There is not a single business owner who has never had a fear in the world.
It’s natural to feel overwhelmed by different aspects of a business, especially if you’re just starting out. That’s because you have many challenges to overcome but limited resources.
We have listed some fears common to new business owners and how to overcome them. Let’s dive in.
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Top fears of business owners and how to overcome them
Fear is natural for business owners. Here are some common ones along with some relevant solutions:
Being overshadowed by larger brands
This is a fear of many business owners.
No matter what niche you are in, there will always be established, large brands as your competitors. That’s a fact.
And large brands have the popularity and budget to overshadow smaller brands.
But, there are many ways in which you can actually beat this competition and stand out in your target market. Many small businesses have done this and gone forward to become successful D2C brands.
Here’s how you can too:
1. Identify your USP
Your unique selling proposition is what differentiates you from your competition. This can be in terms of feature, price, or experience. Identify this and highlight it whenever you talk about your brand.
Here’s a blog to help you find out your USP.
2. Visual branding
An easy way to stand out from your audience is to have a completely different colour palette when you visually represent your brand. This is because colours increase brand recognition by 80%.
Here’s a blog on colour psychology to help you choose the right brand colours.
3. Delight customers
In 2020, 46% of consumers said they were more likely to shop at a small business. This is mainly because they provide a more personalised shopping experience and have a purpose behind their brand.
So, make sure you take steps to increase customer delight.
4. Get your own eCommerce store
Having a professional online store where you can sell products boosts credibility and provides scope for a better shopping experience for your customers. In fact, in a survey conducted by the government, 59% of merchants who use websites to sell online claim that they face lower competition.
Managing multiple roles
As a small business, you’re probably a solopreneur: handling everything from sales to content. Doing jobs that require multiple skill sets is indeed scary.
The first thing you can do is to learn how to manage time efficiently. This will help you divide tasks more efficiently. Make sure that you spend more time on the most important tasks.
Check out this list of tools to improve your productivity.
When you look at some of your business tasks, you will see that there are some repetitive tasks which are done manually. See if you can automate those with some tools. For example, collecting payments, sending bulk emails, etc.
If you sell on social media, you might spend a lot of time selling through DMs. This consumes a lot of your time. Why not get a system where customers can directly purchase what they want without a lot of back and forth?
An eCommerce website will help you solve this problem. Many of your tasks can be automated and you can manage it on your dashboard.
Not having enough budget
You might see other businesses running ads and using other paid methods to run their business. And you fear that your lack of budget might leave you behind. Of course, there are ways to grow your business with a budget. But that doesn’t mean you can’t without one.
Growing your business without spending money is called organic growth. Some organic ways to get more sales include:
- SEO
- Social media
- Email marketing
- YouTube
Once you get more cash flow, you can set a budget for paid marketing activities. Till then, you can try out any of these organic methods.
Related read: Top qualities of an entrepreneur
Lack of knowledge
Speaking of managing multiple roles, not having enough expertise or knowledge on a subject is a common fear of business owners.
Of course, not knowing things is not a sin and it’s normal to feel overwhelmed by things that are beyond your scope of knowledge. As an entrepreneur who wants to grow online, you need to upskill yourself and learn what you need to get your business going. And guess what, you can do this for FREE!
Here are some free resources that you can leverage to learn more about different aspects of business:
1. Mojoversity: free courses
A platform dedicated to business owners, Mojoversity has free courses created by industry experts. You can register and learn courses that will help you run your business.
Here are our most popular courses on Mojoversity:
2. Business growth newsletter
What if you could get the best eCommerce advice delivered straight to your inbox every week? We send out a free newsletter which has valuable knowledge on everything business.
Sign up for the Instamojo Blog Digest for free!
3. Instamojo YouTube channel
Videos are the easiest way to consume content. Check out our YouTube channel which has many videos on growing your business online.
The instability of working for yourself
Many business owners fear the instability that comes with running a business for a living.
A business, especially a new one, does not offer the comforts of a full-time job — regular income and paid leaves. And your bills are all due regularly. How do you balance life by doing a business?
If you have a full-time job, save up money before you quit to do your business. Or you can earn enough money (for example six months’ worth of living expenses) from your business before you take the leap. (Remember to build an emergency fund first)
To tackle this fear, you will need a mindset shift as well. The ability to take risks should be a skill you develop.
The economy
If you’re worried about the current economic situation, we get you. Rising inflation rates and an unstable economy do affect a business adversely.
Is it possible to sustain a business in such harsh economic conditions? Well, the answer is yes. Remember, the best businesses are created during economic crisis.
All you need to do is change your mindset and adopt the right strategies to go through these unstable times.
Here’s a resource for you to understand more about inflation and how you can prevent it from affecting your business.
Turn your fear into points of strength
When you grow your business, you also grow and evolve. And for that, you need to face your fears. When you start working towards your business goals, every hurdle will be overcome.
Do you want extra support in your business journey? Start an online store to help you manage different tasks under one roof. Sign up for a free online store on Instamojo
