, that I am looking for some better idea and on and on.
 

Johnny boy

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Remember when you were in middle school and you worried about your grades?

How much did those grades really matter?

That's what you're doing right now.

You'll look back and feel like a wimpy baby who couldn't take a chance when you're older. Don't let that happen.
 

LuckyPup

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The money, that I need to invest, as it is the biggest sum of all the business ideas.
But my biggest fear is fear of failure. The business is really ambitious and I am not sure, if I can make it happen. I never tried a business like that before and so there is a lot of doubt. I have no idea, if I have even a little chance to get the business going. This doubt is getting me to think of different businnesses to start, that are not as demanding as that one. My line of thought is, that maybe I am better of if I start a businness, that is not as ambitious at first. That way I could learn many things business-wise and maybe I will then be more courageous for the first idea (and have more capital).
At this point I am fully paralyzed and not working on anything, because the replacement idea is not as well thought out or at least it seems so to me. The consequence is, that I am looking for some better idea and on and on.

I've been in the same exact spot. I know all too well what it's like to chase my tail and lose literally years thinking about this stuff. The longer you do it, the worse it gets and the less faith you have in yourself, your ideas and what the "right" thing is.

Here's why (and I stole this from Dan Sullivan, with a few mods):

1. The only way to build real confidence is to first have competence in something and that comes from putting in work, period. True confidence (and not the delusional cockiness that many people exhibit) can only come from building competency.
2. The only way to have competence is by taking action consistently. That means doing the work, day in and day out, whether you want to, or not. It means falling in love with the process, not the end result; the journey, not the destination.
3. The only way to practice consistency is by having the courage to confront and overcome your fear and take action doing income generating activities, and not "action-faking," as MJ puts it.
4. Courage stems from commitment - to decide, to focus on ONE thing and forego any other possibilities. "Burn your ships," as they say.
4. The only way to commit to the "right" thing - aka pursuing the "best" business - is to gain clarity, and that comes from assessing your constraints and choosing the business that is most likely to succeed, given your constraints.
5. Get clear by understanding to what degree you are constrained by each of these common limiting factors:
> time
> money
> knowledge / skill / aptitude
> motivation / drive / your "why"

I think it's wise to pay attention to your doubts. While you don't want to "major in minor things," you also don't want to set yourself up for failure by squandering your limited resources on a business you aren't suited for, or capable of succeeding in. Build your clarity, commitment, courage, consistency and competence. Then you'll have real confidence to move on the the next stage/biz/endeavor. To become more clear, reassess your constraints. Do a self-SWOT analysis.

As an aside, I'm curious to know what criteria you used for your WADM and what weight you've placed on each criterion. That could be telling.

Hope this helps.
 
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I've been in the same exact spot. I know all too well what it's like to chase my tail and lose literally years thinking about this stuff. The longer you do it, the worse it gets and the less faith you have in yourself, your ideas and what the "right" thing is.

Here's why (and I stole this from Dan Sullivan, with a few mods):

1. The only way to build real confidence is to first have competence in something and that comes from putting in work, period. True confidence (and not the delusional cockiness that many people exhibit) can only come from building competency.
2. The only way to have competence is by taking action consistently. That means doing the work, day in and day out, whether you want to, or not. It means falling in love with the process, not the end result; the journey, not the destination.
3. The only way to practice consistency is by having the courage to confront and overcome your fear and take action doing income generating activities, and not "action-faking," as MJ puts it.
4. Courage stems from commitment - to decide, to focus on ONE thing and forego any other possibilities. "Burn your ships," as they say.
4. The only way to commit to the "right" thing - aka pursuing the "best" business - is to gain clarity, and that comes from assessing your constraints and choosing the business that is most likely to succeed, given your constraints.
5. Get clear by understanding to what degree you are constrained by each of these common limiting factors:
> time
> money
> knowledge / skill / aptitude
> motivation / drive / your "why"

I think it's wise to pay attention to your doubts. While you don't want to "major in minor things," you also don't want to set yourself up for failure by squandering your limited resources on a business you aren't suited for, or capable of succeeding in. Build your clarity, commitment, courage, consistency and competence. Then you'll have real confidence to move on the the next stage/biz/endeavor. To become more clear, reassess your constraints. Do a self-SWOT analysis.

As an aside, I'm curious to know what criteria you used for your WADM and what weight you've placed on each criterion. That could be telling.

Hope this helps.
Thanks for the answer. This gave me really much food for thought, especially the part with the constraints. I never really thought about that, but alone reading about it makes things a lot clearer.

