What’s the #1 reason people start a business?And how business anxiety holds them back.
You probably think the number one answer people give for starting a business is MONEY.
The first time I REALLY, thought about working for myself, not a side hustle or a hobby, but a business that pays my all of my bills, was in 2014. It took another 3 years to get over my “business anxiety”, even though my mentor told me I had an entrepreneurial spirit.
In 2014, I was working at a substance abuse clinic, with a full caseload of clients. I developed several therapy groups and became responsible for bringing in new business. So, I did outreach to bring in new clients.
One day, the Directors’ mother called me into her office, to tell me that they were letting me go.
Why? They said it was for “financial reasons.” I was getting laid off, not fired.
Okay, but, I saw they had already posted my position on Indeed.
At that very moment, I was heated, I said to myself, “Never again would I let someone else control my coins.”
I felt bad for my clients, so I asked for two weeks to say goodbye to them and explain they had to start over with a new therapist.
I started thinking, that all the work I was doing for this agency, I could do for myself and earn more, with way less drama.
Can you relate?
When you thought about starting a business, was money your motivation?
If it’s just money, you can apply for a higher-paying job, without dealing with all the responsibilities of entrepreneurship.
When I was working at that agency, I had such long hours. I wouldn’t get home until dinner time and then didn’t have much time to do homework with my daughter and get ready for bed. There was no time for myself.
This was not the quality of life I wanted for us. I felt trapped in this routine.
It’s not about the money, it’s what you can do with the money.
What do entrepreneurs really want?
The number one reason people choose to become entrepreneurs is FREEDOM !!!
It’s the desire for independence and control over their own destiny.
According to a survey conducted by Guidant Financial and LendingClub, 26% of entrepreneurs cited this as their primary motivation for starting a business.
“Entrepreneurship allows you to be your own boss and have control over your work-life balance,” says David Nilssen, CEO of Guidant Financial. “It’s also a path to financial freedom and the ability to create something that is truly your own.”
Another study by Northwestern Mutual found that 82% of millennials are interested in starting their own business, with 42% citing the desire for independence and control as their primary motivation.
What holds entrepreneurs back from what they want?
My clients seek support because they feel like their fear is holding them back from packaging, promoting, and selling their services.
This causes them to procrastinate, become inconsistent self-sabotage, and sometimes quit.
Some clients are coaches, therapists, authors, or public speakers who want to become known, but their business anxiety takes over.
Their freedom is deferred because of fear.
Fears That Lead To Business Anxiety
- Fear of failure
- Fear of uncertainty
- Learning new skill sets
- Leaving comfort zone
- Responsibility for all outcomes
Why are we so afraid to fail?
Most people don’t really think about this.
Fear of failure is a learned behavior.
YES, you learned to fear failing.
Have you ever seen a 2-year-old afraid of failure? No?
Me neither.
You developed your fear of failure, from the first time someone yelled at you, punished you, treated you differently, compared you, or ignored you because you failed.
Parents try everything to prevent their kids from making mistakes, to the point where some will do their kids' homework for them. They praise them for being perfect and scold them for making mistakes. Sometimes you have to let your kids learn from their mistakes. You’ll be there to support them.
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Bosses encourage growth and development but forget that part of growth and development is learning which includes making mistakes and sometimes failing. You’re rewarded for stellar performance and penalized for poor performance. There’s no room for growth if you can only be perfect.
What if you never experienced the negative impact of failure yourself? Well, you definitely observed others failing, you heard about it, you read something somewhere and now you’re afraid that could be you too.
Failure makes people judge you, talk about you, and treat you differently. Then you feel embarrassed, inadequate, and unqualified. Forget those people. They don’t pay your bills.
Everything in business is new to you and no one is telling you what to do.
You should take the approach of a two-year-old, an inventor, or a scientist, try and try again. Every trial is just information on what to do next time.
Most of us are afraid of trying and failing the first time, no wonder when we start a business, we’re afraid of failure. Some people don’t even try.
How to overcome our fears?
I used to have a TERRIBLE fear of public speaking. I never thought I could get paid to do it.
We have a complicated relationship with faith and fear, but we need both to thrive in this life. Faith is a requirement to overcome our fears.
We tend to lean more toward fear. Humans are wired to protect themselves from being hurt or danger, some people more than others.
Fear is helpful, in some circumstances, like trying to stick your hand in the cage of a tiger or standing on a highway with cars coming at you at 90 mph.
However, launching a business, promoting yourself online, and selling your services are not life-threatening. (They just feel like it).
Your body has a reaction to fear, however, it’s up to you to tell your body if it’s life-threatening. You can control your fearful thoughts and feelings if you choose to.
Faith requires you to believe in things you don’t see. You need faith to pursue your goals, to leave your comfort zone, to be your most authentic self, and lastly to fulfill your purpose.
The only way to overcome your fears is to face them, head-on.
The more you stand up to your fears, you will break through them, they will feel less scary. Repetition makes scary things less scary.
This is what therapists call “exposure therapy.” You may even wonder why you were scared at all.
“Freedom is expensive but peace of mind is priceless.” Seneca Williams, LMHC
Facing my fears wasn’t easy. A single mom starting a new career and a business isn’t an ideal situation.
I had to invest time and money into learning all the things I didn’t know. I took baby steps, there were many obstacles, but I never stopped moving.
The peace of mind, I felt being able to drop off and pick up my daughter from school, attend all of her school events, go on trips, and be home when she was sick is priceless.
Taking off a random Wednesday for a Mental Wealth day or having breakfast or lunch with a friend felt amazing.
Also, I was dealing with chronic health conditions, so working from home was so much more convenient. I could rest when necessary and attend doctors' appointments when I needed to without being hassled.
In having my own business, I had more creative freedom, I got to provide the quality of service I believed in, not like in an agency that just treated clients like another file chart.
I am thankful, I didn’t let fear stop me from pursuing freedom.
As Steve Jobs famously said, “Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do.”
In conclusion, the desire for independence and control is the driving force behind many entrepreneurs’ decision to start their own businesses.
It allows them to pursue their passions, build something they can be proud of, and achieve financial freedom.
Journal Prompts:
1. What is your why, the main reason you started a business?
2. What does FREEDOM look like for you?
3. How do you want to build your business around your life?
Seneca Williams (Ask Coach Sen) is “The Entrepreneurs’ Therapist”. She is an online therapist, speaker, and international coach for entrepreneurs, ready to break through business anxiety & beat business burnout.
Seneca is also the founder of The Conquer Network, a personal growth hub for entrepreneurs. The mission is to provide a mental health-positive community, for service-based entrepreneurs, to cultivate mental wealth & conquer their businesses!
This article is not medical advice. Please consult a therapist licensed in your state (country) if you are experiencing signs of a mental health disorder. Visit www.nami.org or www.psychologytoday.com
Call 9–8–8 the National Suicide Crisis Lifeline
Works Cited
Weil, Zoe. “Facing Fear to Be a Force for Freedom.” Psychology Today, 6 August 2020, https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/becoming-solutionary/202008/facing-fear-be-force-freedom.
Winters, Jeffrey. “Why We Fear the Unknown.” Psychology Today, 1 May 2002, https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/articles/200205/why-we-fear-the-unknown.
- Wiktionary, https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/articles/200211/genes-and-fear.
- Wiktionary, https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/articles/200410/embracing-the-fear-failure.