As for WADM, here are the criteria with the weight:
Control (8)
Ease of Marketing (7)
Automation Potential (9)
Scalability (6)
Entry (6)
Need (9)
Simplicity (7)
Impact on other people (7)
Required Capital (6)
 
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Entre Eyes

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I think real world experience will help you alot. Look at getting started from that stand point.

I also got caught in perfection mode. It's a momentum killer. Sometimes we have a bit too much info dancing around in our heads.

I like to tie in social media to new brands before I launch. But once you make the first post you feel you will have people already trying to reverse engineer your entire site, funnels, everything. At least in my imagination haha.

But now I think of being an Entrepreneur a little like Texas Hold em Poker. You want to go out knowing you gave it all you had. Know the reads...on your target market.

Sometimes starting with or being dealt low value cards will have little to do with the outcome of the game.
 

Low Chi

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@Entre Eyes Did that anticipation of an army of reverse engineers influence the choice of the target market (barrier of entry) or to build own barriers of entry in your field?
 
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Thanks for the answer. This gave me really much food for thought, especially the part with the constraints. I never really thought about that, but alone reading about it makes things a lot clearer.

As for WADM, here are the criteria with the weight:
Control (8)
Ease of Marketing (7)
Automation Potential (9)
Scalability (6)
Entry (6)
Need (9)
Simplicity (7)
Impact on other people (7)
Required Capital (6)
Thanks for sharing that. I see that you've applied CENTS, plus more. How did each business idea stack up, according to these criteria and their weights? Was it even close or did #1 blow the others away?

You may want to consider doing another WADM using additional criteria that pertain to your constraints and capabilities: knowledge/abilities/capital/interests, etc. I think many entrepreneurs have no problem envisioning what the business can deliver to them and the market, but they often fail to consider what they can bring to the business, aside from an idea.

It might help you see if there are any big matches/mismatches, depending on your capital or lack thereof, your business & personal networks and ability to raise capitol if needed, your knowledge of the niche and market, your skill set, and whether this is something that you are suited for, interest-wise, other than as a money vehicle (I know MJ says passion doesn't matter, but I do think the business has to be fairly intellectually or emotionally engaging in order to get the drive and momentum needed to get to the point of automating and scaling a biz).

Again, these are just suggestions. I don't want to complicate things for you, but since you've been spinning your wheels for a year, it might be good to take some time to "sharpen the saw" as it were.
 
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Entre Eyes

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@Entre Eyes Did that anticipation of an army of reverse engineers influence the choice of the target market (barrier of entry) or to build own barriers of entry in your field?

Good question...I have to make sure my answer includes our subconscious decisions haha. But I can say honestly nope. There are guys/gals a hell of alot smarter than me and like Bruce Lee is quoted as saying if a guy is intent on biting you and nothing else but biting you, you just may get bit. Or something like that hahaha.

Really it is unavoidable. There is the lazy right off the top haha... We even teach each other to "model" successes. Create and use Spy software's, and with success also comes some out and out player haters hahaha.
 

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Thanks for sharing that. I see that you've applied CENTS, plus more. How did each business idea stack up, according to these criteria and their weights? Was it even close or did #1 blow the others away?
Well, the first idea (the one that requires more capital) had 407 points, the second 374 points.

You may want to consider doing another WADM using additional criteria that pertain to your constraints and capabilities
After doing another round of WADM with some additional criteria, the results are as follows:
28371

(The last point is the confidence that I have at the moment, that I can make the business work.
As you can see, many points are similar. This is because the underlying business model in both ideas is the same, but the products are different.)

The second WADM is results-wise really close. Maybe I have misweighted some factors, but I think that it gives a good first overview of both ideas. It could very well be, that I overestimate my confidence, that I can make idea 2 work.
The problem I have with idea 1 is, that it almost always takes more capital. Marketing is easier with idea 1 compared to idea 2, but it also takes a lot more capital. I am not comfortable at the moment with risking that much and because of that, I tend toward idea 2. The capital requirements there are much lower and I think that I can life with loosing that amount of money.

If idea 2 works out, great. Then I can use the skills I learned for idea 1 (after automating as much as possible). Furthermore I should have more capital and also confidence, that I can make idea 1 work.
If it doesn't work out, I will at least learn some skills, that I can use in the future for other ideas.

I feel like the biggest factor at the moment are money and confidence. I am not willing to loose the amount of money, that it would take to start idea 1. This fear is also hurting the confidence, that I have in my abilities. There is much more pressure when I think about idea 1, because there is more money at risk.

After giving it much thought in the last couple of days, I think that I am most constrained by my mindset and my fears. Trying the idea, that scares me less, seems like the way to go, because it is the only way, I can go at the moment. By doing so, I should also get more comfortable with the uncertanities of entrepreneurship, so that I can cope better with them the next time.
 
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Reading between the lines it sounds to me like #2 might be your choice. The risk is lower and if it fails, you'll have gained some skills. Go for it!
 

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Reading between the lines it sounds to me like #2 might be your choice. The risk is lower and if it fails, you'll have gained some skills. Go for it!
I will. Thanks so much for the help.
 

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I can relate to this so much!! Over the last 10 years, I have researched and planned out dozens of business ideas. I was able to carry out on executing a few of them, but they fizzled out after a short time for various reasons. I have also spent a few thousand dollars on starting various businesses that also fizzled out for various reasons, mostly because I simply lost interest in the daily tasks and I found different ideas that I felt were a better fit for me.

I know how paralyzing it can be to have more than one option, especially when they all involve needing money to start off, more money than you would like to spend.

I guess as far as advice, I am not the best to give it, I just wanted to make you feel better by telling you that I have been in the same boat, even longer than you! Don't beat yourself up about it. Starting a business is very hard. I guess if I had to pick, I would say go for option #2, the cheaper one, because since you have a history of not starting, at least then you won't be out as much money. And if it works out, great!! Good luck!
 

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Have you re-read your post? I have some questions:

What words in what you wrote are NOT serving what you desire?

What is the positive opposite of your challenges?

What's the worst case scenario if you didn't do something?

Now what's the worst case scenario if you DID do those things?

here's a great free tool: www.recreateyourlife.org
 

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5. Get clear by understanding to what degree you are constrained by each of these common limiting factors:
> time
> money
> knowledge / skill / aptitude
> motivation / drive / your "why"

I think it's wise to pay attention to your doubts. While you don't want to "major in minor things," you also don't want to set yourself up for failure by squandering your limited resources on a business you aren't suited for, or capable of succeeding in. Build your clarity, commitment, courage, consistency and competence. Then you'll have real confidence to move on the the next stage/biz/endeavor. To become more clear, reassess your constraints. Do a self-SWOT analysis.

Hope this helps.
Sounds like it helped the OP, and I just wanted to both acknowledge that the rest of your post helped me as well as sound off on the list above. I'd put the 'why' right at the top of that list. If it isn't strong enough, the other three don't matter.

I'm currently doing research among female entrepreneurs who have that stuck feeling, for the purpose of expanding one module of my signature course to make a mini-course on this very issue. If anyone would be willing to help me with that research, I'd be grateful. I do that research via Zoom on a 20-minute video chat. Don't want to hijack this thread completely, so send a PM if you'd like the link to schedule.
 
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RazorCut

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After giving it much thought in the last couple of days, I think that I am most constrained by my mindset and my fears. Trying the idea, that scares me less, seems like the way to go, because it is the only way, I can go at the moment. By doing so, I should also get more comfortable with the uncertanities of entrepreneurship, so that I can cope better with them the next time.

That's a great outcome. We all have big business ideas that take a lot of capital. But it doesn't mean you should start there. Build up to it. That's how all great entrepreneurs did it, unless they were fortunate to be born into wealth or a wealthy business background.

Take Richard Branson. He started his empire from publishing a Student magazine, then set up a small business selling records by mail order. That lead to a record store. That lead to more record stores and becoming a music label. That lead to Virgin Atlantic which he got the impulse from after getting stranded at an airport with a load of other passengers and hiring a plane to get them all out. Virgin Atlantic then lead to the stars with Virgin Galactic.

Each was an incremental step that lead to the next business that was bigger than the last.

The reason Branson called his business Virgin was because he, and all his employees were 'new at business'. He faced the same fears and difficulties you do today but he didn't have the advantages of a world of knowledge just a few clicks away.
 

scott wisniewsk

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As simple as it sounds , Failure is a great learning tool. I don't want to fail , nobody want's to . Don't get trapped by analysis paralyses . Sometimes you have to walk into the darkness of uncertainty to find your way . Be the best at something and build from there . One step at a time . If you fail learn from it and move on . Your going to have to pay for learning either in school or time spent on something that's not working . Like a baby trying to walk for the first time , don't tell him he can't do it he will keep falling down until he masters it .
 

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